Key takeaways
- Overall conversion is the product of stage rates.
- An equal point lift helps the weakest stage most.
- Pick one stage to test at a time.
Map the stages
List the steps your buyers take, such as visit, product view, cart and purchase. Get the conversion rate from each step to the next from your analytics.
Compare the lifts
With rates of 50%, 30%, 10% and 40%, overall conversion is 0.6%. On 20,000 visits that is 120 sales. One extra point at the 10% stage adds 12 sales, while one extra point at the 50% stage adds 2.
Choose tests
Run tests where the rate is lowest and the fix is cheap, such as shipping cost shown earlier or a simpler checkout. Measure each test with a planned sample size.
Free tool / Reliability engineering
Funnel Bottleneck Finder Which stage costs the most revenue?
Questions about Unit Economics and Measurement
Does a low rate always mean a problem?
No. Some stages naturally convert low, such as first visit to lead.
How many stages should I track?
Four to six is enough. More stages add noise.
Key terms
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