Building segment logic or calculated metric logic to answer for the first time a user hits a specific page within their session

[FPW_AA]

Looking for some guidance/feedback on a segment or calculated metric (whichever may be needed for the goal at hand). 

We have a fluid/flexible experience, in the middle of a journey (not the first time they land on the site/domain or anything like that, this is not an "entry" scenario) the user will hit a page. The depth of this hit can be variable could be the 1st hit, could be the 10th, could be the 1000th hit in the session. This page hit will be accompanied with some meta data (another dimension) which will tell us analysts about the intent of this traffic. For sake of having an example let's call this metadata "intent". On that same page if the user clicks/takes some user action this intent dimension could change. If intent changes, we fire another pageload this pageload will reflect the user is on the same page and the intent will now have a new value, signaling a new/different intent (the user could go back and forth on this intent FYI). 

Is there a way in Adobe where I can isolate what the minimum or first value of intent was set in the visit? Ideally, I could validate at the individual level with a session ID or another identifier and also apply at the aggregate level. We'd be answering something like "what was the intent set on the first hit on this page?" and "what was the last intent on this page before progressing to...?" 

Right now, without engineering/hardcoding each possibility per the various pages I don't have a solid way of doing this. Does anyone in the community have an idea or a solution I should try? I recognize each implementation has its idiosyncrasies but wondering if there's a more universal path I can follow. 

Thanks in advance!

[SamuelPaulPeter]

You can solve this entirely with sequential segments + visit-scoped dimensions in Adobe Analytics

First Intent on the Page (per session)

Create a sequential segment:

Visit container

• Hit 1: Page = X

• THEN Include only the first occurrence of dimension Intent

Then use Intent as the breakdown → Adobe will only return the first observed value for that page in that visit.

Last Intent before they leave the page

Create another sequential segment:

Visit container

• Include hits where Page = X

• THEN Include the last occurrence of Intent before the next page view

You can force this by adding:
Page = X
→ THEN
Page != X (progression)

Break down by Intent = last recorded.

For aggregate reporting

Just drop either segment into a freeform table →
Rows = Intent
Columns = Visits / Instances
→ You now see “first intent distribution” and “last intent distribution”.

Sequential segments let Adobe Analytics naturally pick the earliest or the latest value in a series of hits. You don’t need calculated metrics, hardcoded logic, or engineering.

[FPW_AA]

Thank for your suggestion! 

Question for you, might be user error, but I don't see a way to do this "THEN Include only the first occurrence of dimension Intent" in the segment builder. Can you elaborate or clarify? I've tried all the gear icons, and I don't see this language. Just to be clear when you're talking about sequential segment, you're referring to the idea of using containers and THEN clauses not necessarily the "Only Before/Afte Sequence" capability.

Or maybe I just build the segment and then there's a setting within a freeform table I need to turn on to see the occurrence breakdown?

[hegi90]

Hi

It depends if you are using Adobe Analytics or CJA. 

Adobe Analytics

This should be achievable via Entry Dimension. Just create a prop for your "intent dimension", with that creation comes an entry and exit dimension which represents the first or last value within a session.

CJA

Just add your "intent" dimension to your components and set persistance to "First known" and "Sessions". This should show you the first value for this dimension.

Best

Patrick

[FPW_AA]

Thanks!

Is it fair to think of the entry/exit dimensions of intent, working like a first touch/last touch? I had thought of them more like when the entry/exit on the site occurs it looks to populate that dimensions value based on the first or last hit to the site not necessarily the first or last time the value was set. Thoughts?

[hegi90]

Entry / Exit dimensions work as first known / last known allocation, and assign this value to the whole session, it's not particular the first/ last hit in the session, it's the first / last value seen for this dimension. While First Touch / Last Touch is an attribution model that determines how credit for a conversion metric is distributed across multiple touchpoints.