Funnels
See where visitors drop off
A funnel counts how many people reach each step of a sequence and how many stop before the next one. The useful number is rarely the total at the end. It is the step where the largest share gives up.
Entered
12,482
Subscribed
847
Funnel conversion
6.8%
- 1Homepagepageview · /12,482100.0%
- 65.6% dropped8,191 people, 34.4% continued2Signup startedevent · signup_started4,29134.4%
- 27.7% dropped1,187 people, 72.3% continued3Account createdevent · account_created3,10424.9%
- 72.7% dropped2,257 people, 27.3% continuedsteepest step4Subscribedevent · subscribed8476.8%
Four steps, two matched on a page and two on an event you send yourself.
01
Three numbers, and only one of them is a target
Share of entry is how much of the original audience is still present. It only ever falls, which makes it useful for sizing an opportunity and useless for comparing steps. Step conversion is the share of the previous step that continued, and it describes how well one step works independently of everything above it. Drop-off is its complement, and it is what you act on: here the steepest drop is 72.7% at Subscribed, while the largest absolute loss is 8,191 people at Signup started. Those are different steps, which is the whole difficulty.
- Homepage → Signup started34.4%
- Signup started → Account created72.3%
- Account created → Subscribed27.3%
- Entry to conversion6.8%
02
The step that loses the most people is rarely the one worth fixing
Take the same funnel and improve one step by five percentage points, holding every other rate where it is. The first step loses 8,191 people and the last loses 2,257, so the top looks like the obvious target — but five points at the end is worth 155 subscribers against 123 at the top, because everyone who reaches the last step has already done the hard part. Size a fix by what it produces, not by how many people it touches.
- Leave everything as it is847
- Signup started, 34.4% → 39.4%+123
- Subscribed, 27.3% → 32.3%+155
03
An average funnel usually describes nobody
Before rebuilding a step, split the funnel. Broken down by device this one is two very different products: desktop converts at 9.5% and mobile at 3.0%. The combined 6.8% is an average of two populations behaving differently and it points at no particular action. The split points at the mobile signup form.
- Desktop · 7,240 entered9.5%
- Mobile · 5,242 entered3.0%
- Combined6.8%
How a step is matched, and who that leaves out
A step matches either a path, such as /pricing, or an event name you send yourself, such as signup_started — the second is what covers forms and in-place interactions that never change the URL. Steps are then counted in sequence: somebody who reaches step three without step two is not counted at step three, and the funnel only counts people who entered at step one at all. That is why funnel conversion is usually higher than the overall conversion rate, which divides by every visitor including the ones who never began.
Questions about funnels
These are on the guides index too, alongside every other question the site answers.
What is a conversion funnel?
An ordered sequence of steps you expect people to move through, such as landing on the site, starting signup and paying. A funnel report counts how many reached each step and how many were lost between them.
Should funnel steps be pages or events?
Use a page when arriving somewhere is the milestone, such as a pricing page. Use a custom event when the milestone is an action that does not change the URL, such as submitting a form in place. A funnel can mix both.
Which step should I work on first?
Not automatically the one that loses the most people. Compare what an equal improvement at each step would produce. A step late in the funnel handles fewer people, but the people it handles have already shown intent, so a few points there often outweighs the same few points at the top.
Why does funnel conversion differ from my overall conversion rate?
A funnel only counts people who entered at step one. An overall conversion rate usually divides by all visitors, including those who never began the sequence, which gives a lower number over a larger denominator.
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