If you want to understand why users buy (or not), you need more than just click numbers. You need clarity about the path they take - and this looks very different depending on whether you are using the Customer Journey or just your Website tunnel consider.
Both sound similar, but the difference is crucial. In this article, you will find out exactly what the difference is, how to analyse both concepts correctly - and why you need both if you want to take your online marketing to a new level.
? What is the customer journey?
The Customer Journey describes the entire journey that a customer goes through from the initial impulse to the purchase decision (and often beyond). This journey usually takes place across multiple channels take place - many of them outside your website.
Typical touchpoints outside your website:
- An advert on Instagram or Facebook
- A Google search for a specific problem
- A YouTube video with a product recommendation
- An e-mail with an offer
- A rating on a comparison portal
? These touchpoints happen before, while and to when they visit your website - and they have a decisive influence on the decision for or against a purchase.
? And what is the website funnel then?
The Website tunnel is only a part of the entire journey - namely the Part that happens on your website. This is about how visitors move through your site. Examples:
- Landing page → Product page → Shopping basket → Checkout → Thank you page
- or: Blog article → Freebie → Newsletter → Offer
The focus here is on Usability, page structure and conversion optimisation - In other words, how well your website helps to turn a visitor into a buyer.
? The difference in a nutshell:
| Customer Journey | Website tunnel |
|---|---|
| The entire path across all channels | The path within your website |
| Insights into motivation and behaviour | Insights into usability and conversion |
| Often starts before the first click | Begins with the website visit |
| Typical tools: GA4, CRM, attribution models | Typical tools: Funnel tracking, Hotjar, Clarity |
? Why you need both
You can have the best funnel in the world - if nobody lands on your website, it won't do you any good.
Similarly, visibility is of little use to you if your funnel confuses or discourages users.
Therefore:
The customer journey is not a one-way street. Users move today non-linearbut jump back and forth between providers, channels and platforms. This is precisely why this simple separation of "Journey brings them to you" and "Funnel does the closing" too short-sighted in practice.
? What really happens: A user may come to your site via a Google advert, click through a few pages, leave again, look at the competition, later see a retargeting ad from you, read reviews again - and then come back to buy. And even within your website the user can enter and exit multiple times, e.g. start on mobile and buy later on desktop.
❓ Isn't the funnel simply the click path?
Sounds similar, but is not the same.
The Website tunnel describes the planned routethat a visitor should ideally take on your website - for example: homepage → product page → shopping basket → purchase. You use it to measure, where users jump off and how well your sales process works.
The Click path on the other hand, shows the real waythat a user has actually taken. It can look completely different - with detours, backtracks or pages that you didn't even have on your screen.
? Funnel = wishful thinking, click path = reality.
Only the two together will show you where you really need to optimise.
✅ Conclusion: Journey + funnel = real growth
If you really want to improve your marketing, it's not enough to just analyse the numbers on your website.
You need a holistic view:
- Where does the interest begin?
- Which channels work?
- Where do users bounce - and why?
Only if you think about the customer journey and funnel together can you achieve targeted optimisation - and ultimately generate more sales.
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