Google Analytics offers you valuable tools for conversion analysis. You can use it to find out which traffic sources your visitors come from, which channels have a positive effect on conversions and how much time it takes to convert. The well-known last-click-wins logic is not the only decisive factor here. The Google tools also allow conclusions to be drawn about the contribution of different channels and channel combinations to a conversion.
The analysis of conversions in Google Analytics is based on several parameters. The identification of the visitor over a large number of sessions is considered in connection with the traffic source or the channel of the respective session. In the process, conversions are recorded. The challenge here is the accurate recording of the channels. Certain inaccuracies can arise due to incorrect use of the (utm) parameters or for technical reasons. The multi-channel funnel in Google Analytics plays an important role in analyzing conversions.
The multi-channel funnel offers an easy-to-understand view under the Conversions - Multi-channel funnel - Overview menu. This tool provides you with an overview of all conversions or also specifically of separate conversion groupings. The conversion groups are based on a target or from e-commerce tracking, for example. In this overview, you can also select a tracking period. This defines the number of days in which conversions were achieved.
In this overview, you will also find a multi-channel conversion visualization that visualizes the insights. The result is a chart that shows which channels and channel combinations are particularly popular or promising in terms of conversions. Up to four channels can be selected to view the channel combinations.
The popularity of the channel combinations can be visualized graphically based on the size of the intersections displayed. Depending on the defined goals, the visualization gives you an overview of which channels you should prioritize in terms of goal achievement.
While the multi-channel funnel provides information on the frequently occurring combinations of channels, the Prepared conversions section provides information on the channels that often contribute to conversions. Some channels do not lead directly to a conversion according to the logic of last-click wins. Nevertheless, they make a significant contribution within the customer journey.
These insights are important because, according to the usual last-click-wins logic, fewer conversions are reported for certain channels than actually occur. As a marketing manager, you would therefore assume that certain marketing measures only result in a few conversions (for example, the number of visits to a web store via links in a blog).
On the other hand, if you look at the prepared conversions, you can see that the same measures may contribute particularly frequently to conversion preparation.
With this approach, the contribution to sales can be significantly higher than it would be according to conventional last-click logic.
Google Analytics also offers the option of observing the order in which the combinations of channels occur on the path to conversion. This can be found in the Conversions - Multi-Channel Funnel - Top Conversion Paths view. In general, you will find paths with a length of 1 in the first positions.
Depending on the analysis goal, you can also select paths here that correspond to a specific length or a minimum length. The view provides information on which channel combinations are particularly relevant.
If, for example, the overview shows that the channel combination of organic search and paid search leads to more conversions, this combination can be selected more frequently in future in order to achieve corresponding conversions. In this way, users learn to look at more than just individual channels.
Google Analytics also shows which channel combinations have already proven successful and should therefore continue to be targeted.
The model comparison tool in Google Analytics is an instrument for conversion attribution. While the options shown so far relate to the evaluation of channel content, this tool is assigned to the area of controlling. The tool can be found under the path Conversions - Multi-channel funnel - Model comparison tool.
You can use this tool to compare your conversions and sales according to different standard models. They provide information on which channels contribute to which sales
The comparison options range from the comparison of simple logics such as first-click wins and last-click wins to weighted evaluation via the time course or position-based. You also have the option of adding user-defined models.
After selecting the models, Google Analytics can weight the sales accordingly. The tool shows which sales are attributable to which of your channels. The tool also offers the option of selecting several secondary categories. These include, for example, the end devices used for access, the origin of the user and the destination page URL.
Marketing channels and their budgets can be controlled and adjusted on the basis of these categories.
In addition to the simple indicators and trends, the Analytics tool also offers deeper insights into the complex relationships between channels, sales and conversions. Google Analytics can solve some of these issues through user-specific models, while others require additional tracking concepts.
This can also be used to find answers to specific questions regarding marketing measures. This includes, for example, the question of how the marketing measures work in the mobile or desktop version. The question of the effectiveness of certain channels or campaigns is also the subject of the analysis.