Path Analyzer glossary

Current version: 8.1

The Path Analyzer is an application that allows you to view the various paths that contacts take as they navigate through your websites. You can see the paths that contacts take when they convert goals and interact with campaigns, giving you an insight into which paths provide the best engagement value per conversion, and which paths are less efficient and could use optimization.

The Path Analyzer introduces several new concepts and terms.

Entry path

An entry path is the path from the entry page of a website to any other pages during a visit.

Exit node

The exit node is the end of both a visit and a path. A website visit ends when a contact closes the browser, navigates to another website, or times out.

Exit potential

The exit potential is a measurement that identifies if a path is worth continuing down to gain engagement value or if there is no additional engagement value that can be gained through optimization. If it is worth optimizing the path, exit potential indicates how much value a path could gain through optimization.

Full path

A full path shows the contact's entire visit from the entry page to the exit page.

Node

A tree consists of nodes, which are the sequence of pages in a path. The following details for each node are available in the Path Analyzer:

Node detail

Description

Subtree value

The sum of the engagement value points accrued by contacts who have visited this path.

Subtree visits

The number of visits to this path.

Subtree value per visit

The average engagement value points per visit to this path.

Exit value

The sum of the engagement value points that contacts have accrued before exiting at this node.

Exit visits

The number of contacts that left the website at this node.

Exit value per visit

The average engagement value points per visit of contacts who exited the website at this node.

Exit potential gain

The projected engagement value a path could gain through optimization.

Average time spent (sec)

The average amount of time contacts have spent on a node.

Depth

The number that describes where this node appears in its subtree or path.

Page Analyzer

The Page Analyzer is a part of the Path Analyzer that shows you the entry and exit paths that surround a specific node. You can use the Page Analyzer to examine a selected path as well as view the contacts who had this path experience.

Path

The path is a sequence of nodes that correspond to the distinct paths that contacts take during a visit.

Path root

The path root is the node that is the first page in a path.

Path value

Path value shows you the average engagement value per visit on the path.

Reports

There are four main analytics reports available in the Path Analyzer:

  • Entry Path report - indicates the most popular entry paths through the website

  • Most Valuable Full Path report - indicates which exit nodes provide the highest engagement value levels

  • Most Efficient Full Path report - indicates which are the most efficient paths in terms of traffic versus engagement value

  • Optimization Candidate report - indicates which popular paths could gain the most engagement value

Tree

The tree is the root structure of a Path Analyzer map. All paths and nodes are a part of the Path Analyzer tree.

Tree root

The tree root is the first node in a tree that initializes analytics on a website. It is the start of the Path Analyzer tree but does not represent a page on the website. A tree root can have several path roots below it. An example of a tree root is the Internet, as contacts often enter a website from somewhere else on the Internet.

Visit

A visit is the series of actions performed by a contact from when they enter your website until they leave the website. A single contact may make multiple visits at different times. These are regarded as separate visits.

Visit value

Visit value is a metric that measures the value of a contact's actions on the website through engagement value points. You assign engagement value to actions such as downloads or purchases in the Marketing Control Panel. Visit value measures how efficiently a node generates value.

Visit value in the Path Analyzer provides you with insight into how contacts behave on your website, and the paths they take to achieve business critical goals. The more valuable the path, the more effective it is at getting contacts to convert on goals. Optimizing paths that have less visit value than anticipated can provide your company with increased contact engagement and generate value for your business.

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