Web Marketing all-in-one for Dummies®

Chapter 6. Using Goal Funnels

In This Chapter

• Finding funnels

• Setting up funnel tracking

• Analyzing funnel data

Some goals have multiple steps from beginning to end: A shopping cart check-out process, a multiple-page form, and a survey are all good examples. Such multiple-step processes are funnels.

Funnels consist of many small conversions in succession. If visitors complete only the first few pages, they don't complete the ultimate goal. Remember that the goal is a conversion that ties directly to a KPI, like a completed sale, or someone requesting more information from your sales force. See Chapter 5 in this minibook for a refresher. Conversions are what drive your KPIs: They're what help you succeed.

For example, in a shopping cart, each page of the checkout process is a small goal. The visitor must first enter a billing address and click Next Step. That's one goal. Then the shopper must select Shipping and click Next Step again. That's another goal, and so on, until the shopper clicks Place Order, which is the goal you care about. When someone clicks Place Order, he pays you money. That money goes to revenue, which is a KPI.

If a visitor completes the first goal — entering billing information — and then abandons the order, you need to know about it. Something might have happened. For example, a usability issue might have become obvious, a link might be broken, or a 25-field form might have intimidated the user into leaving.

Find out where these bailout points are, and you can greatly ...