Open Funnel vs Closed Funnel in Google Analytics 4

Are you struggling to understand the difference between open funnel vs closed funnel? Understanding Google Analytics funnels is important for identifying user behavior patterns, optimizing conversion paths, and improving overall business performance.

In this guide, we’ll learn what the Google Analytics funnel is, its types, and mainly the difference between open funnel and closed funnel. By the end, you’ll understand how to boost conversions using GA4 funnels.

Let us get started!

What are Funnels in Google Analytics?

Funnels in Google Analytics are visualization features that offer a clear, graphical representation of the user journey. They showcase each step required to complete a goal, such as purchasing, signing up for a newsletter, or filling out a form. 

For example, an e-commerce site might use a funnel to track the path from product view to checkout and payment completion.

By mapping out these steps, the Google Analytics funnel reveals where users enter and exit along the conversion path. This helps businesses identify barriers to conversion, optimize the user experience, and improve conversion rates by addressing drop-off points.

Types of Funnels in Google Analytics

There are two GA4 funnel types:

1. Open Funnels 
2. Closed Funnels

By understanding and utilizing funnel report in GA4, businesses can better understand user behavior, optimize their experiences, and improve conversion outcomes.    

Why Understanding GA4 Funnel Types is Important?

Understanding the types of funnel in Google Analytics the is crucial for several reasons:

• The right funnel type accurately reflects how users navigate your website or app. This ensures you’re not analyzing a distorted or unrealistic picture of their journey. An inaccurate funnel can mask critical pain points or highlight non-issues, leading to a misguided effort.
• A well-defined funnel provides details that directly inform your improvement strategies.  You can pinpoint the exact stages where users drop off, allowing you to address the root causes.  This leads to more effective optimizations that improve user experience and drive conversions.
• Funnel analysis often guides resource allocation decisions, such as marketing budgets or development efforts. Accurate data ensures resources are directed towards the areas with the biggest impact. Misleading data can waste time, effort, and money when addressing non-critical issues.

Essentially, choosing the wrong Google Analytics funnel type can lead to a distorted understanding of user behavior. By carefully selecting the appropriate funnel type, you can ensure your analysis provides great information that drives real, measurable improvements in user experience and business outcomes.    

Understanding Open Funnels in GA4

Open Google Analytics funnel is a flexible tracking feature that allows users to enter the sequence at any stage without requiring them to follow a specific order. 

Unlike closed funnels, where each step must be completed in sequence, open funnels provide a more comprehensive view of non-linear user journeys. This feature is particularly useful for scenarios where users skip or reorder steps, enabling businesses to capture and analyze diverse behaviors.

For instance, on an e-commerce website, users might add items directly to their cart from a homepage promotion or a search results page without visiting a product detail page. An open funnel would capture these varied paths, offering valuable details into how users interact with the site in real-world scenarios. For complete understanding, you can see in the screenshot below where at step 1 is no user, and step 2 is one user but at step 3, they become four users directly. 

Open funnels are especially beneficial for analyzing use cases such as cart abandonment or promotional campaign performance on e-commerce websites. They allow businesses to track users who add items to their cart but drop them off before completing the purchase, even if they bypass other steps in the process.

Similarly, blogs or content-driven websites can use open funnels to understand user engagement by analyzing interactions such as reading a blog post, signing up for a newsletter, or watching a video without requiring a specific sequence. By providing a broader perspective on user behavior, open funnels enable businesses to identify trends, optimize user experiences, and improve conversion rates across various entry points.

Understanding Closed Funnels in GA4

Closed funnels in Google Analytics 4 (GA4) are designed to track user journeys that follow a specific sequence of steps. Users must complete the steps in the predefined order to be included in the analysis. 

This structure makes closed funnels ideal for linear processes with clearly defined paths, where each step is essential to achieving the final goal. For example, an e-commerce site might use a closed funnel to track users moving from the homepage to a product page, then to the checkout, and finally completing a purchase. For complete understanding, you can check the screenshot below where, from step 1 to step 3, the number of users is constant.

Closed funnels are useful for analyzing transactional or goal-oriented processes that rely on strict step-by-step completion. For instance, businesses can use closed funnels to monitor lead generation workflows, such as a series of form submissions, where users must complete each step sequentially. 

Similarly, subscription or sign-up processes often benefit from closed funnels, ensuring that each required action—like account creation, email verification, and payment—is tracked in order. 

By providing a focused view of structured user journeys, closed funnels enable businesses to identify drop-offs, pinpoint areas for improvement, and streamline processes to boost conversions.

Key Differences Between Open and Closed Funnels

When analyzing user journeys in Google Analytics, understanding the difference between an open funnel vs closed funnel is crucial for selecting the right approach based on your business needs. Below is a detailed comparison to help you:

Aspect	Open Funnel in Google Analytics	Closed Funnel in Google Analytics
Entry Criteria	Users can enter the open funnel at any stage, skipping earlier steps.	Users must follow a specific sequence to be included in the closed funnel.
Flexibility	Highly flexible, ideal for non-linear user journeys.	Rigid, requiring users to complete steps in a defined order.
Applications	Open funnels in Google Analytics are great for analyzing behaviors like cart abandonment, promotional campaigns, or general content engagement.	Closed funnels in Google Analytics are best for structured processes like lead generation forms, subscription sign-ups, or step-by-step checkout flows.

So, Open funnels are better for understanding diverse user paths across multiple entry points, and Closed funnels are ideal for tracking and optimizing linear workflows with strict requirements.

Funnel Report in GA4

Funnel report in GA4 is a powerful tool for analyzing user journeys and identifying areas for improvement in your website or app. They help you visualize users’ steps to complete a desired action, such as purchasing or filling out a form.

The “Explore” section in GA4 is where you primarily create and analyze funnels. It offers a user-friendly interface with drag-and-drop functionality for defining funnel steps.

• Flexibility: GA4 offers pre-built funnels (like Purchase Journey and Checkout Journey) and the ability to create custom funnels tailored to your needs.
• Open and Closed Funnels: By turning the blue tick, you can define funnels with open or closed structures.
  • Open funnels allow for multiple conversion paths, reflecting real-world user behavior.
  • Closed funnels enforce a strict sequence of steps, which is useful for analyzing linear processes.

• Visualization: Funnel reports provide clear visualizations, such as funnel diagrams and tables, making it easy to understand user flow and identify drop-off points.

• Segmentation and Filtering: You can apply segments and filters to analyze specific user groups or refine your analysis based on various criteria.

GA4’s funnel visualization highlights key metrics such as drop-off rates and completion percentages for each step, helping businesses pinpoint areas for improvement. You can gain valuable details about your users’ journeys by utilizing the flexibility and customization options within the “Explore” section.

For a detailed guide on creating and analyzing funnels in GA4, visit our resource on GA4 Funnel Exploration Reports.

Example:

Let’s say you’re an e-commerce retailer. You can create a funnel to analyze the user journey from product page view to purchase completion. The steps might include:

1. Product Page View
2. Add to Cart
3. View Cart
4. Begin Checkout
5. Purchase

By analyzing this google analytics funnel, you can identify bottlenecks in the checkout process, such as high cart abandonment rates, and take steps to improve the user experience.

Simplify GA4 Funnel Tracking with Analytify

Analytify is the best WordPress Analytics plugin that simplifies building custom reports, offering clear and visually appealing presentations of key metrics such as traffic sources, user demographics, and real-time activity. Customizable reporting filters and visual charts help you focus on specific user interactions and behavior, facilitating adjustments to content, marketing, and overall site strategy—all directly from the WordPress dashboard.

 Below are the key features that help streamline your reporting process:

• Effortless GA4 Integration: Analytify seamlessly connects with your GA4 data, eliminating the need for manual data extraction and complex integrations.
• No Complex Configurations: Analytify simplifies funnel tracking by eliminating the need for extensive technical expertise or complex configurations within GA4.
• Real-time Reporting: The real-time reporting feature provides live data on user activity. Whether monitoring a campaign or checking visitors currently online, Analytify lets you see the impact in real time.

• Key Metrics displayed directly on the dashboard: Analytify’s intuitive dashboard consolidates essential metrics like sessions, page views, and bounce rates, making reviewing your site’s overall performance easier. 

• Demographic and Interest Reports : Get details of your audience with Analytify’s demographic reports. This data is presented clearly and directly in the dashboard without manually setting up Google Signals in GA4.

• Event Tracking: The Analytify Event Tracking add-on makes setting up and monitoring events straightforward. You can track essential user interactions like form submissions, downloads, and button clicks without diving into GA4’s complex event setup.

• Ecommerce Tracking : For e-commerce websites, the WooCommerce add-on provides seamless integration, allowing you to track revenue, product performance, and transactions effortlessly. Analytify displays these metrics.

• UTM Campaign Tracking : Analytify supports UTM campaign tracking, making it easy to see how your marketing efforts are performing. It tracks the success of various campaigns.

Analytify simplifies monitoring Google Analytics data using these features, allowing users to focus on useful information and data accuracy.

Google Analytics Funnel FAQs

Final Thoughts: Open Funnel vs Closed Funnel

In conclusion, understanding the open funnel vs closed funnels in Google Analytics 4 is crucial for effective website and app analysis. Open funnels provide a flexible framework for tracking non-linear user journeys, while closed funnels are ideal for analyzing structured, sequential processes. 

By effectively utilizing these GA4 funnel types and using the information gained from funnel reports in GA4, businesses can identify critical areas for improvement, optimize user experiences, and ultimately drive higher conversion rates. Tools like Analytify can further simplify funnel tracking and analysis within GA4, empowering businesses to enhance their online performance.

For a deeper dive into creating custom reports in GA4, check out this article How to create custom reports in GA4?

Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments below!