Understanding your website funnel

Every user who lands on your website—whether it's an e-commerce store or a B2B site—embarks on a journey through the funnel. Any flaws or leaks in this process can hinder the ultimate goal, whether it's making a purchase or submitting a form. Let's delve into the different stages of a typical e-commerce website's funnel.

Funnel 1: Home page

The home page serves as the starting point for a user's purchase journey. According to the AIDA funnel (Awareness, Interest, Decision, Action), users who land here are in the Awareness stage. Therefore, it's essential to provide them with all the necessary information to easily discover products.

How to build the home page funnel

A) Navigate to your Google Analytics (GA4) interface.

B) Click on the "Explore" tab.

C) Select "Funnel Exploration."

D) Add steps for your funnel.

E) Your funnel will appear on the visualization pane.

Metrics to look out for

• ‍Abandonment rate - The percentage of users who leave the stage without progressing further.
  • Formula to calculate: (Home page users - Collection users) / Collection users
• ‍Completion rate - The percentage of users who move to the next stage from the previous one. 
  • Formula to calculate: (Collection users / Home page users)

By analyzing the abandonment rate and completion rate, we can easily identify the weaker sections of the home page funnel. 

Coupled with heat maps and session recording tools, we can devise solutions to optimize the website effectively. 

Funnel 2: Collection page

The collection page guides users in the Interest stage, providing them with necessary information to explore different products.

How to build the collection page funnel

We can create the collection page funnel report by following the same steps in GA4

1. Click the explore tab on your GA4 interface.
2. Click Funnel exploration
3. Add steps to your funnel
4. After adding the necessary steps, your funnel appears on the visualization pane. 

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Funnel 3: Product page funnel

This funnel mainly talks about the purchase journey of the user who lands on the product page. When you look at the AIDA funnel (Awareness, Interest, Decision, and Action), the user who lands on the product page comes under the Decision and action stage. 

How to build the product page funnel

We can create the product page funnel report by following the same steps in GA4

1. Click the explore tab on your GA4 interface.
2. Click Funnel exploration
3. Add steps to your funnel
4. After adding the necessary steps, your funnel appears on the visualization pane. 

‍Conclusion

Understanding and optimizing your website's funnel is essential for driving conversions and fostering business growth. By dissecting each stage of the funnel and analyzing key metrics, you can pinpoint weak sections and implement targeted improvements.

Remember, continuous optimization based on data-driven insights is the key to maximizing your funnel's effectiveness and ultimately achieving success in the competitive online landscape.