Thanks for the example at a product page level Michael. The original post was about home pages, but your anecdote nicely shows how path analysis can apply to any type of landing page such as a category or product page on an ecommerce site and that you can segment further by entry keyphrases.

I think AB and multivariate testing get all the attention because of the tools available (and agreed their power in increasing conversion), but path analysis isn’t discussed enough as a technique.

As you point out the analysis of user journeys can be very powerful in ecommerce, especially to help with the positioning of products. Whilst working with a client, in the clothing sector, I found that a high percentage of users were entering a page looking for ‘nightwear’. There was then an equal high percentage clicking on another link on the right that said ‘nightwear’. On review of the page it was then obvious that none of the products above the fold screamed ‘nightwear’. Users, being as lazy as they are, decided clicking another link was easier than scrolling. Movement of products within the category resolved the problem.

Although typically we would advise to have some of your best selling products at the top of a category, they do need to be relevant. The journey through a page can highlight that what you think is relevant isn’t the same as your customers.

Michael