SQL Top N Rows
ORDER BY + LIMIT, named as the pattern it is — this exact combination answers almost every 'top N' question.
What & Why
"Top 3 highest-spend campaigns," "5 most recent campaign starts," "10 best-selling products" — every one of these is the identical pattern: sort by the relevant column in the right direction, then LIMIT to N.
See How It Works
| id | name | channel | spend | start_date | end_date | status | target_segment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spring Launch | google_ads | 55000.00 | 2024-01-15 | 2024-03-31 | active | smb |
| 2 | Retention Webinar | 45000.00 | 2024-02-10 | 2024-04-15 | active | enterprise | |
| 3 | Finance Retargeting | 50000.00 | 2024-03-12 | 2024-05-31 | active | enterprise | |
| 4 | Enterprise Search | google_ads | 60000.00 | 2024-04-01 | 2024-06-30 | active | enterprise |
EXAMPLE QUERY
SELECT name, spend FROM marketing.campaigns
ORDER BY spend DESC
LIMIT 3;RESULT — top 3 campaigns
| name | spend |
|---|---|
| Enterprise Search | 60000.00 |
| Spring Launch | 55000.00 |
| Finance Retargeting | 50000.00 |
The result uses the same Queryflo columns shown in the worked example.
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