First Click vs Last Click

First Click credits a conversion to the first ad click in the visitor journey: the campaign that introduced the buyer. Last Click credits the most recent ad click before the conversion: the campaign that closed the sale. Both models count the same conversions and show the same totals. Only the credit moves between campaigns. You switch models in the Campaign Report. This page shows what changes when you switch and how to read the result.

The Two Models at a Glance

	First Click	Last Click
Credits	The first ad click in the visitor journey	The last ad click before the conversion
Question it answers	Which campaign introduced this customer?	Which campaign closed this sale?
Tends to favor	Top-of-funnel (TOF) prospecting and creative testing campaigns	Middle-of-funnel (MOF) and bottom-of-funnel (BOF) remarketing campaigns

Both models are click-based: views never earn credit, and organic, email, and direct visits never take it away. AnyTrack docs also call them First Ad Click and Last Ad Click. AnyTrack attributes a conversion to a campaign only when its ad clicks carry UTM parameters.

Switch Models in the Campaign Report

1. Open the Campaign Report.
2. Click the Attribution dropdown at the top of the report.
3. Select First Click or Last Click. The report updates instantly.

📘

A view toggle, available on every plan

The dropdown changes only how the report reads, on every plan (see Plan Comparison). It does not change your tracking or the saved attribution settings in Property Settings. It also does not change the conversions that AnyTrack sends to ad platforms via Conversion API.

What Changes When You Switch

Here is the same store and the same seven days under each model (campaign names redacted). The TOF and MOF tags in the names tell you the job of each campaign in the funnel. Watch the Purchase column as the model changes:

First Click: the TOF campaigns hold the highest purchase counts.

Last Click: credit moves from the TOF rows to the MOF remarketing rows.

Three things to notice:

1. Campaign numbers shift. AnyTrack re-assigns the event columns (Purchase, Revenue, AddPaymentInfo) campaign by campaign. The TOF/MOF - Testing row drops from 121 purchases to 85. The MIX - MOF - Remarketing row jumps from 6 to 15.
2. The totals row does not move. Both views read 662 purchases and 80,858.40 in revenue. Each model credits exactly one ad click per conversion. Switching models moves credit between campaigns; it never creates or removes conversions.
3. Attributed Results and Attributed Revenue do not move either. These columns are the ad platform’s own figures, under the platform’s own model and window. AnyTrack fetches them from Meta Ads, Google Ads, TikTok Ads, ChatGPT Ads, and Microsoft Ads (Taboola and Outbrain do not sync them). The AnyTrack dropdown has no effect on them. That makes them a fixed benchmark: compare the same platform number with your campaigns under First Click, then under Last Click.

📘

If your totals look different after switching

Check the date range and filters. The attribution model redistributes credit between campaigns; it never changes the totals.

The platform columns hold still, so the report compares the same conversions three ways: First Click, Last Click, and the platform model. In the screenshots, Meta reports 104 purchases on the TOF/MOF - Testing row, between the two AnyTrack views (85 and 121). On the remarketing rows, Meta reports more than Last Click (28 against 23, 27 against 15). Meta’s default window also credits ad views, and AnyTrack credits only ad clicks.

⚠️

Duplicate senders inflate Attributed Results

On plans with Conversion API, the ad platform attributes the conversions that AnyTrack sends. If another system also sends the same sales to your pixel or Conversion API dataset, the platform can count them twice. The attributed columns then inflate. When Attributed Results are much higher than both AnyTrack views on every row, audit what else sends events. See Attribution Explained for the common causes of discrepancies.

How to Read Your Campaigns

Compare the same campaign under both models and read the difference as its role in the funnel:

If a campaign…	It means…	Judge it with
Gains under First Click	It opens journeys other campaigns finish. Typical for TOF prospecting and testing.	First Click
Gains under Last Click	It closes journeys other campaigns started. Typical for MOF and BOF remarketing.	Last Click
Barely moves	It is the only ad its buyers ever clicked.	Either model

📘

The shift direction is measured, not guessed

A conversion moves from a TOF row to a remarketing row only when the buyer clicked the TOF ad first and the remarketing ad later. The shift therefore shows the real click sequence in your journeys. The same shift appears in every event column. In the screenshots above, AddPaymentInfo on the remarketing rows rises from 45 to 88 and from 58 to 77. The column total stays 2,023 under both models.

Two rules of thumb:

• Do not pause a TOF campaign on Last Click numbers alone. Check it under First Click first. Your remarketing audiences come from the visitors that TOF campaigns bring to your site. When you pause a TOF campaign, you do more than move credit: you stop refilling the audiences that your MOF and BOF campaigns spend against.
• A campaign that moves against its label tells you something. If a TOF campaign gains under Last Click, it reaches warm audiences in practice. Review its targeting overlap with your remarketing pools.

Which Model Should You Use?

• Affiliate marketers: start with Last Click. It credits the click closest to the sale.
• eCommerce advertisers: read both. First Click shows whether TOF campaigns fill the funnel. Last Click shows whether remarketing converts it.
• Lead generation advertisers: start with First Click. Leads can close days or weeks after the campaign that introduced them.
• If you want one number: pick one model and use it every time. Check the other model before you pause a campaign.

First Click vs Last Click FAQ

FAQ was last reviewed on 2026-10-05

Why did my campaign numbers change when I switched between First Click and Last Click?

Both models distribute the same conversions, but they credit different ad clicks. When a customer clicks several ads before converting, First Click credits the earliest campaign and Last Click credits the latest one. Per-campaign numbers shift, but AnyTrack does not lose or add conversions. Campaigns whose buyers clicked only one ad show the same numbers under both models.

Why are the report totals identical under both attribution models?

Each model credits exactly one ad click per conversion, so switching models moves credit between campaigns without creating or removing conversions. The totals row reads the same under First Click and Last Click. If your overall numbers look different after switching, check the date range or filters.

Why do Attributed Results stay the same when I switch attribution models?

Attributed Results and Attributed Revenue are the ad platform's own figures, under the platform's model and window. AnyTrack fetches them from Meta Ads, Google Ads, TikTok Ads, ChatGPT Ads, and Microsoft Ads, so the AnyTrack Attribution dropdown does not affect them. That makes them a fixed benchmark for both AnyTrack views. If another system also sends the same sales to your pixel or Conversion API, the platform can count them twice and these columns inflate. See the Campaign Report guide for how the two column groups differ.

Does switching the attribution model change the data AnyTrack sends to ad platforms?

No. The Attribution dropdown is a view toggle on every plan. It changes how the Campaign Report reads. It does not affect tracking, the conversions AnyTrack sends via Conversion API, or the saved attribution settings in Property Settings.

Which campaigns gain under First Click and which gain under Last Click?

TOF campaigns (prospecting, creative testing) tend to gain under First Click because they start customer journeys. MOF and BOF campaigns (remarketing, retargeting) tend to gain under Last Click because they close journeys other campaigns started. If a TOF campaign gains under Last Click, it reaches warm audiences in practice.

Should I pause a TOF campaign that looks weak under Last Click?

Not on Last Click numbers alone. Check the same campaign under First Click before you decide. TOF campaigns introduce the buyers that your remarketing campaigns close, so they normally show weaker Last Click results. If you pause a TOF campaign that performs under First Click, your MOF and BOF campaigns can run out of buyers to convert.

Attribution Explained

How AnyTrack click-based attribution works, from UTM collection to the attribution window.

→

Campaign Report

Where to switch models and how every column of the report is measured.

→

Conversion Attribution Matrix

Side-by-side comparison of AnyTrack, Meta Ads Manager, and GA4 attribution.

→

UTM Parameters

Set up the UTM tracking templates both attribution models rely on.

→