Guide 63 · Reports · GA4 + Tag Manager
Build a funnel exploration: ordered steps, with the drop-off at each one
A funnel exploration defines the steps of a journey and shows where users leave it. Use open steps when the journey can span sessions; use closed steps when every step must happen in one visit.
After step 6, the funnel shows each step's user count, the step-to-step conversion, and the overall conversion from the first step to the last.
Download the report reference: the Funnel exploration reference (JSON) (1147 bytes, MD5 9df2ae5186b6a0a2c54d700b00b6e506). It holds the report or exploration definition and the worked example with the recomputed figures shown on this page.
What you need
- Viewer access or above on the property to build.
- The entry point: Explore in the left navigation, then the funnel exploration template.
- Your steps named as events or page views, in order — for example, view_item, add_to_cart, begin_checkout, purchase. A funnel with vague steps measures nothing.
The trace
- Open Explore and pick the funnel template. Click Explore in the left navigation, then create a blank exploration and change the technique to Funnel exploration, or pick the funnel template. The canvas shows the funnel's step bars.
- Set the date range. At the top of the Variables panel, pick the range the funnel should cover. A funnel over too short a range starves the later steps; give a multi-step journey at least 28 days.
- Add the steps in order. In Tab Settings, add each step as an event name or a page view, in the order users take them: view_item, then add_to_cart, then begin_checkout, then purchase. Each step is a condition the user must meet to count at that step.
- Choose open or closed. An open funnel counts a user at a step even if they skipped an earlier step; a closed funnel requires the steps in order in one session. For a checkout, closed shows the strict journey; open shows how many reach the end by any route. Pick the one that matches your question and note the choice.
- Read the step conversion, not just the bars. The funnel shows users at each step and the conversion between steps. The step with the largest proportional drop is the leak to investigate first — it is the step where the most users leave relative to those who arrived.
- Save it and name the funnel after its question. Save the exploration with a name that states the journey, for example, Checkout funnel — view to purchase. A funnel named after its steps is findable a month later; a funnel named Funnel 3 is not.
Dead ends
DEAD END — BUILDING A FUNNEL FROM VAGUE STEPS. A step defined as engagement is not a step. Each step needs one event name or one page, or the funnel counts a blur.
DEAD END — READING AN OPEN FUNNEL AS A STRICT JOURNEY. An open funnel lets users skip steps, so its later steps can look healthier than the strict journey. Read the funnel type before you quote the conversion.
DEAD END — BLAMING THE LAST STEP FOR AN EARLY LEAK. The largest proportional drop is the leak. A funnel that loses half its users at add_to_cart is not fixed by changing the purchase button.
End state
A funnel exploration turns a journey into countable steps. The worked example below recomputes the step conversions for a four-step checkout, so the largest drop can be named from the numbers, not from the bar lengths.
Worked example — stated inputs, recomputed results. The user counts below are stated inputs for the example. Step conversion is each step divided by the step before it.
| Step | Users | Step conversion | Conversion from start |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. view_item | 4,200 | — | 100.0% |
| 2. add_to_cart | 1,260 | 30.0% | 30.0% |
| 3. begin_checkout | 756 | 60.0% | 18.0% |
| 4. purchase | 529 | 70.0% | 12.6% |
Overall conversion is 529 ÷ 4,200 = 12.6%.
Sources
- Analytics Help — Get started with Explorations — funnel exploration visualises the steps users take to complete tasks; explorations start visible only to the creator
- Analytics Help — Confirm that you are collecting data — many reports and explorations can take 24 to 48 hours to process data
Checked 11 November 2026. The click paths above are the ones in Google's help pages, opened or read 11 November 2026 (the Explorations and detail-report pages were opened in full; the report, library, navigation and thresholds pages were read from Google's help results the same day, after the browser hit a rate limit). No step in this guide was run inside a live Analytics property, because that needs a Google sign-in and this site does not sign in as anyone. The worked-example figures on this page were recomputed in Python with decimal arithmetic, and the downloadable JSON file carries the same recomputed figures. Google moves menu items without warning; if a path on this page no longer matches, the linked help page is the current map.