conversion funnel

The conversion funnel describes the path of a potential customer of a website from the first contact to – in the case of online commerce – the purchase of a product or service.

Definition

The term conversion funnel is made up of the two English terms conversion for conversion and funnel for funnel. So it results in the concept of a funnel in which a conversion takes place.In the context of search engine optimization (SEO) of a website, one speaks of a conversion when a visitor to a website becomes a subscriber, customer or the like. The conversion funnel therefore describes the individual steps that lead to a conversion.

What are the individual components of a conversion funnel?

The image of a funnel is used because the number of users decreases steadily at each station of the path. There are simply more people visiting an online shop, for example, than it has buyers. Thus, the goal is to increase the conversion rate (we also speak of conversion rate optimization (CRO) to convince more visitors of their own offer on the page.The first step of the conversion funnel is not the landing page! The conversion funnel starts with search engine optimization to get a better result in the SERPs. The higher a page appears in the search results, the more potential conversions are possible!The Thefirst step of the conversion funnel is already on the Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs) – this is where your potential visitor comes across your site. The next step is the landing page – the page that came up as a hit in the search results. This page should be focused and optimized to the customer’s need for information or purchase.

Since a conversion is not only a purchase, but every action in the sense of the website operator on the page, also for example registrations on a form count as conversions. So the next step could be a newsletter sign-up, or the path to the shopping cart, which – in the case of e-commerce – should be followed by the purchase.

Where are opportunities to improve the conversion funnel?

The conversion funnel is a central part of a website that aims to trigger an action by the user. Therefore, working on improving conversion rate should be an ongoing work process.

Through general OnPage and OffPage measures, the ranking of a page on the SERPs can be improved and the reach of the page can be enhanced. Also, you can promote your site through Google and gain more traffic in the short term. The increased traffic could generate more organic traffic later on.

The page that your visitors see first should load quickly, be clearly laid out and show the visitor what your website has to offer. Here it is important to know your target group exactly and to adjust your page to the needs of the target group.

The conversion funnel in e-commerce

Nowhere is CRO more important than in online commerce. The customer’s path from landing page to conversion should also be made as clear as possible. Especially in e-commerce, unclear pages quickly appear dubious and unnecessarily increase the bounce rate. The purchase page is a critical point here, as users think about the conversion the longest here. Therefore, this page should be particularly clear and well structured.

A reminder option is also an effective tool. The study “E-Commerce Trend Report 2004” by the Google subsidiary Double Click shows that although only 25% of visitors to an online shop actually make a purchase in the same page visit, a large proportion of the remaining 75% return within 14 days to complete their purchase.

Conclusion

The conversion funnel describes the path of the customer of a website from the first contact to the intended action by the operator. The individual steps are all crucial to the success of the website. Especially in online commerce, it is important to constantly find ways to improve and implement them.