This is it! The final post in this series of blog posts where I’ve been discussing some of the reports within the 5 main reporting categories in Google Analytics. Having split up my overview of the Conversion Reports into 3 seperate blog posts, speaking first about Goal Reports, then eCommerce Reports, today, I’m focusing on Multi Channel Funnel Reports.
Blog Posts in this series:
- Real Time Reports
- Audience Reports
- Acquisition Reports
- Behavior Reports
- Conversion Reports
- Goal Reports
- eCommerce Reports
- Multi-Channel Reports
About Multi Channel Reports
In Google Analytics, by default, “Conversions” in the reports we’ve looked at so far, are attributed to the last channel/source that referred the user when they converted based on “last click attribution”.
This method of attribution does not tell you the role that previous visits via other channels played in the conversion, or how much time passed between the users first visit to your site and the visit in which he/she converted.
Multi Channel Funnel reports help you to get a better idea of this type of information by showing you how your different marketing channels work together to drive conversions.
It’s important to note that, by default, Multi-Channel Funnels won’t accurately report the behavior across multiple browsers and devices due to the way in which Google Analytics defines an “individual user”.
There are 6 reports within the Multi Channel Funnel Reports section in total.
Overview
The Multi Channel Overview report provides you with a quick visual overview of your conversions and the attribution of each of your traffic driving channels.
The default “lookback window” is 30-days but this can be updated up to a mximum of 90 days to get a picture of your channels work together over a longer time period. Depending on the nature of your business, a longer lookback window may be more appropriate – e.g. a B2B business with a naturally longer path to purchase than, for example, an online grocery retailer.
The Multi Channel Conversion Visualizer at the bottom right hand side of the page allows you to view the overlap of different channels in driving conversions.
Assisted Conversions
This report provides in-depth information on the role of each of your channels and their performance.
To use a football analogy, a striker is unlikely to score without input from the rest of his / her team. However at the end of the year the Top Scorers chart attributes to him / her all the goals he / she has applied the finishing touch to. This, essentially, is “Last Click” or “Direct” conversion attributions.
So if at the end of the season a striker has 25 goals and a winger has 0 goals – that means that the striker is the only player you need, right?… No – obviously that’s not true, because we need to take into account assists – i.e. the contribution of other players to the goals before the final touch.
The same is true of your marketing channels – just because one channel is most commonly the last in a path to conversion, does not mean that it is the only contributing channel. So how do we determine the true contribution of all channels outside of their last click attribution value? Well…with this report! Here’s what the metrics mean:
- Assisted Conversion: the number of conversions for which this channel appeared on the conversion path, but was not the final conversion interaction.
- Assisted Conversion Value: the value of the conversions assisted by this channel.
- Last Click or Direct Conversions: the number of conversions for which this channel was the final conversion interaction.
- Last Click or Direct Conversion Value: the value of the conversions for which this channel was the final conversion interaction.
- Assisted / Last Click or Direct Conversions: a value close to 0 indicates that this channel functioned primarily as the final conversion interaction. A value close to 1 indicates that this channel functioned equally in an assist role and as the final conversion interaction. The more this value exceeds 1, the more this channel functioned in an assist role.
Top Conversion Paths
The Top Conversion Paths report shows the path combinations (in chronological order) that drove the sessions leading up to the conversion (including last touchpoint).
You can evaluate the conversion paths that drove the most conversions for insights in the role of particular channels within the path to conversion.
Time Lag
The Time Lag report tracks the number of days from when a user first interacts with your site to their final conversion.
This report can be useful for assisting with your re-marketing and email marketing tactics – e.g. If you know most customers convert within 5 days of clicking on one of your ads, you can test a 5/6 day remarketing list in your Google Ads campaign, or send a reminder email 5 days after their first visit.
Path Length
The Path Length report shows you how many times a customer needed to interact with your website before converting. Most people will visit your site multiple times before converting, particularly for big ticket e-commerce items or for B2B services. This report gives you an idea of how many visits are required.
Model Comparison Tool
Google Analytics by default attributes the conversion value to the last click in the user journey – this report allows look at all your channels and compare three different attribution models. This way, you can determine how a marketing channel can be valued from different perspectives. There are 7 default attribution models that you can compare:
- Last Interaction attribution model: The final touchpoint receives 100% of the credit for the conversion.
- Last Non-Direct Click attribution model: All direct traffic is ignored, and 100% of the credit for the conversion is attributed to the last channel that the customer clicked through from before converting.
- Last Google Ads Click attribution model: the click via a Google Ads advert receives 100% of the credit for the conversion.
- First Interaction attribution model: the first touchpoint receives 100% of the credit for the conversion.
- Linear attribution model: Each touchpoint in the conversion path share equal credit for the conversion.
- Time Decay attribution model: The touchpoints closest in time to the conversion get most of the credit.
- Position Based attribution model: 40% credit is assigned to each the first and last interaction, and the remaining 20% credit is distributed evenly to the middle interactions.
Download The Infographic:
So that’s it for this blog series on Google Analytics Standard Reports. If you want to get more out of your Google Analytics implementation or if you have any questions on Google Analytics in general, feel free to get in touch via the form below!
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Darren is SEO Growth Lead at Velocity Growth. He is experienced in developing bespoke SEO roadmaps and implementing long term SEO strategies to build organic visibility, traffic and conversions for clients across a diverse range of industries.
