Funnels

Funnels are the perfect tools to use when it comes to understanding the complex paths that users take to reach their goals. To put it simply, imagine a funnel as a road map that directs visitors or users from their first interaction to the exciting moment of successful conversion.

In the world of funnels, each step represents the journey users take, moving through different stages until they reach their desired destination, which we often call a conversion point.

What can you learn from funnels?

• Identifying drop-offs: For every user flow or process within your product, there will be a certain drop-off rate. Funnels help you identify precisely where users are dropping off in the journey. This insight is invaluable because it highlights potential problem areas that need attention.

• Pinpointing friction points: Funnels allow you to pinpoint specific friction points in the user journey. These are the stages where users may encounter difficulties or obstacles. By identifying these friction points, you can focus your efforts on improving those parts of your product to enhance the user experience.

• Improving user success: Once you've isolated bottlenecks and understood what's causing them, you can take targeted actions to improve user success rates. Whether it's optimizing the design, streamlining a process, or providing better guidance, the data from funnels guides your decision-making.

• Analyzing user journey: Usermaven's funnels provide a detailed analysis of a user’s journey on a website. You can see which pages or steps users are more likely to visit and in what order. This information helps you tailor your product's user experience to align with how users naturally interact with it.

• Monitoring conversions: Funnels are essential for tracking conversions, such as sign-ups, purchases, or any other desired user actions. By analyzing conversion rates at each stage of the funnel, you can optimize the user journey to maximize conversions.

• Personalized insights: Usermaven goes beyond aggregate data by allowing you to explore user paths at both a macro and micro level. You can analyze overall site usage trends or dive deep into the paths that individual users take before taking specific actions.

Use cases

Improving and expanding the use cases for a B2B messaging application using Funnels for task management:

Sign-up analysis:

• What percentage of users completed the sign-up process within 7 days, 14 days, and 30 days?
• Which specific step in the sign-up process has the highest drop-off rate?
• How does the conversion rate of our sign-up funnel differ among different industries or sectors?

Onboarding journey:

• What specific action or tutorial within the onboarding process causes users to get stuck or abandon the funnel?
• What's the average time taken by users from different industries to complete the onboarding funnel?

Geographical insights:

• Which countries or regions have the highest and lowest conversion rates throughout the sign-up and onboarding funnels?
• Are there specific regions that require a localized or different onboarding process due to cultural or business differences?

A/B testing & optimization:

• How did specific changes, such as altering the UX/UI or introducing new features, affect the sign-up and onboarding conversion rates?
• Are there significant differences in behavior between users who were exposed to version A versus version B of the app?

User paths & behavior:

• What common paths do users take from the moment they open the app to making their first interaction or sending their first message?
• Are there specific features or shortcuts that successful users frequently use that others don’t? How can we promote these paths?
• For users that don’t make an interaction or send a message, what alternative actions are they performing? Can we re-engage them or streamline their journey?

Purchase & monetization insights:

• How does the user journey differ between those who opt for a premium subscription versus those who stick with the basic version?
• What are the key reasons or features that compel a user to upgrade their subscription?
• For those who didn't upgrade, what hurdles or objections prevented them? Is it pricing, lack of clarity on premium features, or something else?

Feedback & continual improvement:

• Can we identify any correlations between user feedback or complaints and specific steps in our funnels?
• Based on funnel drop-offs, what additional support or resources can we provide to assist users in their journey?

Engagement & retention:

• After completing the onboarding, how frequently do users engage with the app within the first 30 days?
• Are there specific actions or triggers that re-engage dormant users or increase their activity?

Setting up a funnel

1. On your Usermaven Web Analytics dashboard, click on "Funnels" in the left menu.

2. Next, click on the "Create a Funnel" tab located on the top right corner of the screen.

3. You'll then be presented with a series of steps to successfully create a conversion funnel. To begin, provide a name for your funnel.

4. Then, select your target audience for the funnel. You can choose from three different levels:

   • Visitor-level funnels: These funnels are ideal for enhancing your website's performance and user experience. They track the journey of website visitors, from their initial interaction to the point of conversion.

   • User-level funnels: These funnels offer valuable insights for improving and optimizing your product. They focus on individual user behaviors, providing a detailed view of each user's progression through the funnel stages.

   • Company-level funnels: This level of analysis is beneficial for identifying broader trends and patterns in user behavior. It helps in making data-driven decisions to optimize the product for the majority of users. Choose the audience level that aligns with your specific optimization goals.

5. Next, choose the event that represents your goal. To create the funnel steps, select the specific events you want to track. These events can include page URLs, custom events, or pinned events.

6. While configuring your conversion goal, you'll come across an optional field labeled "Alias." This allows you to assign a recognizable name to a specific step in the funnel. This alias makes it easier for viewers to understand and follow the conversion process.

In the sample video below, the first step has been named 'website' to represent the action of visiting the website, the second step has been named 'brand' to represent the action of creating a brand, and so on.

8. Next select the order in which you wish the above specified steps to be performed. You can set it in sequential order or strict order. The choice between sequential order and strict order in setting up the order of steps in your conversion funnel is important and influences how the funnel tracks user behaviour:

• Sequential order: In Sequential Order, the events or stages in your funnel need to unfold precisely in the sequence you've defined.

To illustrate, suppose your funnel encompasses steps like ' Visited the Website' followed by 'Created a Brand,' with sequential order chosen. In this case, a user must first visit the website and then proceed to create a brand for the funnel to record a successful conversion. This mode of measurement focuses on individuals who have traversed the steps in your funnel as per the established order, even if they've triggered various other events in between.

For instance, when assessing the impact of an advertisement on conversions, whether someone encountered the ad before or after engaging with your product could yield distinct conversion rates. The analysis takes into account the initial occurrences of events specified in the steps, all within the defined conversion window.

• Strict order: In case of 'Strict Order', the events or steps should unfold in the specified sequence, but there's room for other events or actions to occur in between that aren't necessarily part of the funnel.

Let's take an example: if your funnel consists of steps like "Visited the Website" followed by other steps for onboarding and you've chosen the strict order option, a user could visit the website, engage in unrelated activities, and then eventually complete the onboarding process. The funnel would still recognize this as a successful conversion because it adheres to the predefined step sequence, even though there might be variations in user behavior between those steps.

In essence, strict order mode focuses on users who have followed the steps in your funnel in the exact order specified and haven't triggered any other events in between. For instance, if you want to exclude users who searched for a different product after initially finding one in a checkout funnel, strict order would help you achieve that level of precision in your measurement.

So, selecting between sequential order and strict order depends on how precisely you want to track user journeys through the funnel. Sequential order ensures a stricter, linear path, while strict order allows for more flexibility in user interactions.

9. Next, choose a window size for your funnel. The window size is the number of days, hours, or minutes that a user has to complete the funnel steps.

10. Finally, click on the "Create" button, and your funnel will be generated and added to the list of funnels within your Usermaven account.

Analyzing a funnel

Funnels are most commonly used to understand where people are encountering issues or dropping off in your flow. When examining a funnel, it's important to identify areas where users are leaving the flow. There are two main ways to analyze this:

• Absolute Drop-off: This helps you understand where you're losing the most users in absolute numbers. It indicates the specific steps in your funnel where a significant number of users are dropping off.
• Relative Drop-off: This provides insights into the areas that have the greatest negative impact on your overall conversion rate. It considers the drop-off at each step in relation to the previous step. This can help you pinpoint the stages where user engagement is declining most significantly.

By analyzing both absolute and relative drop-off, you can gain a comprehensive understanding of how users navigate through your funnel and where improvements can be made to optimize conversion rates.

Deep dive

For a detailed view of a funnel, click on the 'Deep Dive' button right beside the funnel of your choice. This action should open a detailed view of the selected funnel, providing you with more in-depth statistics and insights about user behavior within that specific funnel.

Overview

This dashboard will give you a basic overview of your funnel. At the top of the page you'll see the total number of users that visited the funnel and the conversion rate. You will then also see the step with the most drop-offs.

At the very bottom of the page, you will see in a detailed analysis, the overall conversion rate for the funnel. In the detailed analysis of your funnel in Usermaven, you can find the following key metrics:

• Entered (Step 1): This is the number of users who initially entered the funnel.
• Completed (Step 2 and so on): The number of users who completed the second step of the funnel.
• Drop-off rate: This represents the percentage of users who did not complete the second step of the funnel. It's calculated by dividing the number of users who dropped off by the total number of users who entered the funnel.
• Overall conversion rate: This is the percentage of users who successfully completed the entire funnel. It's calculated by dividing the number of users who completed all steps by the total number of users who entered the funnel.
• Average time: The average amount of time it took for users to complete the entire funnel.

These metrics provide valuable insights into how users are progressing through your funnel, where they might be dropping off, and the overall conversion rate for that specific funnel. This information is crucial for optimizing your user journey and improving conversion rates.

In the middle of the page, you'll find a visual representation of your funnel's data presented in bar graphs. Each bar represents a specific step in the funnel. When you click on any of these bars, you'll access a detailed view that provides essential metrics related to that particular step. These metrics typically include:

• Drop-off Rate from Previous Step: This metric indicates the percentage of users who didn't proceed to the current step from the previous one. It helps you understand where users are dropping off in the funnel.
• Drop-off Ratio from Previous Step: The drop-off ratio provides a more in-depth view of how many users are leaving the funnel at each step. It's calculated by dividing the number of users who dropped off by the number who entered the previous step.
• Average Time in the Step: This metric reveals the average amount of time users spend in the current step. It can be valuable for assessing user engagement and identifying potential bottlenecks.

By examining these metrics for each step, you gain insights into the performance of your funnel and can pinpoint areas that might require optimization to enhance the user journey and boost conversions.

AI insighs

AI Funnel Insights provide comprehensive, actionable data to enhance conversion rates and overall funnel efficiency. Instead of just presenting raw data, it contextualizes your funnel metrics with industry benchmarks and offers a multidimensional view of your funnel’s performance.

Key insights

• Overall funnel performance

Our AI delivers a comprehensive overview of your funnel's performance. It evaluates conversion rates at each stage and compares your performance against industry benchmarks, giving you a clear picture of where you stand.

In the example below,the overall conversion rate is 3.36%, with 982 funnel entries and 33 conversions. This falls within the typical 3-5% range for SaaS, but there's room for improvement. Direct traffic (925 visitors) converts slightly better at 3.57%, suggesting potential for optimizing this high-volume channel.

• Channel performance analysis

Discover which marketing channels are driving the best results and which ones need improvement. AI Funnel Insights categorizes your channels into top performers and underperformers, providing data-backed insights to optimize your marketing efforts.

In the example shown below, the direct channel is the top performer with a 3.57% conversion rate (925 entries, 33 conversions). Other channels (organic social, referral, organic search, email, and other campaigns) show 0% conversion rates, but have small sample sizes (<100 entries each), requiring more data for conclusive analysis.

• Source performance evaluation

Not all traffic sources are equal. Our AI evaluates conversion rates from different sources, identifying which websites or platforms deliver the highest-quality visitors. This helps you focus on sources that contribute the most to your success.

For instance, it may reveal that a particular source has an exceptionally high conversion rate, significantly outperforming the overall average. This helps you focus on sources that contribute the most to your success.

• Geographic performance insights

For businesses operating or contemplating expansion across multiple countries, understanding geographic performance is vital. AI Funnel Insights breaks down funnel performance by country and region, highlighting areas of strength and opportunities for growth.

For example, in the image below it shows that US leads with 14 conversions and a 6.76% conversion rate from 207 entries. The UK performs well at 13.79% conversion rate (29 entries). India, despite having the second-highest entries (153), shows a low 0.65% conversion rate with only 1 conversion, indicating a significant improvement opportunity.

• Device performance comparison

Compare funnel performance across various devices to spot discrepancies. If mobile conversions are lagging behind desktop, for example, you’ll be able to address the issue with targeted optimizations.

• Surprising findings

It also acts as a vigilant detective, constantly monitoring your data for unexpected trends or outliers. When it detects surprising elements - like an unexpected spike in conversions from a new source or unusual user behavior patterns — it promptly brings these to your attention, unearthing potential opportunities for growth and optimizations.

• Opportunities identification

Beyond addressing issues, our AI actively identifies opportunities for improvement in your funnel. It analyzes data from multiple perspectives to uncover opportunities where minor adjustments could lead to significant performance enhancements.

• Actionable recommendations

Insights are only valuable if they lead to action. AI Funnel Insights provides clear, actionable recommendations based on your data. Whether you need to streamline processes, localize content, or optimize for mobile, the AI guides you with specific steps to take.

• Continuous evolution of insights

The digital landscape is continually evolving, and your funnel insights should keep pace. Our AI Funnel Insights is not a one-time analysis tool; it continuously updates its insights as new data flows in. This ensures you always have the latest information to make data-driven decisions and continuously optimize your funnel.

Funnel breakdown

Once you encounter a funnel drop-off that you'd like to investigate more deeply, Usermaven provides a feature that allows you to analyze the traffic sources contributing to this drop-off. You can break down the user base of your funnel based on location, technologies, and the first touchpoint. Here's how to access this breakdown view:

1. On the 'Deep Dive' dashboard of the funnel you're investigating, right beside the "AI insights" tab, you'll find the "Breakdown" tab.

By selecting "Breakdown," you'll gain access to a more granular view of your funnel's data, allowing you to identify the geographical regions, technologies, or initial interactions that may be influencing the drop-off. This breakdown view provides valuable insights for optimizing your funnel and improving conversion rates.

By first touch-point

Under the "First Touch" breakdown, you’ll see ‘Source’, ‘Channel’ and ‘Referrer’.This section helps you discern whether your traffic predominantly comes from Direct visits, Search engines, Social platforms, Referral sites, or Email campaigns.

For instance, in the provided image below, you can observe that users are arriving at the website via various sources, including direct visits, Google, Facebook, and other platforms. This breakdown helps you pinpoint the origins of traffic for a specific step, allowing you to identify the most significant sources contributing to your funnel's performance.

By location

You have the capability to filter traffic for a specific step based on country or city. This functionality provides a comprehensive analysis of which regions around the world are generating the most traffic. It helps you pinpoint regions where your ad campaigns or overall visibility may require improvement, allowing you to tailor your strategies for specific geographic areas.

By technology (browser, OS, device)

You can also access a breakdown of traffic for each step in the funnel based on device, browser, and operating system. This breakdown helps you understand the diversity of devices and platforms used by your audience, enabling you to optimize your content and user experience accordingly.

Funnel comparison

Usermaven also offers users the capability to compare funnels. Comparing funnels over different time periods is a valuable way to identify trends and assess the impact of changes you've made to your website or product on user behavior and conversion rates.You can compare a funnel's performance for the current day against that of the previous day, week, month, quarter, or year. Alternatively, you can set a custom date range for comparison.

Use cases

Let's delve into how different scenarios impact user behaviors by comparing various funnels:

• Different Ad Campaigns: Did the users from our Facebook ads go through the buying steps differently than the ones from our Google ads?
• Before and After Feature Launch: Before we added the new chat feature, how were users buying compared to after we added it?
• Website and Signup Flow Revamp: Before we updated our website and made changes to our signup process, how did users sign up compared to after the redesign and changes? Did more people finish signing up? Where did they mostly stop or hesitate in the new flow compared to the old one?
• Different Plans: Do users trying our basic plan have a different experience than users trying our premium plan?
• Discount vs. No Discount: How do the steps change for users who got a discount code compared to those who didn't?
• Before and After Redesign: Did changing the look of our app make users buy differently?

Steps to compare funnels

Comparing a Funnel is super easy. To do so, follow the given steps:

1. Click on the 'Deep Dive' icon of the funnel under study and then select 'Compare'.

2. . To compare a funnel choose a comparison option from the dropdown menu under "Compare."

In the video below, you will see a comparison between January 17th (the present day) and January 16th (the previous day). This allows you to track daily changes and measure the effectiveness of your optimizations or marketing efforts.

Consequently the number of users who visited the website on January 17th was only 9, while on January 16th, 37 people visited the website, indicating a drop in site visitation. Similarly, the drop-off rate in the first two steps is 78.38% on January 16th while it is 88.89% on Januaryy 17th.

This comparison helps you identify how changes in traffic and user behavior affect your conversion rates from one day to another. It also shows the average time spent by a user to complete the process of sign-up.

Conversion time distribution

The Detailed Funnel Analysis Dashboard features a dedicated page providing valuable insights into user behavior, particularly focusing on time-related metrics. Here's a detailed breakdown of what you can find on this page:

• Average time metrics: This offers information on the average time users took to complete each step within the funnel, as well as the average time for the entire funnel.

• Selecting time view: At the top of the page, you have the option to choose between viewing the average time for specific steps or for the entire funnel. This selection can be made by choosing the desired steps.

• Bar graph representation: The page includes a dynamic bar graph that corresponds to your selected view. It provides insights into the number of users completing each specified step and the average time taken. The histogram is segmented into 5 bins, presenting a clear distribution of users completing the funnel within those time range bins.

• Insights at a glance: Towards the end of the page, you'll find detailed insights that provide a comprehensive explanation of the presented metrics. This ensures a thorough understanding of user behavior and time dynamics.

This page on the Detailed Funnel Analysis Dashboard is designed to empower you with actionable insights, aiding in the analysis and optimization of user engagement based on time-related factors.

Sharing a funnel

Usermaven offers a convenient feature for sharing your funnels with others when the need arises.

1. Click on the "Deep Dive" button of the funnel you wish to share.

2. Next, locate the 'Share' button at the top right corner of the dashboard.

   By clicking on this option, you can generate an easily copyable link. You can then grant access to individuals by sharing this link, allowing them to view the insights you've gathered.

Modifying a funnel

Once your funnel is set up, you can easily adjust the step ordering or apply filters if needed. To rearrange the steps, simply click on the three dots located right beside the deep dive button. From the options, click on the Edit button. Next, drag the steps to your desired position, or change the funnel order, etc., and then click on "Update" to save the changes.

Duplicating funnel

Creating another funnel that's similar to one you've already made in Usermaven is a breeze. Here's a quick guide:

1. Find the funnel you want to duplicate within your Usermaven account.

2. Next, click on the three dots located right beside the deep dive button. From the options, click on the Edit button This icon is often represented as two overlapping squares. Click on the "Duplicate" icon. This action will bring up a new screen where you can make some adjustments.

3. In the screen that appears, be sure to modify the name of the funnel to distinguish it from the original one. You can give it a unique name that reflects its purpose or any changes you're making.

4. After updating the name, click on the "Create" button to confirm the changes.

5. You will then see the new funnel added to your list of funnels. It's now ready for you to work with and analyze separately from the original.

Deleting a funnel

If you wish to delete a specific funnel, follow the steps given below.

1. Find the funnel you want to delete.

2. Next, click on the three dots located right beside the deep dive button. From the options, click on the "Delete" button This icon is often represented as a bin. Click on the "Delete" icon.

3. This action will bring up a new screen where you'll be asked for confirmation. To proceed, click on the delete button and you're all set.

AI Funnel Suggestions

AI funnel suggestions is an innovative feature that leverages artificial intelligence (AI) to help you understand and optimize your user conversion paths. This powerful tool analyzes your website's data to suggest the most effective funnels based on common user behaviors, enabling you to make data-driven decisions to improve your conversion rates.

Using AI funnel suggestions

1. Click on the 'AI Funnel suggestions' button to open the feature.

2. Select your conversion path. You'll be prompted to select a pageview or custom event as your conversion goal. We'll suggest funnels based on the most common paths leading to this action, helping you understand how users reach your desired outcome.

3. Add a page URL or an event. You can use the dropdown menu to choose between the two.

   • If you select 'Page URL,' enter the URL of your specific page in the input field. For example, you might enter "https://app.contentstudio.io/signup (opens in a new tab)" for a signup page.
   • In case of an 'Event,' you'll see all your custom events in the drop-down menu. Just select your desired custom event.

4. Once you've entered your goal, click the 'Suggest Funnels' button. Usermaven's AI will analyze your data and generate funnel suggestions based on the most common user paths leading to your specified conversion goal.

5. The AI will present multiple funnel suggestions, each with a name, description, and key metrics. For each suggested funnel, you'll see:

   • Total conversions: The number of users who completed the funnel
   • Conversion rate: The percentage of users who entered the funnel and completed it
   • Funnel steps: The sequence of pages or events in the user journey

6. When you're done reviewing a funnel and want it created, click the 'Create' button next to it. When the process is complete, you'll see a confirmation message.

7. If you wish to modify a suggested funnel, click the 'Edit steps' button next to it. This allows you to customize the funnel to better suit your specific needs.

After creating funnels based on AI suggestions, you can analyze them in the funnels dashboard.

Benefits of AI funnel suggestions

• Discover hidden user paths: Uncover conversion routes you might have overlooked.
• Optimize based on data: Let AI analyze vast amounts of user data to suggest the most effective funnels.
• Save time: Quickly create multiple relevant funnels without manual setup.
• Improve conversion rates: Focus on the user journeys that are most likely to lead to conversions.
• Continuous improvement: Use AI suggestions to refine and update your funnels based on changing user behavior.

By leveraging AI funnel suggestions, you can gain deeper insights into your users' behavior, optimize your conversion paths, and ultimately improve your website's performance and user experience.