Imagine you just launched an app. People are using it. But you’re not sure what they’re doing in there. Are they signing up, getting stuck, or leaving forever? That’s where product analytics comes in. It shows you what users do and when they do it.
Don’t worry. You don’t need to be a data scientist. You just need to know a few basics. Let’s explore the world of events, funnels, and cohorts. They sound fancy, but they’re actually really simple — and fun!
What Are Events?
An event is just something a user does in your product. It’s an action.
- Clicking a button
- Watching a video
- Signing up
- Making a purchase
Each of these is an event. You track them so you know how people interact with your product.
Let’s say someone signs up. That’s an event. Then they click the “Upload Photo” button. Another event!
You can name and track these events to see what’s popular and what’s ignored.
Why Are Events Important?
Events tell the story of how your users experience your product.
Think of your app as a party. Events are like someone opening the fridge, taking a drink, and dancing. You can’t improve the party if you don’t know what people are up to!
Moving Through the Product: Funnels
Now let’s talk about funnels. A funnel shows the steps users take toward a goal.
Think of it like a slide. At the top, someone signs up. In the middle, they explore. At the end, they buy something.
A funnel might look like this:
- Visit homepage
- Sign up
- Set up profile
- Buy a product
Fewer and fewer users make it down each step. That’s why it’s called a funnel — it gets narrower as you go.
Why Funnels Matter
You want to see where people drop off. If 1000 visit the homepage, 500 sign up, and only 10 make a purchase… you’ve got a leak in your funnel!
With funnels, you can:
- Find out which steps confuse users
- Fix the steps that lose people
- Turn more users into happy customers
Funnels help you optimize your product. It’s like giving your users a smoother ride.
Who’s Sticking Around: Cohorts
The last piece of our product analytics puzzle is cohorts.
A cohort is just a group of users who did something during the same time period. For example, all users who signed up in January.
Why group them? Because it lets you see how groups behave over time.
You can ask:
- Do users from January keep coming back?
- Were users from March more loyal?
- Did the new feature we added in April help?
Cohorts help you see trends and patterns. They tell you if users are just peeking in or staying for the long haul.
How to Use Cohorts
You can slice cohorts by many things:
- Sign-up time
- Feature usage
- Marketing campaign source
Then watch them over weeks or months.
It’s like planting seeds and seeing which ones grow best. That helps you plant more of the good ones next time!
Putting It All Together
Now you know the three product analytics heroes:
- Events show you what people do.
- Funnels show you how people progress toward a goal.
- Cohorts show you who sticks around, and why.
Use all three together to really understand your users and help your product shine!
Tools to Help You Out
You don’t have to do this alone. There are awesome tools that help you track events, analyze funnels, and explore cohorts.
Here are a few popular ones:
- Mixpanel
- Amplitude
- Heap
- PostHog
- Google Analytics (great for websites)
Most of them are visual and easy to use. You set up events and see charts in minutes.
Quick Tips for Getting Started
Feeling excited? Here are a few simple steps to begin:
- Pick the right events. Focus on big actions like sign-up, first purchase, or key feature use.
- Create a simple funnel. Look at how users get from first visit to purchase.
- Set up weekly cohorts. Track new users and see who stays after 7 days, 14 days, and beyond.
- Ask questions. Where are users stuck? Who are your most loyal fans?
- Test changes. Try updating a page or feature, then track how it affects the funnel and cohorts.
One Step at a Time
You don’t have to be perfect on day one. Start simple. Learn what your users love and what they don’t. Then make small changes and see what happens.
Over time, you’ll become a product analytics ninja 🥷.
Final Thoughts
Product analytics sounds technical, but it’s really just about curiosity.
It answers the question: What are my users doing?
With events, funnels, and cohorts, you’ll make smarter choices — and build a better product.
So go ahead. Start watching what users do. Your product (and your users) will thank you!