Amazon Attribution for Sellers: What It Measures, Who Is Eligible, How to Build Tags, and How to Read the Metrics
Amazon Attribution is Amazon’s free tool for measuring what happens on Amazon after a shopper clicks a link you placed somewhere else — a Google ad, a TikTok post, an email, an influencer’s review. You build a tagged URL for each campaign tactic, put it in place of your plain Amazon link, and Amazon reports the detail page views, add-to-carts, purchases, sales, and new-to-brand orders that followed the click within a 14-day window. Professional sellers need a brand enrolled in Amazon Brand Registry to use it.
This guide covers the measurement tool itself: eligibility, building tags, and reading each metric. The money side — the Brand Referral Bonus credit you can earn on that same tagged traffic — has its own guide: Amazon Brand Referral Bonus. All quotes and figures below come from Amazon Ads’ official pages, checked on October 6, 2026 (data checked 2026-10-06).
What Amazon Attribution Measures (and What It Does Not)
Amazon Ads describes the product this way: “Amazon Attribution is a free, advertising and analytics measurement solution that provides insight into the on-Amazon impact of your marketing strategies across non-Amazon channels including search, social, display, video, email, affiliate/influencer campaigns, etc.” (Amazon Attribution product page, checked 2026-10-06)
Three boundaries follow from that sentence:
- Only non-Amazon traffic. Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and Amazon DSP already report inside Amazon’s own ad consoles. Attribution exists for the clicks that start outside Amazon. For the on-Amazon ad types, see Amazon advertising for sellers.
- Paid and organic both count. Amazon’s complete guide to Amazon Attribution says Attribution campaigns “can be created for any type of publisher, including paid or organic”. A newsletter link or an unpaid Instagram post can carry a tag just like a paid search ad.
- Clicks, not impressions. The model credits a conversion to a tagged click. Amazon’s guide states: “Amazon Attribution utilizes a 14-day, last-touch attribution model. This means that for a click to get credit for a conversion, the conversion needs to happen within 14 days of the click. Last touch means that the conversion credit goes to the most recent click.” (checked 2026-10-06) A YouTube video someone watched but did not click from leaves no trace.
How it works mechanically: the tag is a set of URL parameters on your Amazon link. In Amazon’s words, “The tag contains URL parameters that enable Amazon Attribution to associate future activity to the ad click.”
If you need impression-level or cross-campaign path analysis, that is Amazon Marketing Cloud territory, not Attribution.
Who Can Use It, Where, and What It Costs
Amazon’s FAQ on the product page lists the eligible groups: “Amazon Attribution is currently available for professional sellers enrolled in Amazon Brand Registry, vendors, KDP authors, and agencies with clients who sell products on Amazon.” (checked 2026-10-06)
For third-party sellers, that resolves to three conditions:
- A Professional selling plan. Individual-plan accounts are out.
- A brand in Amazon Brand Registry. The complete guide is more specific about the access level: it lists “Sellers enrolled in Amazon Brand Registry with brand representative status”. If your Brand Registry role is something narrower than brand representative, check that first. The enrollment path is in our Amazon Brand Registry guide.
- A supported marketplace. The product page FAQ lists CA, MX, US, BR, DE, ES, FR, IT, NL, SE, TR, UK, KSA, UAE, AU, IN, JP, and SG, and adds: “Advertisers that are located outside of these countries can also be eligible for Amazon Attribution if they sell products on Amazon in these countries.” (checked 2026-10-06)
Cost: “Amazon Attribution is a free measurement solution.” There is no per-click or per-tag fee. Your only spend is whatever you pay the external publisher.
Not the same as the Brand Referral Bonus. Attribution availability is broader than the bonus. Amazon’s guide frames the bonus as an opportunity “For US seller brand owners”; enrollment rules, rates, and payout timing are covered in the Brand Referral Bonus guide.
How to Set Up Amazon Attribution Tags
Amazon’s current pages direct you to sign in through Amazon Ads Agent, then navigate to Attribution. The manual flow from Amazon’s complete guide (checked 2026-10-06):
Step 1: Open the campaign manager. “Sign in to Amazon Ads Agent and expand the global navigation to find “Measurement and Reporting” and select “Amazon Attribution”. Then, go to the campaign manager and select “Create campaign”.” Choose Create manually under “Creation method”.
Step 2: Name the campaign and add products. The name is only visible to you, so name it for the goal (“Q4 bestsellers”, “new launch — blender”). Then pick products. One rule decides what you can measure: “Only products that are in stock and include photos and prices are eligible for measurement.” Include the size and color variations shown in the ad. If products are missing or products from another brand appear, Amazon points you to “Access and Settings” → “Brands” to request changes.
Step 3: Create ad groups — one tag each. “Each ad group generates a unique Amazon Attribution tag that will allow you to measure conversions for the products you previously selected.” For each ad group you set a name, the publisher (or “New” if it is not listed), the channel, and the Amazon destination: a product detail page or a Store page. Click “Create” and the confirmation screen shows one tag per ad group, downloadable as a CSV.
Step 4: Swap the tag in. “Copy and paste the specific attribution tag into the destination URL field in place of the Amazon ASIN or Store URL.” The tag replaces the plain link — every ad, post, link, and button needs its own.
Bulk tags for Google and Meta
If you run Google search or Facebook/Instagram campaigns, the guide describes a bulk option: choose “Upload a file to create in bulk”, download the template, and fill it from a Google Ads report or a Facebook Ads Manager export. Amazon says you can “measure up to 100,000 Google search keywords or 8,500 Facebook or Instagram ads by uploading a single file”, and that tag creation “will take roughly 10 minutes” with an email when done. Bulk-created campaigns are the only ones that get keyword- or creative-level reports.
Through a tool provider instead
Attribution is also exposed through the Amazon Ads API. Amazon notes that “Amazon Attribution API tags are macro-enabled for Google, Facebook, and Instagram to provide automated measurement with just one tag for all of your campaign data.” If your PPC or social tool is integrated, ask the vendor before hand-building tags.
Structure Campaigns So the Report Answers Your Question
The report can only split data the way you split tags. Amazon’s FAQ is direct about it: “The way you set up your campaigns within Amazon Attribution determines how you view results in your reporting.”
We set it up like this:
| Level | One per… | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Campaign | Product group or goal | “Spring launch — water bottles” |
| Ad group (= one tag) | Publisher × tactic or creative | “Meta — paid — video A”, “Meta — organic — reel”, “Newsletter — April” |
| Destination | Goal of that tag | Detail page for one-product pushes; Store for browsing |
Two practical rules:
- Never reuse a tag across placements. One tag for “all social” produces a single blended number that cannot be optimized.
- Match destination to intent. Amazon’s best-practice note: “If your goal is to drive sales for a specific product, consider including a link to the product’s detail page to help shoppers explore the product in detail.” For consideration across several products, link the Store.
The Metrics, Defined
Amazon’s product page groups the metrics into engagement (clicks, detail page views, detail page view rate) and conversion (add-to-cart, add-to-cart rate, purchases, purchase rate, units sold, product sales, new to brand). Definitions below are from the complete guide (checked 2026-10-06):
| Metric | What it counts (Amazon’s definition, condensed) | What to read from it |
|---|---|---|
| Clicks | Clicks on your tagged links | Whether the tag fires at all |
| Detail page views (DPV) | “The number of views of the advertised product’s detail pages.” | Did the click land on the product |
| Add to cart (ATC) | Times a promoted product is added to cart after a click | Purchase intent |
| Purchases | Times a promoted product is included in a purchase event (includes new Subscribe & Save subscriptions) | Conversions |
| Units sold / Product sales | Quantity and local-currency sales of promoted products after a click | Revenue attributable to the tag |
| New-to-brand purchases | “The number of first-time purchases for promoted products within the brand over a one-year lookback window.” | Whether the channel brings new customers |
| Brand halo (BH) | Conversions on other products of the same brand; “Brand halo metrics exclude the promoted products.” | Cross-sell pull |
Every conversion metric has two versions. Promoted counts only the products in the campaign; Total adds brand halo. In Amazon’s words, “Total conversions equal promoted conversions plus brand halo conversions.”
How to Read the Report Without Fooling Yourself
Wait before judging. Amazon’s guide: “Wait 1-2 days to review and validate your reporting.” Early on you will likely see clicks only.
Expect clicks not to match the publisher. “Keep in mind that you may see a 10-20% discrepancy when comparing Amazon Attribution metrics to publisher or ad server traffic data, which could be due to factors such as a difference in click-counting methodology.” Amazon’s troubleshooting starts at a gap greater than 20%: check date ranges match, and that one tag is not shared across creatives or trackers.
Do not compare with Stores insights. “Amazon Attribution and Stores insights use different attribution methodology, which likely accounts for any discrepancies.”
Read promoted and total side by side. A tag with weak promoted sales but strong brand-halo sales is still doing work; it is pulling shoppers to other ASINs. Amazon’s own example: if ads for Product A raise detail page views for Product B, consider an ad for Product B.
Compute cost per result yourself. Attribution reports what happened on Amazon; ad spend lives in the publisher’s console. Join the two in a spreadsheet to get cost per detail page view, cost per purchase, and ROAS by tag. Fold the result into your blended TACoS view.
Exports. Reports are viewable in the console and as downloadable Excel files you can “Generate these reports on demand or schedule them to run ahead of time.” Product-level reports come in promoted and brand-halo views, with rollups to the parent ASIN.
Common Mistakes
- Untagged links in bios and emails. Link shorteners and email click-trackers can rewrite the destination. Click each live placement and check the tag survives.
- One tag per channel. You lose the ability to compare creatives or audiences.
- Selecting out-of-stock products. They are not eligible for measurement.
- Judging on day one. Validate after 1-2 days, then review weekly as Amazon suggests.
- Treating the 14-day window as view-through. Only clicks are credited.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Amazon Attribution free?
Yes. Amazon Ads states that Amazon Attribution is a free measurement solution (checked 2026-10-06). You still pay the external publisher for any paid media.
Do I need Brand Registry to use Amazon Attribution?
For third-party sellers, yes. Amazon lists professional sellers enrolled in Amazon Brand Registry as the eligible seller group, and its guide specifies brand representative status. Vendors, KDP authors, and agencies have separate eligibility.
What is the Amazon Attribution window?
Amazon Attribution uses a 14-day, last-touch, click-based model: a conversion is credited to the most recent tagged click if it happens within 14 days of that click (Amazon Ads, checked 2026-10-06).
Is Amazon Attribution the same as the Brand Referral Bonus?
No. Attribution is the measurement tool; the Brand Referral Bonus is a separate program that pays a credit on qualifying sales that Attribution measures. See Amazon Brand Referral Bonus.
Can creator or influencer traffic be measured?
Yes, if the creator uses your Attribution tag. Amazon’s own creator program uses its own links and attribution rules instead — see Amazon Creator Connections.
Conclusion
Amazon Attribution answers one question: what did shoppers do on Amazon after clicking a link you placed somewhere else? It is free, it needs Brand Registry for sellers, and its value is set almost entirely by how finely you split tags. Build one tag per placement, wait two days, read promoted and total metrics together, and join the data with your publisher spend. If you are in the US store, enroll in the Brand Referral Bonus so the same tags also earn a credit. For a wider view of paid traffic, compare with Amazon DSP.