Google Analytics funnel visualization reports Or you may find that a miscellaneous Instagram link distracts users from taking the desired action. You may find that people are more likely to buy after reading the Brand page, so you’ll incorporate that content into the funnel. A funnel won’t give you the “why” behind the dropout, but you can get that answer from polls, surveys, and other qualitative analyses. Identifying the drop-out points lets you start work on solutions. A page or other site element is likely distracting the prospect from the end goal. If they’re visiting a miscellaneous page when they’ve already started the checkout process, you should consider it a dropout (even if they end up purchasing). After all, you can’t expect each person to visit the same pages (in the same order) during an initial research phase.īut once a prospect has decided to buy-when they near the bottom of the funnel-you can expect them to follow a more specific sequence of steps to completion. Don’t worry if they fail to follow a specific path. Prospects at the top of the marketing funnel are just learning about you. When should you use a strict or flexible funnel? Homepage > Story Page > Product Page > Category Page > Product Page > Cart > CheckoutĪt some point in their journey, users must visit the steps in bold, but they can still fulfill funnel requirements no matter which pages they visit in between. In that sense, flexible funnels are better equipped for the real-world user journey.Ī visitor may still satisfy a flexible funnel’s criteria in their journey as long as they hit defined pages on the site. Users aren’t restricted to specific pages or a specific order. Some users may find the cheapest product they can and immediately place an order others may review multiple product pages or the About page before purchasing.įlexible funnels account for these variations. Not everyone follows the same path before they become a lead or purchase a product. In a flexible funnel, the customer journey is fluid. ( Harvard Business Review has talked about the “ death of the linear funnel.”) To account for this reality, you can use a flexible funnel model. In the real world, the user path inevitably varies. However, a strict funnel is useful mainly as a model to highlight likely drop-off points in an idealized journey.

Homepage > Category Page > Cart > Checkout In a strict funnel, a user follows an exact sequence of linear steps-they cannot skip or add steps. Analytics funnels help you home in on the exact stage in the journey that’s causing the most dropouts.īefore we proceed to the types of Google Analytics funnels, we need to understand the difference between strict and flexible funnels.

Ultimately, your goal is to increase conversions. For example, a funnel analysis that shows a high exit rate on product category pages suggests that visitors aren’t finding what they want, which could be because product filtering is clunky or unhelpful.

Google Analytics funnels track this journey so that you can optimize your website and ensure visitors hit your goals.įor example, when prospects land on your homepage, you may want them to:īy analyzing how visitors browse your site, you can optimize their experience. Website users take specific paths from start to finish, and every site has a goal for its visitors. What are Google Analytics funnels, and why are they important? I’ll show you six funnel features in Google Analytics to boost your conversions by understanding where prospects falter in their journey.īut first, let’s define a Google Analytics funnel and explain why it matters. With funnels, of course! Funnel tracking in Google Analytics is one of the best ways to identify-in detail-where you’re going wrong. But how do you track user journeys in a way that is digestible, visual, and useful? Analyzing the customer journey is pivotal to conversion optimization.

Google analytics click map