ConvertDesigning Web Sites to Increase Traffic and

Conversion

Outline

Model your funnel!

Analyze your funnel!

Optimize your funnel

Model your funnel

Every possible path from a landing page right through to a goal completion is a funnel.!

Conversion Rate!

The percentage of visitors entering the funnel who go on to complete the goal.!

Go to next awareness step.

Bounce Rate

This is the percentage of visitors who arrive and leave the sit from the same page.!

High Bounce Rate!

Attracting wrong traffic!

Fail to engage them

Exit Rate

The percentage of page visitors who leave a site from a particular page.!

Exit rate provides a more accurate indicator of a traffic leak.!

High exit rate!

visitors simply do not know what to do next!

page has failed to convince them it is worth proceeding

Analyze your funnel

S T E P T WO : A N A LY ZI N G YO U R F U N N E L S   1 0 5

In this case, the first step (with the greatest attrition rate of 68%) would seem to offer the most potential for improvement, but all three steps merit attention.

–41%

–47%

–68%

100%

17

10

32

FIGURE 6-7  Visualizing a funnel in terms of attrition rate

Visualizing Your Funnels in Google AnalyticsThe funnel visualization view in Google Analytics makes it quite straightforward to see the click-through rate from step to step, as Figure 6-8 shows. Analytics lets you define the steps in your site’s funnel, and will give you a diagram showing how many visitors you convert or lose at each step.Once you have set up your goals and given them some time to run, you will be able to view many of the reports in Analytics within the context of your goals, as well as ana-lyze in more detail the paths people take to achieve the goal.The attrition rates in the funnel in Figure 6-8 are 89%, 63%, and 97%, respectively. Each score needs to be interpreted in the context of the page in question. From this site’s home page, common sense tells me that a click-through rate of 11% to the About page is not bad. I would be more concerned about the later steps.The horizontal colored bars at each step show the proportion of people who proceed to the next step or do not proceed. Of those that do not proceed, some may go some-where else on the site, and some may leave the site altogether. The lists shown on the right-hand side of each step indicate where those who do not proceed go instead. You should be most concerned about the exit rate.

Analyze your funnel1 0 6   C H A P T E R 6 : M A K I N G YO U R S I T E S E L L

FIGURE 6-8  The funnel visualization view in Google Analytics

The Law of MultiplesImagine the path through your web site, from home page to goal, is a 300-mile train line. If the track is strong, flat, and clear for 299 miles, then heads across a bridge that has a section missing, how many trains are going to reach their destination?It doesn’t matter how well maintained the rest of the track is, how many trains begin the journey, or the value of goods they carry. If a bit of track is missing your success rate will be zero. Fix that section of track and the improvement in success rate will be astronomical.The Law of Diminishing Returns dictates that the closer you get to optimal, the harder it gets to make further improvements.

Law of multiples

The effects of the conversion rate of individual steps are cumulative!

Any impact you have on any step along the path will apply to the whole conversion rate.!

Double the conversions at any step, and overall conversion will also double.

Optimize your funnel

Every page is an advertisement!

An ad for next step!

Reese’s Pieces!

All the alien needed to do is to move a few inches and it would get another small reward.!

Each page just needs to engage the visitors and help them find the next step along the path to what they want.