SEO 101: Building a Marketing Funnel


SEO 101: Building a Marketing Funnel
 August 24, 2017

Tracking and analyzing website traffic can be a challenge. Know what metrics to track, how to interpret data, and knowing the overall path website users take from landing on your site to completing a conversion, can be difficult to understand for even savvy marketing professionals. One of the most important tools you can use to uncover insights into your website is Conversion Funnels through Google Analytics.

Google Analytics is a powerful tool that tracks and analyzes website traffic. With different features you can use to segment, filter, and analyze user activity, Google Analytics is the foremost platform for understanding website metrics. Conversion funnels are one tool offered by Google Analytics that helps administrators understand the path visitors take to completing an action.

To give you a better idea of what conversion funnels are and how they can help you analyze your traffic, lets walk through an example. Let’s say that you are the owner of an outdoor sporting goods store that sells shoes, apparel, and other miscellaneous, items. Your website gives users the ability to browse, select, and purchase all of your products online. As the owner, you want to understand how your customers interact with your website and what paths they take to completing an order.

This is where conversion funnels come in. Through your Google Analytics dashboard, you can set up different goals that you want Google to track. These goals can be associated with different actions visitors complete that lead up to or involve conversions. Conversions are simply end goals you want users to complete, such as making a purchase, filling out a request form for a quote, or signing up for a company newsletter.

Conversion funnels give you a visual representation of this process and allow you to make essential improvements along the way. The screenshot below is what a typical conversion funnel will look like in your Google Analytics dashboard.

conversion funnel image

The funnel divides your website traffic into two distinct areas based on each goal you set. Users that enter and visit the associated pages related to the goal, and users that have left or navigated to a different page. From this you can understand where users are dropping out of the process or where heavy bounce rates occur.

For example, let’s say many users fill their shopping carts but abandon them shortly after. You many need to check your eCommerce plugin to insure everything is functioning properly or adjust the process to better suit your customers.

Setup Process

Setting up conversion funnels in Google Analytics takes a few steps. An initial setup of an account connected to your website is required.

To start the process, you need to set up Goals that are connected to the specific view related to your website. To do this go to the Admin feature of your dashboard.

Click on:

1. Goals
2. Create Goal
3. Select your desired Goal Setup template

goal setup template screenshot

(Google has several pre-made templates that cover eCommerce, acquisition, and website navigation. If you want to design your own custom goal, you can.)
4. Select the type of goal. Ex: Page Destination, Visit Duration, Event (Conversion), ect.

type of goals screenshot
5. Determine the specific Goal Details

specific goals screenshot

The last step in setting up goals through Google Analytics is to organize them into funnels. Some goals may need to be organized into multiple steps to understand the entire user’s path, others may stand alone.

If multiple goals lead up to a conversion (Ex: Visitors visit product page < Go to shopping Cart < Then see Thank You page) you will need to check the Funnel box and allow multiple goals to be included in one funnel. This will allow you to organize a top-down approach to your goals and organize your funnels accordingly.

If you would like to view a funnel related to a specific page with any path, you can create a single funnel with only one level. Ultimately, it will be based on your specific need and the structure of your website.

After you setup Goals and organize funnels, you can view them through clicking on the Funnel Visualization tab under Conversions on your dashboard. This will give you a high-level overview of the path your website visitors took to complete your established goals.

Understanding your website traffic and its associated metrics can be a challenge. With different elements to analyze, it can be difficult to understand how to interpret traffic and leverage this data to improve your business. Conversion Funnels can make this process easier and help you gain valuable insight into your target market.

We help brands leverage the power of their digital presence to build brand awareness and market value. Looking to uncover new insights about your digital traffic? Think VIG!