Many times, we think of conversions as a direct result of some advertising, marketing, social media or public relations function. A consumer sees your search listing or display ad and then performs a conversion action on your website. While that certainly can be the case, many times, it isn’t.

In fact, we often see a very circuitous route that consumers take – sometimes visiting a site several times – prior to performing a conversion action (i.e., a form submission). Customers may first do an organic search and then end up on your site, but not perform a conversion action. That same user may then visit another site and see/click on your banner ad, go back to your site, but still not convert. Then, that same user may do another search and click on your paid ad, leading back to your site, but not convert. Finally, the same user may directly type your website address, then visit your Facebook page, then go back to your website and then perform a conversion action.

 Look at line 12 below. This particular customer visited 39 times via various channels including organic, direct, social, paid search and referral, before converting.

Line 21, by comparison, shows a user visiting twice via two channels, display ad and paid search, before performing a conversion action.

The Multichannel Funnel Grouping Path

The path to a conversion, where interactions on the path are represented by multiple channels, is called a Multichannel Funnel (MCF) Grouping Path. This is where you can analyze the series of actions and channels your customers followed that led to a conversion.  

With this kind of information, you’ll be able to make better decisions related to your customer acquisition strategies. 

Want to see how your separate campaign channels support each other in the conversion process? Checkout the MCF Channel Grouping Path in Google Analytics. Google Analytics can be overwhelming, so if you have any problems, or any questions, just reach out to us. We’ll get you all hooked-up with your own MCF Channel Grouping Path.