What is a sales funnel?

A sales funnel is a model that maps the path a potential customer takes from the first awareness of a product or a service through to the actual purchase. It is also known as a purchase funnel, or simply as a funnel.

The process is split into several stages, typically awareness, interest, decision and action. The funnel visualizes how the number of prospects shrinks at every stage: only a part of them go through the whole process and eventually become customers.

An example of a sales funnel

• Step 1, attract attention (top of the funnel): you run an online shop for pet supplies. You start an advertising campaign on social media to make people aware of your products. Millions of pet owners see your ad, but not all of them are interested right away.
• Step 2, spark interest (middle of the funnel): of the people who saw your ad, some click through to your website to find out more. They now have a certain level of interest. They read blog posts about pet care, look at product descriptions and maybe subscribe to your newsletter.
• Step 3, decision (lower middle of the funnel): a smaller group weighs up whether your offer is the right one. They compare products, read reviews and put an item in the shopping cart.
• Step 4, action and purchase (end of the funnel): finally some visitors decide to buy. They become real customers who buy products from your online shop.

In this process you start with a large number of potential customers at the top of the funnel and end with a smaller number of actual purchases at the bottom. The sales funnel helps you visualize that process and understand at which points you lose potential customers and where you can adjust your strategy to turn more of them into buyers.

Who can use a funnel in online marketing?

Funnels work for almost every company, regardless of size or industry. They are particularly valuable in digital marketing, e-commerce and for service providers. A well-structured funnel lets a company segment its target audience effectively, develop tailored marketing strategies and understand and improve the customer journey. Marketing effort and budget then go into the places where they actually work.

How do I optimize a funnel for search engines?

To optimize a funnel for search engines, you can apply the common SEO strategies:

1. Keyword optimization: use relevant keywords in the content that sits at each stage of the funnel. That improves your chances of being found by potential customers through search engines.
2. High-quality content: create useful, informative and engaging content that answers the needs and questions of your target audience at every funnel stage.
3. Website usability: a well-structured, fast and mobile-friendly website makes for a better user experience, which has a positive effect on search rankings.
4. Backlink building: earn high-quality backlinks from relevant and authoritative websites to raise the credibility and the authority of your website.
5. Analysis and adjustment: watch how the funnel performs in your web analytics to spot the areas that can be improved, and adjust your SEO strategy accordingly.

Terms that connect to this one are collected in the SEO glossary.