Conversion funnels optimization tips

A clear understanding of your conversion funnels can be likened to having directions (or setting Google Maps up) to the place you want. Because you and your team can communicate in the same language, a good conversion funnel will help optimize your marketing efforts. Obsolete data will eliminate the anecdote-driven analysis that plagues many businesses.

This post will show you how to create your own conversion funnel. It’ll also demonstrate how to visualize it and analyze it. Let’s get started and map your funnel.

What is a Conversion Funnel?

A conversion funnel simply describes the sequence of steps that a user must follow to convert. There may be multiple steps involved in the conversion process. You can buy something, open an account, or take any other action you wish.

Every product or website must have a unique funnel. This is how they view customer satisfaction and marketing. Users may not always follow your perfectly designed funnel and enter your funnel in unexpected ways.

Let’s try our best to create your funnel. There are many frameworks available online, but I prefer the Buyer’s Journey framework by Hubspot, which includes three stages: Awareness, Consideration, and Decision.

The stage of awareness is when a prospect (or potential customer) is researching the best solution to their problem. Consideration is when they commit to solving their problem. The decision is when they are weighing all options and are ready to buy. Prospects may move back and forth between these stages as they gain more information.

Visualizing and Analyzing your Conversion Funnel

You can visualize your funnel in analytics data to see where users are dropping off, and then choose a strategy (our next section).

This section’s goal is to produce a report similar to this one.

You can see the conversion funnel and the dropoffs. We could also segment the funnel by different dimensions, e.g. country, city, browser, device, marketing campaign, etc.

To track the correct data, you will need to collaborate with your engineering team. However, it will likely include a combination of analytics events as well as user attributes. You will find below links that provide more information about which popular tools can visualize this report. I’ll also show you how it is done within Google Analytics and Amplitude.

How to Analyze your Conversion Funnel with Google Analytics

Google Analytics is capable of many things, but funnels are one of its major weaknesses, especially the free version. There are two types of funnels in GA.

You create the goal completion manually by creating the funnel attached. Although it does the job, the data can be confusing, especially if users have the ability to enter your funnel at any stage.

The ecommerce checkout behavior is the second and most preferred option. It is intended for ecommerce shops, but it could be used for any type of sales funnel.

This will allow you to create a funnel by using advanced segments. These funnels must be created in advance and can’t be modified once they are established. This is a small price to pay for the flexibility that Amplitude offers when creating funnels.

We can now look at 3 strategies to optimize your conversion funnel once we have the data.

3 Strategies for Conversion Funnel Optimization

Now you have created your conversion funnel. You visualized it with your favorite analytics tool. Now you can optimize your conversion funnel to increase conversion rates. Although it may seem like there are endless possibilities, you can organize them into three main strategies.

1. Locate Outlier Segments

First, you need to identify customer segments that convert at higher rates than the average. It is possible that users who are referred to you via email marketing convert at a higher rate than those who are referred through social media ads. This is where it’s crucial to have the right data as it will allow you to break down your funnel into possible segments.

After you have identified a segment, it is important to ensure that there is a strong correlation between your results and the conversion rates. This can be confirmed by running additional A/B tests and gathering data. Communication such as cart abandonment email is another area that can be used.

This strategy is great because it allows you to tap into what is already working well and then double down.

2. Fix the Biggest Holes

The second strategy is to address the most serious problems or drop-offs. It is possible that half of your users abandon their carts after adding an item to them. This could be because of technical issues, or a lack of trust in your landing page or website.

I would pay particular attention to the dropoff rates at bottom of the funnel. If a user is already in the checkout process and has committed to buying something, high dropoff rates would alarm them.

A common problem I’ve seen in some companies is their refusal to disclose pricing, terms, or caveats. They hope the momentum will help the user move forward. You’re not giving the user the right information if they are shocked at the end of your funnel.

This strategy can make a big difference in your conversion rate, especially if you have not audited the site’s feel and performance to “regular” users.

3. Eliminate Steps

The final strategy is to eliminate all steps from your funnel. The general rule of thumb is that fewer steps will increase your overall conversion rate. Although this is not always true, it’s a good rule of thumb to reduce or eliminate steps.

Amazon’s “1-Click checkout” option for some products is one of my favorites. Some users, like myself, know that they want the product or service. I prefer to avoid extra steps because Amazon knows my defaults for shipping and payment.

Analyzing your conversion funnel does not have to be complicated.
There are a few strategies, but it is important to ensure that your testing is done correctly. This includes designing the right A/B tests and properly reading the data.