This article covers frequently-asked questions about the Funnel Analysis chart.
FAQs
- Do funnels count by unique users or by event totals?
- Do funnel charts count conversion in 24-hour windows or by calendar dates?
- How do filters work in a funnel?
- How do I use the “broken down by” feature?
- How do I use exclusion steps?
- How do I use the “holding constant” feature?
- If I create a cohort via Microscope in a funnel chart, will it be static?
- What is the difference between Any vs New users?
- Why is my conversion over time chart showing lower conversion rates than my regular funnel chart?
Answers
Do funnels count by unique users or by event totals?
Either one. To switch from unique users to event totals, select Totals from the ...counting by dropdown:
NOTE: For event totals, the earliest-longest logic no longer applies. Amplitude considers all conversion paths taken or attempted rather than just the earliest-longest path per user. The paths are then attributed to the property for the event in the step it was broken down by.
You can use the Holding Constant feature to count by unique user-property pairs as well. For example, if you hold Session ID constant, you can count a user multiple times if they performed the funnel events in different sessions.
NOTE: In order to hold a property constant, it must exist in all events of the funnel.
Do funnel charts count conversion in 24-hour windows or by calendar dates?
The conversion window uses a 24-hour window when looking at conversion from Step 1 to Step 2. It is not based on strict calendar dates.
How do filters work in a funnel?
There are certain nuances to applying filters in a funnel analysis:
Applying filters in the Segmentation Module
In a funnel chart, any filters applied via the Segmentation Module apply only to the first event. You can, however, add filters to individual steps directly in the Events module.
NOTE: Only users who have triggered an event that meets the conditions of the filters applied to the first event will be counted by Amplitude as entering the funnel.
Applying a group-by
You can apply a group-by filter in the Segmentation Module, for up to two properties.The group-by filter will apply only to the first event, similar to the other filters in the Segmentation Module.
If you are looking at the Unique Users metric and users can complete the steps of your funnel multiple times, the group-by filter will take the first occurrence of the event and bucket the user for the value on that event.
NOTE: If “holding constant” is applied at the same time, Amplitude counts each property value / user pair as a separate user, so the user is included once for each property value they have.
Applying a broken-down-by
Similar to the group-by filter, the broken-down-by filter only shows the user’s first conversion. The difference is that you can choose which step of the funnel you want to apply the broken-down-by filter to.
If users trigger the events multiple times, Amplitude looks at the earliest event for step 1 and calculates the path that takes you the farthest to conversion.
How do I use the “broken down by” feature?
The "broken down by" feature allows you to break down your funnel analysis results by a specific property. The results will show how users with a certain event or user property value during your selected step converted through the other steps in the funnel.
For example, look at this Funnel Analysis chart:
The broken down by step here looks at users' property values for Genre_Type at the time their Favorite Song or Video events are triggered, and shows how they converted through the remaining events of the funnel.
For example, a user that has a Pop property value for Genre_Type at the time their Favorite Song or Video event was triggered will show up under the Pop property bar for the Play Song or Video event as well.
NOTE: If users in your funnel can complete the steps multiple times, this method will take the first occurrence of each event and bucket the user for the value on that event.
How do I use exclusion steps?
This feature can exclude all users who trigger a certain event between the funnel analysis steps. You can also choose to exclude only instances of that event with a certain property value at the time of the event, using the "where" function.
The feature will not exclude users who trigger the event before or after the complete sequence of funnel analysis events.
How do I use the “holding constant” feature?
The 'holding constant' feature will help you count unique user-property pairs, instead of unique users. By holding a property constant, you're telling the the funnel chart to show you users who converted with the same property value on all funnel events. Because the chart counts unique user-property pairs, a user can be counted more than once in this funnel chart view if they have triggered the funnel events with different property values.
You can only hold constant with an event property if it applies to all the events in the funnel analysis.
If I create a cohort via Microscope in a funnel chart, will it be static?
Cohorts created directly from Microscope on a Funnel Analysis chart will be dynamic if only events were added to the chart. If the chart utilizes the "holding constant", "broken down by", or any inline cohorting, then the cohort will be static.
Also, dynamic cohorts cannot be created from funnel charts that contain exclusions. Any such cohorts will be static.
What is the difference between Any vs New users?
When looking at Any User, your results will include all users who triggered the funnel events during the date range of your chart.
When looking at New Users, your results will include only users who triggered their first Amplitude event in the date range of your chart. With New Users selected, you can also change the conversion window from any day to their first day:
If their first day is selected in the above example, the chart will only count a user as converted if they completed the funnel within one day of triggering their first event in Amplitude.
Why is my conversion over time chart showing lower conversion rates than my regular funnel analysis chart?
By default, the conversion Funnel Analysis chart counts unique users. This means a single user can only appear in the chart once. However, the Conversion Over Time funnel chart can count a user in multiple data points.
For example, imagine you have a user who triggered Step 1 of your funnel on January 1, January 5, and January 20, and then triggered Step 2 of the funnel on January 2 and January 6. In a Conversion Funnel chart (with a date range of January 1-31), the user would be considered 100% converted because they completed the funnel steps within those dates. In a Conversion Over Time Funnel chart, the user would be considered 100% converted for January 1 and January 5, but 0% converted on January 20. Therefore, the conversion rate for January 20th may be lower than what you see in the regular conversion chart.