Google Analytics Introductions To Goals

Goal: a page which a visitor reaches once they have completed an action
You define goals based on the purpose of your website and the actions
you want your visitors to take. Goals are often called conversions.

Examples of common goals include:
• A donation receipt page
• A newsletter confirmation
• Any other page to which you are trying drive your visitors

Technically speaking, a goal is a webpage which a visitor reaches once they
have completed an action that you desire. Basically, it’s the page that someone
sees when they do what you want them to do on your site, like make a donation
or sign up for your newsletter. Analytics records this activity so you can see how
your goals are tracking.

In the Analytics tab of your account, you define your goals based on the
purpose of your website, and the actions you want your visitors to take. This will
be covered in a few slides.

Some examples of goals include:
• A receipt page after making a donation
• A subscription confirmation page after a newsletter sign-up
• Any other page to which you are trying drive your visitors

Goals are often called conversions, since on e-commerce sites, visitors are
converted to customers. In this case, visitors might be converted to volunteers
or sponsors as well.

 Where Visitors Enter and Leave Your Funnel

Where Visitors Enter and Leave Your Funnel

The path to your goal is called a Funnel Path. Technically speaking, a Funnel Path is a series of pages

through which a visitor is expected to pass before reaching the conversion goal.

The Funnel Path is like a video game where the player has to pass through specific doors to reach the

prize at the end. In this case, you just need to identify which doors, or pages in your site, the visitor

has to go through (visit) to get the prize (your goal of a donation, volunteer, newsletter sign up, etc) at

the end.

So, a visitor might come to your homepage through an AdWords ad and click on the “Make a

Donation” link, then go to your donation page, choose an amount to donate, go through the buying

process, and get your goal (or receipt) page to complete the Funnel Path.

In the Goal Funnel Report, the middle column of green funnels represent the steps in one of your

Funnel Paths, or the pages within your site on the way to your receipt or goal page. Overlaid on each

green funnel step is the percentage and number of visitors still in the funnel at each step.

On the right are the visitors who left the funnel (pages within your site) and where they went, whether

they left your site and went somewhere else on the web or somewhere else on your site.

Shown at left are the Entrance Points, points from which visitors arrive to the funnel. Again these

might be places on your site or other sites on the web.

This report can help you answer questions like:

•Where in the Funnel Path do people tend to leave?

•What is turning them away? Are there design elements that don’t work here?

•Which funnel paths convert the best?

Figuring out these details can help you focus your efforts on the best performing funnel paths and get

you the most conversions. That could mean more donations, volunteers, sign-ups or downloads for

your organization.

  

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