General Questions
What is Heatmap Funnels?
Heatmap Funnels is a comprehensive tool that helps you visualize and analyze the customer journey through your website. It lets you track how users navigate different steps through the customer journey and identifies where users drop off, to help you optimize your conversion paths.
In Heatmap Funnels, you can build step-by-step breakdowns, including specific pages and events, to explore various journey paths to make the best data-driven decisions.
How does Heatmap Funnels benefit my business?
The system provides valuable insights into user behavior, allowing you to:
Identify friction points in your conversion process
Understand which pages or events contribute to successful conversions
Compare performance across different devices and time periods
Make data-driven decisions to improve your conversion rates
When should I use Heatmap Funnels?
Use Heatmap Funnels to map and optimize conversion rates by examining the entire customer journey, from discovery to purchase and every step in between.
A funnel will visually show how your website users progress through each step, and where they drop off.
Here are a few reasons when to use Heatmap Funnels:
If your business is in a conversion slump, funnels are a great way to run a diagnostic check to discover where users are dropping in the customer journey.
If you run multiple ad campaigns, ensure your landing page is effective and the user completes every step of the journey. This will help prevent wasted ad spend.
If you're launching a new product, you need to understand the performance of your existing product. Create a product funnel to find the performance of a specific product and discover where you can A/B test or improve UI and UX for the customer for your next launch.
Landing page funnels are excellent if you run email campaigns. Landing page funnels will help you discover real-time data on their performance. You can see if the landing page and email resonate with your customers who click through.
Planning a website relaunch? Discover where to optimize your website for a high conversion rate.
Cart abandonment funnels target high-intent users just one or two steps away from converting into customers. These funnels can help you optimize recovery strategies, such as retargeting ads, email campaigns, and personalized offers.
Working with Funnels
What types of funnels are available?
There are two main categories of funnels:
Pre-built funnels - Ready-to-use analytics funnels like purchase cart abandonment and purchase journey
Custom funnels - Funnels you create based on your specific business needs
What's the difference between pre-built and custom funnels?
Pre-built funnels are designed for common e-commerce journeys and have limited editing capabilities (only the date range can be modified). Custom funnels provide full flexibility in defining steps and conditions, and they can be fully edited or deleted as needed.
Funnel Configuration
How do I create a funnel?
Navigate to the Funnels section in your Heatmap dashboard
Click “Build New Funnel.”
Add a title to your funnel. This will help you stay organized while building multiple funnels in Heatmap.
Add your first step by clicking “Choose a condition” and selecting from specific pages or events. Funnels are built by selecting specific pages and events that represent steps in your customer journey.
Once you’ve completed populating the condition, click “Add Step” to build the next step in the funnel. Continue adding additional steps until you reach the end goal.
Once you’re done, click “Save Funnel” to save the funnel.
How many funnels can I create?
There is no limit to how many funnels you can create. Once you generate your funnels, your data allows you to analyze the data from them to make data-driven decisions about your CRO strategies.
What types of steps can I add to my funnel?
You can add various step types, including:
All Sessions (starting point)
Page visits (specific URLs, PDPs, collection pages)
Events (add to cart, checkout, purchases)
Are there any rules for creating funnel steps?
Yes, there are several logical rules to ensure proper funnel construction:
"All Sessions" can only be used as the first step
Once an event is selected, only events can be used in subsequent steps
Pages can be reordered and duplicated
Events cannot be reordered or duplicated
How many steps can I add to a custom funnel?
You can add multiple steps to create a comprehensive funnel that accurately represents your user journey. While there's no strict limit, we recommend keeping funnels focused with 3-7 steps for optimal analysis.
Can I edit pre-built funnels?
Pre-built funnels have limited editing capabilities. You can modify the date range, but the steps and structure cannot be changed. This ensures consistent analysis for standard journeys.
Why can't I delete pre-built funnels?
Pre-built funnels are designed as standard analytics tools that provide consistent insights for common journeys. Since they're integral to the platform's analytics suite, they cannot be deleted.
Analysis and Filtering
What filtering options are available for funnels?
You can filter your funnel data by:
Date range (custom periods or preset options)
Device types (desktop, mobile, tablet)
Standard filters consistent with other platform tools
Can I see how different devices affect my funnel performance?
Yes, the device type filter allows you to analyze and compare funnel performance across desktop, mobile, and tablet users, helping you identify device-specific optimization opportunities.
Does the system support regex for URL matching?
Regex support for URL matching will be available in an upcoming update, enabling more advanced pattern matching for page-based funnel steps.
How accurate is the funnel data?
The funnel data undergoes comprehensive quality assurance testing to ensure accuracy. Our system tracks human user sessions and events in real-time, providing reliable insights for your analysis. We do not track the robots.
How is the completed percentage calculated?
The completed percentage at each step of your funnel shows how many users took the specified action from one step to the next. This is calculated by the number of users who took the specified action divided by the number of completed users in the previous step, not from the start of the funnel.
How is the abandoned percentage calculated?
The abandoned percentage at each funnel stage shows how many users did not take the specified action and dropped out of the funnel before reaching the next step. This highlights the “loss” of users within your designated funnel. The abandoned percentage is calculated by the number of users who did not take the specified action divided by the number of completed users in the previous step, not from the start of the funnel. This abandoned percentage is where you can identify user friction points within the journey.
How is drop-off calculated between steps?
Drop-off in your funnel is calculated based on the number of users who do not take a specified action from one step to the next. This will be noted as the abandoned users for each respective step.
Both the completed users and abandoned users for each respective step are equivalent to all completed users in the step prior. As steps progress through the funnel, the number of users will narrow down, highlighting the user segment completing all actions within the funnel.
Every funnel is expected to have a natural drop-off. You should never anticipate the user total increasing as additional steps are added to the funnel.
How do I interpret funnel drop-off?
Interpreting funnel drop-off is about understanding where users abandon the journey as they move through your site and why, so you can take action to improve conversions. Large abandoned user percentages highlight key drop-off points within the funnel, noting for you to further review specific parts of the journey.
For example, if there is a significant funnel drop-off between Add to Cart and Checkout, this could signal that customers are having a friction point with unexpected shipping costs, have a lack of trust, or need a sense of urgency in your product.
Using features like heatmaps and screen recordings can help provide a deeper understanding of why users are dropping off and specific optimizations to make. Just be sure to review the steps prior to a large drop-off to understand why abandoned users didn’t take the specified action.
Troubleshooting
Who do I contact if I have additional questions?
For additional support with Heatmap Funnels, please contact our customer support team through the help center or by emailing support@heatmap.com.