Funnel — the journey a person takes from first becoming acquainted with a product to making a purchase or completing another target action. The name comes from the shape of the process. Thousands of people see an ad, hundreds click on it, and only a few reach the actual payment — at each subsequent step, part of the audience drops off, and the flow narrows.
In online marketing and traffic arbitrage, a funnel helps clearly identify the exact stage at which potential customers drop off and correct weaknesses in advertising or on the website in time.
Main stages of a classic funnel
In the standard model, the user journey is usually divided into four consecutive steps. Each of them serves its own purpose:
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Attention: the user's first contact with an advertisement or banner in the feed.
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Interest: clicking a link and reviewing materials on an intermediate page or in an article.
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Desire: reviewing the offer on the landing page and choosing a plan, product, or service.
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Action: completing a target action — placing an order, making a payment, registering, or making a deposit.
How a funnel is analyzed
The main analysis tool — conversion between individual steps. If many people visit a page, but few click the button to proceed, the problem is sought in the headlines, page loading speed, or the offer itself.
Continuously improving each stage of the funnel makes it possible to attract more customers with the same advertising budget.
