Conversion Path Length Report Explained in Google Analytics Attribution

Attribution Modelling

Through conversion path length report you can determine the number of touchpoints it takes for users to convert on your website.

A touchpoint is an exposure to a marketing channel.

The following are examples of touchpoints: visits, paid clicks (also known as ‘paid media’ clicks), non-paid clicks, impressions, etc.

Conversion path length = touchpoints to conversion

So if ‘touchpoints to conversion’ is 1 then it means the conversion path is made up of just one touchpoint.

If ‘touchpoints to conversion’ is 2 then it means the conversion path is made up of two touchpoints.

Similarly, if ‘touchpoints to conversion’ is 4 then it means the conversion path is made up of four touchpoints.

The length of the conversion path depends upon the amount of buying consideration involved.

Purchases that require the least amount of buying consideration (like buying a toothpaste) tend to have short conversion paths (paths with just a couple of touchpoints). Purchases that require a lot of buying consideration (like buying a property) tend to have long conversion paths (paths with a lot of touchpoints).

As the name suggests through the ‘conversion path length’ report, you can determine the length of your conversion paths for one or more selected conversion types.

The ‘conversion path length’ report is similar to the ‘Path Length’ report you see in GA multi-channel funnels.

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In order to access the Conversion Path Length report follow the steps below:

Step-1: Navigate to https://analytics.google.com/analytics/attribution/

Step-2: Click on the ‘Conversions Path Length’ link on the left-hand side:

The top row of the ‘Conversion Path Length’ report provides an overview of the number of touchpoints (clicks) it takes for users to complete selected conversion type(s) on your website.

The top row shows not only the average path length for selected conversion type(s) but also the total number of conversions, total revenue, and two blue bar charts.

The two blue bar charts represent the percentage of total conversions and the percentage of total revenue.

All rows others than the top row, show total conversions, total revenue and the two blue bar charts for each path length of the selected conversion type(s).

The conversion path length report is sorted by path length (i.e. ‘touchpoints to conversion’) and you can not change the sort order.

Note (1): By default, the conversion path length report shows data for all conversion types. In order to see the conversion path length report for a particular conversion type, select the conversion type from the drop-down menu:

Note (2): The conversion path length report displays a maximum path length of 100 touchpoints (clicks).

Note (3): The conversion path length report considers only clicks as touchpoints. It does not take ‘ad impressions’ into account.

Conversion Path Length Settings

You can change the settings of your conversion path length report by clicking on the ‘Edit report’ button on the top right-hand side:

Once you clicked on the ‘Edit report’ button, you would see the ‘Report Settings’ panel:

All touchpoints: Use this setting if you want the conversion path length report to include both paid and non-paid ad clicks in the conversion path when doing path length calculation.

Paid media clicks only: Use this setting if you want the conversion path length report to include only paid ad clicks in the conversion path when doing path length calculation.

You can also change the type of ‘touchpoints to conversions’ by clicking on the ‘Touchpoints to conversion = “ button:

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Himanshu Sharma

Digital Marketing Consultant and Founder of Optimizesmart.com

Himanshu helps business owners and marketing professionals in generating more sales and ROI by fixing their website tracking issues, helping them understand their true customers' purchase journey and helping them determine the most effective marketing channels for investment.

He has over 12 years of experience in digital analytics and digital marketing.

He was nominated for the Digital Analytics Association's Awards for Excellence. The Digital Analytics Association is a world-renowned not-for-profit association that helps organisations overcome the challenges of data acquisition and application.

He is the author of four best-selling books on analytics and conversion optimization: