Top 3 Analytics Checks to Boost Your E-Commerce Funnel

With half-term keeping things a bit busy, I thought I’d pivot from the usual site review to dive into a critical aspect of e-commerce optimisation: analytics. Today, we’re zooming into three high-impact areas in your data that can help you pinpoint where users might be dropping off in your funnel — and where you can make impactful tweaks to keep them engaged and converting.

Let’s go through each of these areas with some real data, identify specific metrics to monitor, and explore actionable takeaways.

1. Traffic Source Breakdown

What to Look For In the Traffic Acquisition report, we see a breakdown of visitor sources: Cross-network, Organic Social, Direct, Paid Search, and Organic Search. This data tells us where your audience is coming from and, crucially, how they’re behaving once they land on your site.

Analysis

• Cross-network (4,144 sessions) has a 33.64% engagement rate with an average engagement time of 19 seconds. This suggests quick visits, possibly from less targeted or lower-quality traffic.

• Organic Search (1,599 sessions) stands out with a 62.41% engagement rate and 1m 07s average engagement time — visitors from search engines are spending more time on the site and engaging more deeply.

• Paid Search (1,946 sessions) has a high engagement rate of 52.77% and 53 seconds of engagement time, indicating that paid traffic is bringing in users who are somewhat engaged but may not be as high quality as organic.

Fix Suggestions

• Optimise Cross-network Traffic: Since Cross-network traffic has the highest session volume but relatively low engagement, consider refining targeting or messaging to attract a more qualified audience. Test adjusting your ad creatives or the audience segments you’re targeting to see if engagement improves.

• Double Down on Organic Search: Given its high engagement rate, you may want to focus more resources on SEO efforts. These visitors are actively searching for something related to your business, indicating intent.

• Refine Paid Search: Paid search has strong engagement but might benefit from refining keywords or ad copy to attract users closer to the conversion stage. Consider A/B testing ad variations to further align with your audience’s intent.

2. Checkout Performance

What to Look For In the Checkout Journey report, we see a major drop-off between the “Begin Checkout” and “Add Delivery” steps. Specifically, 14 users began checkout, but only 3 moved forward to add delivery details — a 78.6% abandonment rate at this point.

Analysis This high abandonment rate in the checkout process suggests a barrier or friction point. Possible issues include complex navigation, lack of clarity around shipping options, or insufficient trust signals.

Fix Suggestions

• Simplify the Checkout Steps: If the process feels lengthy or confusing, visitors may give up. Streamlining the steps and removing unnecessary fields can help.

• Add Trust Elements During Checkout: Consider adding small reminders about return policies or security badges near the checkout buttons. This helps reassure customers that their information is safe.

• Test Different Shipping Options: High shipping costs or a lack of clarity about delivery times could contribute to drop-offs. Try testing free or discounted shipping offers or clearly stating estimated delivery times.

3. Product Performance

What to Look For The E-commerce Purchases report provides insights into product-level performance. Here, we see the number of times items were viewed, added to carts, and eventually purchased. Notably:

• Product X was viewed 4,394 times, added to cart 11 times, but only purchased once.

• Product Y had 1,510 views, 16 add-to-carts, and one purchase — a slightly better add-to-cart rate but still low conversion to purchase.

Analysis The disparity between “Add to Cart” and actual purchases suggests that visitors are interested in these products but hesitate to complete the purchase. This could be due to several factors, such as unclear product descriptions, high shipping fees, or a lack of customer reviews.

Fix Suggestions

• Improve Product Descriptions and Imagery: Make sure each product page has detailed descriptions, multiple images, and, if possible, videos to show the item in action.

• Address Shipping Costs: High shipping fees can deter customers at the final step. Consider offering free or discounted shipping for specific items, or clearly communicate shipping fees upfront.

• Test Limited-Time Offers: If certain products see high add-to-cart rates but low conversions, try running a limited-time promotion to create urgency and nudge hesitant buyers to complete their purchases.

By focusing on these three areas: traffic sources, checkout flow, and product performance, you can start uncovering valuable insights into your funnel. Small tweaks here can make a huge difference in your conversion rate, helping you turn insights into results. If you’re exploring these areas or want a fresh perspective, drop a comment or reach out, and I’ll be happy to offer a free conversion audit to help identify even more opportunities to optimise your funnel.

#FridayFunnelFix #Analytics #Ecommerce #ConversionOptimisation