Normally we use aggregated KPIs such as conversion rate or bounce rate to monitor and optimize marketing campaigns or features of digital products. However, these KPIs pretend to tell big stories, but hardly reveal any stories at all. In this presentation you will find out how a flow visualization via Sankey chart can help you to get an insights about various aspects of user behavior, as well as tips on practical implementation.

1. Understanding User Flows
via Sankey Charts

2. About me
Tetyana Sydorenko
Web Analyst at MYTOYS GmbH
Word Cloud based on endorsements in my LinkedIn profile
https://de.linkedin.com/in/tetyanasydorenko/de

3. 5% convert, 30% bounce, 65% ?

4. Visualise Paths

5. • Understand the “optimal” path of your users
• How user deviate from the optimal journey
• In which sequence do user mostly abandon
• Does the browsing behaviour differs for device types
• Do user paths change over time
Motivation
Insights for
Optimisation
Understand
User

6. YES! This makes sense for checkout process or when
my website has 5 pages
BUT When I have 100 pages I will
get million of paths
NO PROB!
Use Sankey!
WHAT?

7. General View on your Traffic via Sankey Chart

8. Getting Real > User Flows based on pages / page
types

9. User Flows based on pages / page types
DON’T
PANIC!

11. I will prove it to
you!

12. Segment Channel and Entry Page
Channel:
Facebook
Channel:
SEA

13. Add Buyer
Channel:
Facebook
Buyer
Channel:
Facebook
NonBuyer

14. Add Device Type
Channel: Direct
Non Buyer
Non Mobile
Channel: Direct
Non Buyer
Mobile

15. Further Analysis Ideas
• Flows for New vs. Returning Visitors
• Flows for Channels in the Customer
Journey

16. Take Aways
• Apply path visualisation on predefined
segments
• Use path visualisation along with other KPIs
to evaluate your campaigns
• Sankey diagrams help you get a quick
insight into the what your users do

17. Implementation & Code
Data Preparation
Get Path Sequence
Adjust naming
Pathes are normally cyclical > Sankey Chart is not cyclical
Create Chart
googleVis library in R
Adjust colors for nodes
CODE
https://github.com/tsydorenko/sankey_chart

18. Useful links / Inspirations
http://www.informationisbeautifulawards.com/showcase/1668-it-costs-an-arm-and-a-leg-workers-compensation
http://www.informationisbeautifulawards.com/showcase/1617-making-it-to-mars
http://www.informationisbeautifulawards.com/showcase/1221-gooey-sankey
http://www.informationisbeautifulawards.com/showcase/854-pantheon
http://blogs.sas.com/content/sascom/2014/08/19/path-analysis-with-sas-visual-analytics/
https://www.kaushik.net/avinash/path-analysis-a-good-use-of-time/

19. I thought this meet up
was about free beer?
Benjamin where is the
beer?