FareHarbor booking flow: GA4 events and booking funnel

The view_item_grid event corresponds to the browse activities page.

The view_search_by_date event corresponds with the search by date page.

The view_calendar event corresponds with the all items calendar page.

The view_calendar_single_item event corresponds to the calendar view for a single item.

The view_item_description event corresponds to the product description page.

The view_book_form event corresponds to the booking form where users select customer type and quantity.

The add_to_cart event captures when users add a product to their shopping cart (available only with the shopping cart feature enabled on your FareHarbor dashboard).

The purchase event triggers when users complete a purchase and the booking confirmation page appears.

The selection of the appropriate event depends on the specific sequence of steps defined within your website’s booking flow configuration. For instance, if the initial action after clicking the “Book Now” button leads to the item description page, the first event you should utilize is “view_item_description.” Conversely, if the first step presents a calendar view encompassing all available items, the “view_calendar” event is the most suitable choice.

It is crucial to align event selection with the specific steps present in your website’s booking flow, following this process until reaching the “complete booking” button within the booking flow. It is important to note that not all events will be applicable to every business. For example, if the “Cart” functionality is not enabled, then the “add_to_cart” event becomes unnecessary.

1. Go to the Explore workspace of your Google Analytics 4 property.
2. Click on the Blank report.
3. Select the technique Funnel Exploration from the right panel.
4. From the left panel, name your report and change the date range.
5. From the right panel, click on Steps. This is the funnel creation tool. Here, you will follow the steps from your website’s FareHarbor booking flow:
   1. Name Step 1 (This is the initial page opening within the booking flow triggered by a call to action on your website.)
   2. Click on add new condition > Events.
   3. Select the event matching your booking flow’s first page.
   4. Click on Add step and repeat for each of your booking flow pages until Purchase (The last step in the funnel must be the Purchase event).
   5. Click Apply from the top right.
6. Once you have created your booking funnel, you can break it down into different dimensions such as Device category, Channel group, Source/Medium, or Segments.
   1. Click on the + next to Dimensions or Segments in the left panel to Import/Create the dimension or segment.
   2. Drag the dimension to the right panel under Breakdown and drag the segment under segment comparisons.
7. Toggle on Make Open Funnel from the right panel for an open funnel.
   1. Open Funnel: allows user entries to be tracked at any stage within the funnel, regardless of their initial entry point. This provides insights into user behavior across all potential entry points and can be helpful for identifying drop-off points throughout the journey.
   2. Closed Funnel: strictly tracks users who enter the funnel from the very first step. Users who enter mid-funnel will not be included in the analysis. This approach is useful when you want to analyze the completion rate for users who follow the intended booking flow from the beginning.

Create a funnel for a specific booking flow when it includes multiple items, rather than just one. FareHarbor entry pages that are especially useful to narrow down by booking flow include:

• View item grid
• Search by date
• View calendar

To create a funnel for a specific booking flow with multiple items:

1. Go to your funnel steps.
2. On Step 1, click +Add parameter next to your event.
3. Click Custom and select flow_node_id.
4. From the Condition dropdown, select exactly match (=) and add your booking flow id and click Apply.
5. Click Apply in the top right corner.

Create a funnel for a specific item when the flow pages contain only one item. FareHarbor entry pages that typically include a single item are:

• View calendar single item
• View item description
• View bookform

To create a funnel for a specific item:

1. Go to your funnel steps.
2. On Step 1, click +Add parameter next to your event.
3. Click Custom and select item_id or item_name.
4. From the Condition dropdown, select exactly match (=) and add your item id or item name and Apply.
5. Click Apply in the top right corner.

Booking funnels offer a powerful tool to visualize and analyze the user journey through your booking process. By tracking user behavior at each stage, you can gain valuable insights into conversion rates, identify areas for improvement, and ultimately optimize your booking flow for increased success.

Types of Booking Funnels

The two primary funnel configurations provide different perspectives on user behavior:

• Closed Funnel: This approach provides a focused view of users who initiated the booking process from the very beginning. Users entering mid-funnel are excluded, allowing you to analyze the completion rate for those following the intended booking flow. This is ideal for evaluating the effectiveness of your booking flow configuration and the overall flow designed to convert those leads into bookings.
  • Key Metrics: The first step displays the total number of users entering the funnel. Subsequent steps highlight the number of users at this step and the abandonment rate, which represents the number and percentage of users exiting at each step. This data pinpoints specific areas where users might be encountering difficulties or losing interest.

• Open Funnel: This configuration offers a broader perspective by tracking user entry at any stage within the funnel. This approach provides valuable insights into user behavior across all potential entry points, including those who may have navigated to a later stage in the booking process organically. Analyzing an open funnel helps identify important entry points and drop-off points throughout the entire user journey, not just from one single booking flow configuration.
  • Key Metrics: When hovering over the chart, you’ll see “New Funnel Entries” and “Continuing Funnel Entries.” These metrics reveal where users are entering the funnel most frequently. This data can help you understand where to focus your efforts for optimizing entry points and guiding users towards successful completion of the booking process.

Understanding why users abandon your booking flow is crucial for optimizing the conversion process. Here’s a two-pronged approach to identify and address potential issues:

Examine your FareHarbor Booking Flow:

• Clarity and Navigation: Evaluate the flow’s overall clarity. Are the steps logical and easy to follow, or might users find it confusing (eg: does your booking flow page configuration make sense or should you reorder it?). Is the navigation intuitive, or could it be improved to guide users seamlessly through the process?
• Segmentation: Assess whether the booking flow is segmented appropriately. Consider if there are opportunities to streamline it for different user types or booking scenarios.
• Information Availability: Ensure all necessary information is readily available within the booking flow itself. Users shouldn’t need to leave the FareHarbor booking flow to search other parts of your website for crucial details.
• Form Design: Analyze the booking form’s length and complexity. Is it excessively lengthy or filled with unnecessary custom fields that might intimidate users? Streamline the form to capture essential information while minimizing user effort.

Leveraging Funnel Visualization Reports:

• Beyond Conversion Rate: Funnel visualization goes beyond a simple website conversion rate. By meticulously tracking every step in the booking process, you can pinpoint specific areas where users are dropping off.
• Usability Insights: This granular data helps identify potential usability issues. For instance, you might discover a confusing step, a poorly written content or description, or a lack of clarity in instructions. Addressing these issues can significantly improve conversion rates.
• Optimization Opportunities: Understanding drop-off points unveils opportunities to optimize your booking flow. By strategically refining the user experience at each stage, you can significantly increase the number of users successfully completing the booking process.

On your website, consider these additional factors that can cause users to abandon your website and funnels at different stages (This is if you have built funnels starting from your webpage):

Top of the Funnel (if your funnel start on your website not in the Lightframe):

• Targeting Mismatch: Are you targeting the right audience with your marketing efforts? Irrelevant messaging won’t resonate with potential customers.
• Broken Expectations: Does the content of your ads accurately reflect the content and experience on your landing page? Mismatched expectations can lead to drop-off.

Middle of the Funnel:

• Distraction Overload: Ensure your website and booking flow has a clear and singular goal – to complete the booking. Minimize distractions and unnecessary options that could divert user attention from completing the task.
• Unqualified Leads: Are unqualified leads progressing through the funnel? Consider implementing lead qualification strategies to ensure you’re attracting users genuinely interested in your offering.
• Premature Sales Pitch: Focus on educating potential customers about who you are, what you offer and how you are different from the competition before launching into a sales pitch. Build trust and provide value before asking for the conversion.

Bottom of the Funnel:

• Checkout Complexity: Streamline your booking process to be clear, concise, and user-friendly. Avoid any unnecessary details that could lead to confusion or abandonment (for example: custom field overload)

By following these steps and addressing potential drop-off points, you can optimize your booking funnel for a smoother user experience and significantly increase conversion rates.