Even if you aren’t an Analytics nerd, you should get excited about the latest Google Analytics feature!
This feature, Multi-Channel Funnels, will show you how customers interact with your marketing channels before conversion, allowing you to identify those channels that support the conversion and the one that resulted in the last-click.
Previously, a last-click attribution model has been used, which credited the conversion to the last channel the customer visited prior to conversion. However, we are increasingly using multiple touchpoints to communicate with customers, so with Multi-Channel Funnels, you can manage and measure the effectiveness of your spend across a number of channels.
If you have goals or eCommerce set up in your Google Analytics account, Multi-Channel Funnel reports will automatically display under “Conversions”. The reports will show how customers interact with your channels for up to 30 days before the conversion happens. You should be seeing data since the beginning of July in your reports.
What reports will you have access to?
- Overview: A snapshop of the number of conversions and additional insight in the number of assisted conversions (those that involved more than one channel before the last-click).
- Assisted Conversions: Shows which channels support conversions in the funnel and which are more suited to last-click. It details a list of your marketing channels along with the number of times they have appeared in the conversion path but were not the final conversion channel. You can also compare this to the number of times the channel was the final conversion interaction. This allows you to identify the channels that are more focused around education and those that are effective for conversion.
- Top Paths: Shows the different routes customers take before conversion. You can view the paths through filters such as campaign or keyword to identify the most popular paths through the funnel. Also, how channels work together and in what order to bring you conversions e.g. the conversion was the result of a Paid Search Ad but days before that, the customer visited your site via a tagged email campaign.
- Time Lag: Amount of time customers take from first interaction to conversion.
- Path Length: How many interactions visitors had with your site before converting. It gives more specific insight on whether conversions happened as a result of interactions in your marketing funnel or if the last-click was solely responsible for the conversion.
Image Credit: Google Analytics
Multi-Channel Funnel reports are a great reason to make sure you are using camapign tracking correctly, so you can see how your campaigns are affecting conversions (like email, banners and Social Media efforts). You can set campaign tracking up easily using Google’s URL builder tool.
Understanding customer purchasing behaviour is a powerful insight. With this new feature, you can identify the combination of effective channels supporting conversions and optimise your efforts accordingly.
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lauryn - thanks for the nice summary.
It’s still not ideal e.g. the solution only includes data from direct visits and not mere banner impressions (that didn't result in a click-through) and only allows for a 30 day cookie prior to the sale (hence not ideal for longer sales cycles) however this development is certainly welcome.
Now that google multi channel funnels is out of beta it will change the way, in particular, small-medium sized business track click value, it will shake up the tracking industry (e.g. the big tracking boys have got to be nervous and the affiliate marketing channel may start to move away from predominantly relying on last click attribution) and the majority of businesses should start to value the other channels that play a part in the sales funnel but are often not the last click e.g. more generic ppc clicks and social media.
Posted by paul morris on 2011/08/27