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Assists can provide a much more complete understanding of conversion sources.
In a recent post about Multi-Channel Funnels, we examined the Top Conversion Paths report. Assisted Conversions, another report that Google Analytics provides under Multi-Channel Funnels, specifically indicates how often a channel is participating in Ecommerce or goal conversion assists vs. acting as the final channel for conversion.
In the Assisted / Last Click or Direct Conversions column, a value greater than 1 indicates that a channel is stronger with assists than with closes, and a value greater than one indicates a stronger closer.
Assists and closes are both good things, but if you were to review the Source/Medium list in the Goal Overview report, you would know only which channels were closing the deal.
As additional options within the Assisted Conversions report, you can:
• switch from Assisting Interactions Analysis to First Interaction Analysis
• change the lookback window from the 30-day default to as long as 90 days
• narrow your analysis to a single goal or Ecommerce transactions only
In any case, make sure that you’re referring to the Multi-Channel Funnel reports to understand where your most valuable traffic is really coming from.