How to use Goal Funnels to Learn User Behavior in Google Analytics

Tony Fazzini - December 23, 2015

Companies spend a lot of time creating processes for their users to complete goals on their website. But how do you measure the effectiveness of these process funnels? Do users complete the process at a desirable rate? Are there large drop-offs within the process?

To learn this, Google Analytics allows you to construct Goal Funnels within the Administrative section.

Once you’ve selected to turn the goal funnel on, you can identify the steps in the funnel based on the URLs in the process. For example, if your website has an application, the steps could look something like this:

This same process could be used for an ecommerce store where users would need to view shopping cart, enter shipping information, credit card information, and finalize their order.

After configuration, it is important to check how often the process has been completed in the past by using the “verify this goal” section:

If this has a “0”, you may want to review the steps in the funnel and ensure that the URLs are correct prior to moving forward.

An important note, funnels will not retroactively look at any of the data previously collected, so make sure you add a note in your Google Analytics Account for when the funnel was created.

After you create the funnel and save it, you are now ready to view your newly created funnel. This is in the goal section of your Google Analytics Account and you can view several different reports:

Now you’re ready to review your process funnels and get the data to make better decisions!