Overview
Funnels are an ordered collection of Events enabling you to see how users flow through your app based on the user actions you capture. For example, you could create a funnel for the following scenario:
- View a specific category
- View a specific product
- Add product to cart
- Proceed to checkout
- Purchase
The building blocks for Funnels are your Events. That is, every step in a Funnel is represented by an Event. Each step may optionally be further analyzed by selecting specific Attributes, Dimensions, or Custom Dimensions.
The get to the Funnels dashboard, select Funnels from the sidebar (under Analytics).
When you first navigate to the Funnels tab in the dashboard, you'll see a high-level view of one of your funnels. To switch to a different funnel, select the funnel's name at the top of the page, and choose a different funnel from the dropdown menu.
Like most analytics reports, you'll be able to Filter by Dimension and/or Profile, set a date range, change the view, save your report, and apply data splits. To learn more about these features, check out our article on the anatomy of an analytics report.
Before we dive into understanding an individual funnel, you'll first want to understand how Localytics builds Funnels and the rules associated with them.
Funnel Rules
Localytics employs a few rules when computing Funnels. Below is a chart of the rules that define how funnels function.
Rule | Description |
---|---|
Chronology | To complete a step, a user has to perform that step's event after performing all the previous steps. If a funnel is defined as A > B > C, then a user must perform A then B then C. |
Sequencing | Any number of events may occur in between funnel steps. Therefore, if a funnel is defined as A > B > C and a user performs A > B > D > E > F > C, then the user will be counted as successfully completing the Funnel. |
Session Boundaries | Funnels span session boundaries, so a registration funnel which takes three sessions over four days to complete is valid. |
Date Range | All steps in the funnel must occur within the date range specified. |
And for a more detailed explanation of the above, we've broken out the rules into a few bullets.
- In order to complete a particular step in a funnel, the user must perform that step's Event after performing all the previous steps in the funnel.
- If a funnel is defined as A > B > C, then a user must do A before B and B before C.
- Any number of Events may occur between the steps in a funnel.
- Therefore, if a funnel is defined as A > B > C and a user does A > B > D > E > F > C, then the user is still considered to have completed the funnel.
- Funnels span sessions. So, for example, a user may add an item to their cart in one session and then complete the purchase several days later in a separate session and they would still count towards completing the funnel.
- All steps in the funnel must occur within the date range specified in the top right corner of the dashboard.
- Localytics only tracks the first time a user completes the funnel. If a user completes the same funnel multiple times within a specific date range, that user will not be counted a second time.
Next, let's create our first funnel.
Creating a New Funnel
To create a funnel, click the green plus button at the top of the Funnels dashboard.
Give your Funnel a name. Add your Events and any necessary Attributes. And any additional steps to your funnel with the + Add Step button.
You can add up to 12 steps to a funnel, but it's best practice to keep them at around 5 steps. The more steps you have, the less likely it is that an end user will take the exact path of your funnel.
When you've finished hit the Save button to view your new funnel.
Next, let's take a look at a Funnel Report.
The Funnels Report
Clicking on a specific step within a Funnel provides more detailed information and additional insights.
The first detailed view is the Same Day Conversion Rate chart. This reports the conversion rate from the previous step to the selected step for each day.
Hover over any point on the graph to see a more detailed view of the conversion rate.
Next, the Step [A] to Step [B] Details chart divides users into two groups: blue users, who successfully completed the current step in the Funnel, and red users, who failed to complete this step and therefore abandoned the Funnel. This defaults to reporting by Monthly Cohort, but the time range is adjustable.
Finally, the Converted Users & Lost Users charts at the bottom identify what actions precede conversion and abandonment, which may help to identify the behaviors that lead to conversion or abandonment.