Funnel marketing: how it really works and why you still need it

Every marketer knows that, on paper, the funnel is linear, but in reality, it is anything but. People do not follow an orderly path, but alternate between research, evaluation, and sudden decisions. This is why the traditional model—ordered from top to bottom—struggles to truly describe what happens online and is completely ignored by the chaotic and unpredictable reality of human behavior.

However, funnel marketing is not outdated, but remains a useful language for reading the customer journey, provided that its rules and tools are updated. In 2025, this means considering the impact of AI Overview, the role of social media as multipliers of stimuli, and an audience that explores and compares in increasingly unpredictable ways. The real challenge is no longer to push users into a funnel, but to be the most authoritative and convincing answer in every single micro-moment of a complex, disordered, and fascinating journey that Google has defined as the messy middle.

This guide was created with this goal in mind: to demolish the old concept of the funnel and rebuild it on modern foundations, suited to today’s reality. We will analyze the stages of the funnel, the most commonly used types, the tools to build it, and concrete examples that show how the model remains vital when adapted to today’s digital context.

What is funnel marketing

In essence, a marketing funnel is a conceptual model that describes the ideal path that a potential customer takes, from the first moment they come into contact with a brand to the completion of a desired action, such as a purchase or newsletter subscription.

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Its purpose is to structure marketing and content activities to guide users through these stages, optimizing each step to reduce dropouts and maximize conversions. It is a map that helps you organize your strategies, provided you remember that, today, users no longer follow it in a linear fashion.

In other words, it is the clearest representation you have to understand how a person goes from being a simple visitor to becoming a customer. It is not just a graphic metaphor, but a working tool: it helps you to order the stages of this journey, to read user behavior, and to understand how to intervene at any moment to reduce dispersion.

The funnel analogy illustrates the idea: many enter at the top, but few reach the bottom. The value of the model lies precisely in showing you where people are lost and what you can do to better accompany them.

However, there is one point that often causes confusion: funnel marketing, sales funnel, and conversion funnel are not the same thing.

Funnel marketing is the overall strategy, from awareness to loyalty, that guides content and campaigns. Sales funnel is more narrow: it focuses on the final stages, when a qualified lead must be brought to purchase. Conversion funnel is even more tactical: it measures and optimizes a single critical step, such as a landing page or checkout. These are three different perspectives, which are not mutually exclusive: they serve to focus on different objectives—strategy, sales, and optimization.

The digital context makes all this even more complex. Today, we no longer talk about a static model, valid in the abstract, but about a dynamic system that has to deal with constantly evolving search intent, changing algorithms, AI Overviews that synthesize results, and social media that multiply stimuli. Funnel marketing is not the absolute truth, but it remains a useful framework: it allows you to interpret the chaos and transform scattered interactions into a coherent path towards conversion.

The origins of the model: from AIDA to TOFU/MOFU/BOFU

The concept of funnel marketing has historical roots dating back over a century. The first to introduce the idea of a “funnel” in the context of marketing was Elias St. Elmo Lewis, an American advertising executive, in 1898, who first described the AIDA model – Attention, Interest, Desire, Action.

The idea was simple: a person becomes aware of a product, learns more about it, develops a preference, and ultimately takes action. For decades, this model was the basis for advertising campaigns and sales strategies because it clearly explained the psychological levers behind a decision.

1. Awareness: the potential customer is aware of their problems and the possible solutions available to them. Sometimes, A also stands for Attention, which similarly indicates the stage at which the consumer becomes aware of a category, product, or brand (usually through advertising).
2. Interest: the potential customer shows interest in a group of services or products, obtaining information about the benefits provided by a brand and how this brand fits their lifestyle.
3. Desire: the potential customer begins to evaluate a certain brand, developing a favorable disposition towards it.
4. Action: the potential customer decides whether to buy, commits to a trial, and actually makes purchases.

Lewis also provided a sort of application manual for intercepting users at each stage, which can be summarized in the slogans:

1. Attract Attention
2. Maintain Interest
3. Create Desire
4. Get Action

The goal of marketing is therefore first to capture Attention, then stimulate Interest in the product, create Desire to own it, and finally push for the final Action.

With digital technology, the model has evolved into a more operational form – TOFU, MOFU, and BOFU (Top, Middle, Bottom of the Funnel) – three acronyms that are still used today to segment the audience and choose the right content based on the level of awareness. It is the most operational model, associating specific types of content and marketing channels with each stage of the funnel.

• TOFU (Top of the Funnel – Awareness): this is the top part, where you intercept users who have a problem but don’t yet know the solution. To capture their attention, you need articles, infographics, videos, and educational campaigns.
• MOFU (Middle of the Funnel – Evaluation): you are in the middle and targeting users who are evaluating different solutions. You need to nurture interest with insights, comparison guides, demos, case studies, or webinars.
• BOFU (Bottom of the Funnel – Decision): The exit is near! Users are ready to buy, and your job is to guide their decision with free trials, optimized product pages, reviews, and dedicated offers.

The Messy Middle revolution: how users really make decisions in 2025

The linearity and consequentiality of these classic models have been severely tested by the reality of recent years, which is much more multifaceted, complex, and multi-channel than in the past.

Google has therefore devised a new search model to describe user behavior in the online purchasing process and today’s decision-making process, called, as mentioned, the messy middle. Goodbye to the funnel, welcome to a continuous cycle, at times chaotic, in which the user moves between two mental states: exploration and evaluation. The winner of the visibility game is not the one who creates the narrowest funnel, but the one who manages to be present, useful, and convincing at every stage of this disorderly cycle.

The term refers to the chaos that reigns in the industry in light of the proliferation of information and choices available to consumers: more precisely, the messy middle represents the intermediate stage of the funnel, where users explore and evaluate their options without any apparent “logic.”. At this stage, users may repeatedly switch between searching for information and evaluating alternatives, influenced by various factors such as reviews, product comparisons, special offers, and social proof.

At the heart of the messy middle is a continuous loop between exploration and evaluation, two mental activities that the user performs repeatedly before making a decision.

• Exploration: this is the expansive stage, the stage of discovery. The user broadens their options, searches for new brands they didn’t know about, and discovers entire product categories. Their Google queries are open-ended, broad, and informative. They search for “best ways to furnish a small living room” or “types of coffee machines.”
• Evaluation: this is the reductive phase, the comparison phase. The user has gathered a few options and now wants to narrow them down. They search for reviews, compare features, and try to validate a choice they are considering. Their queries become comparative and specific: “[product A] vs [product B],” “reviews [brand X],” “how much does [service Y] cost.” The user can move from one phase to another dozens of times, even for a single purchase, making their journey totally unpredictable.

How cognitive biases influence the “Messy Middle”

What drives a user to break out of this loop and make a decision? Mental shortcuts, or cognitive biases. Google has identified six main ones that operate in this space. Being aware of these biases allows you to create content and offers that reassure, persuade, and help the user overcome the uncertainty of evaluation. The most important ones for your digital strategy, which you can use as levers of strategic copywriting, are:

• Social proof: We trust what others do and say. Reviews, testimonials, and the number of satisfied customers are powerful weapons.
• Authority bias: We tend to trust the opinions of experts or authoritative sources. Being quoted by an industry media outlet or having the seal of approval of a recognized influencer makes a huge difference.
• Scarcity Bias: If a product is perceived as limited, its value in our eyes increases.

Marketing strategies for the Messy Middle include creating content that answers users’ questions and concerns, optimizing product pages to provide comprehensive and detailed information, and using retargeting techniques to keep the brand top-of-mind during the decision-making process. It is essential to provide social proof, such as reviews and testimonials, and product comparisons to help users evaluate their options more effectively. In addition, it is important to use analytics tools to monitor user behavior in the Messy Middle and identify points of friction that could prevent conversion. This data can be used to further optimize marketing strategies and improve the user experience.

In concrete terms?

You search Google for “best smoothie blender.” After reading a couple of articles, you end up on YouTube for a comparison video, then on TikTok to see quick recipes. You’re still exploring. After an hour, you find yourself on Amazon comparing reviews and prices: you’re already in the evaluation stage.

Another scenario: you want to book a weekend away. You open ten tabs with “hotels in central Florence,” read reviews on Booking, then watch reels on Instagram with similar experiences. You don’t follow a linear path, but jump back and forth until you feel confident.

In this space of uncertainty, cognitive biases come into play that accelerate the decision:

• Social proof: 500 5-star reviews on Amazon dispel many doubts.
• Authority: a dermatologist recommending a cream on YouTube carries more weight than a thousand product pages.
• Scarcity: the banner “only 3 rooms left” banner pushes you to book immediately.

Your job is to be there in every micro-moment: guide exploration with useful content and make evaluation easier by reducing uncertainty and friction.

Beyond the classic funnel: knowing the fundamentals to overcome them

In short, the digital customer journey is no longer linear. Users do not meekly descend the funnel, but enter and exit at different times, go back, compare alternatives, read reviews, watch videos on TikTok, and are influenced by advice on Instagram or results synthesized by Google’s AI Overview.

The path is fragmented, made up of micro-moments and decisions made or postponed based on stimuli that you cannot fully control.

The model remains the same (awareness → interest → decision → action), but each stage exists across multiple channels, with different signals and irregular timing. Your job is to monitor what the person is looking for at that moment, measure progress, and reduce friction between steps. Don’t stop at conversion: customer retention and brand loyalty determine much of the value you will bring home.

That’s why the marketing funnel should be considered an interpretive map, not a rigid path. You need it to identify the touchpoints that really matter, to understand what content to produce and how to distribute it, and to determine which metrics to observe. In this sense, the funnel is not outdated: it has become a more flexible model that helps you bring consistency to a chaotic and competitive journey. Instead of thinking of it as a closed funnel, imagine it as a guide to navigate the digital customer journey, where the ability to be found and build trust is what determines success.

The stages of the marketing funnel

Every purchase journey may seem unique, but if you look closely, it always moves along certain recurring stages. In marketing, these are summarized in four key moments: awareness, interest, decision, and action. Today, loyalty and advocacy are added to these, completing the cycle and determining much of the value that a customer brings over time.

Despite the fragmentation of the digital customer journey, distinguishing the main stages remains useful for understanding what content to create, what signals to observe, and what levers to use at any given moment.

The point is not to pigeonhole everyone into the same pattern, but to give you a compass. Understanding what stage a person is at allows you to choose the right message, the most suitable format, and the channel in which to intercept them. If you address someone who has just come into contact with your brand as if they were already ready to buy, you will lose them. If you treat someone who is close to making a decision as a stranger, you risk slowing down an already mature conversion.

People jump from one point to another, compare alternatives, go back, interrupt, and resume the journey. The funnel helps you read these behaviors and set consistent actions: attract attention when a need arises, nurture interest with relevant content, facilitate the decision with evidence and reassurance, and make the action simple and natural. Then comes the most important part: keeping the relationship alive, so that a customer does not remain isolated, but becomes loyal and perhaps even a promoter of your brand.

Awareness: being found in micro-moments

Awareness arises in quick and often invisible moments: a query typed into Google, a tip seen on social media, a voice search done on the fly while in the car. These are micro-moments when a person is not yet thinking about your product but is looking for useful answers. If you can be there with the right content, you’ve already won half the battle.

At this stage, you’re not selling: you’re offering clarity and guidance. A guide that explains how to solve a problem, a short video that shows an alternative, an article that addresses a frequently asked question. The goal is to become the most authoritative and immediate source, the one that satisfies curiosity without forcing people to look elsewhere.

The work doesn’t stop with publishing content: how you structure it matters. Titles that really respond to queries, snippets that summarize the solution, images and videos that capture attention in seconds. Every detail must help readers or viewers understand that they are in the right place.

SEO is crucial here, but it’s not enough. You need to cover all the points where questions arise: organic results, AI Overview, social media, informative newsletters, even chatbots and voice assistants. The challenge is to cover the widest possible perimeter without losing focus, focusing on keywords and topics that naturally connect you to your industry.

Practical tips for working in the awareness phase

Being present in the awareness phase means reaching a large, often unqualified audience, but one that is essential for fueling the next phases. This is when you make your first impression: if you get it wrong here, you won’t get a second chance.

Here, the user asks open-ended questions (“how…”, “why…”, “what problem…”). They don’t want your product: they want quick and reliable answers.

Work on three pillars:

• Coverage of intent: clusters of informative keywords, PAA questions, related entities. Pay attention to thematic breadth (topic clusters) and depth (pillar + satellite content).
• Formats that capture attention: concise guides, how-to guides with examples, short videos, summary charts. All content must “fit in SERP”: titles that respond, opening paragraphs that resolve, clean snippets.
• Distribution: SEO, YouTube, short videos, and light editorial newsletters. The goal is to be where the question arises.

Metrics that matter: non-branded impressions and share of voice, new user growth, CTR on informational snippets, presence in PAA/AI Overview.

Common mistakes: wordy definitions, empty synonyms, “encyclopedic” pieces without examples; cannibalization between similar articles.

With SEOZoom: identify clusters and questions with Question Explorer and AI Engine, measure coverage and content gaps, monitor SERP movements with AI Rank, and compare competitors.

Interest: nurture the contact and build trust

Initial curiosity turns into interest when a person wants to understand whether you are trustworthy. This is where the interest phase comes into play: informative content is no longer enough; you need to demonstrate competence and credibility.

Formats change: comparisons between solutions, checklists, white papers, webinars, demos. These are all tools that show how you solve a problem and why your proposal is solid. You don’t have to convince them right away, but accompany them as they sort through the alternatives.

This is when trust is built with tangible evidence: case studies, data, reviews, real-world examples. The more you can contextualize the benefits, the more you reduce the distance between the user and the decision stage.

The relationship must be nurtured. A well-designed nurturing process—targeted emails, related content, internal links that guide users through articles—keeps their attention alive without forcing it. This is where you position yourself as a reliable resource: those who come back to you do so not by chance, but because they recognize you as a valid interlocutor.

Practical tips for working in the interest phase

At this point, the user has understood the problem and is evaluating approaches. They are looking for evidence, methods, and real-life cases. Provide substance:

• Mid-level content: comparisons, operational checklists, downloadable templates, webinars with Q&A, demo videos.
• Internal paths: contextual links that lead from TOFU guides to MOFU insights and “how it works” pages. Avoid labyrinthine menus: a clear step towards the next piece of content.
• Credibility: data, sources, real screenshots, short case studies. Trust grows if you show how results are achieved, not just that they are achieved.

Metrics that matter: actual reading time (not just average), scroll depth, returns within 7–14 days, “soft” downloads/registrations, newsletter subscriptions.

Common mistakes: gated content too early; Heavy PDFs without previews; pages that promise “definitive solutions” but don’t show the process.

With SEOZoom: strengthen topics with the editorial assistant (semantic enrichment), analyze competitors’ MOFU pages, and create internal links from high Zoom Authority assets to those you want to promote.

Decision: convert with social proof and optimized UX

When the person is close to making a choice, every detail can change the final outcome. Here, it’s not the volume of content that matters, but surgical precision.

Social proof is a powerful lever: verified reviews, specific testimonials, concrete numbers. Show results obtained, before and after, quotes from real customers. These are confirmations that dispel doubts and fears.

Equally important is the user experience: a clear product page, visible call to action, transparent information on price and conditions, quick checkout. At this stage, the user should never feel confused or betrayed by hidden details.

An effective conversion path simplifies: it eliminates unnecessary clicks, avoids long forms, and offers secure and immediate payment options. Every obstacle removed is one more step towards a positive conclusion to the funnel.

Practical tips for working in the decision phase

Here, every friction point is costly. Those who have made it this far need clear confirmation and a smooth journey.

• Social proof on display: verifiable reviews, customer logos, concrete numbers, mini-cases with “before/after.” Avoid generic testimonials; show the context (industry, goal, result).
• Clarity of offer: what it includes, what it excludes, timing, returns/warranties, transparent pricing. No surprises at checkout.
• UX that doesn’t get in the way: single, consistent call to action, short forms, popular payment methods, solid mobile performance, microcopy that anticipates doubts.

Metrics that matter: add-to-cart/start-checkout, completion rate, abandonment by step, CTR of BOFU CTAs, assist conversions from MOFU.

Common mistakes: conflicting multiple CTAs, hidden costs at the final stage, lack of “us vs. alternatives” comparison.

With SEOZoom: monitor BOFU keywords (“price,” “opinions,” “alternative to…”), check how CTR changes when title/meta varies, study comparative SERPs to understand which levers (reviews, tables, videos) are winning.

Action and beyond: retention and advocacy

Conversion is not the end: it is the beginning of the real relationship. If you stop at the purchase, you have spent resources to gain a customer who will soon forget your brand. Retention changes the game: clear onboarding, effective support, and personalized post-purchase communications are what turn a casual customer into a regular customer.

Advocacy is the next step: when a satisfied customer becomes a spontaneous promoter. It takes more than just a loyalty program or a discount: it takes consistent experiences, fast support, and valuable content even after the sale. This increases the likelihood that the person will leave positive reviews, recommend the brand, and return to buy again.

Retention and advocacy are not “extras”: they affect revenue as much as acquisition. Investing in these stages means reducing the total cost per customer and multiplying the return on your initial efforts.

This extension of the model is not a theoretical detail, but a prerequisite for growth in saturated markets. Acquisition costs are constantly rising; what multiplies the return is the ability to turn a casual customer into a regular customer, and a regular customer into a brand ambassador.

Practical tips for working in the action, retention, and advocacy phases

The sale is a step, not the goal. The value lies in repetition and the ability to generate referrals.

• Targeted onboarding: emails and tutorials that reduce “time-to-value,” guided tours, checklists for the first 7 days.
• Lifecycle: advanced usage content, relevant upsells/cross-sells, exclusive communities or channels.
• Loyalty programs and UGC: rewards for repurchasing, incentives for reviews, sharing user cases and results.

Metrics that matter: repeat purchase rate, LTV, churn, NPS, growth in branded searches (if they search for you by name, you’re winning), recurrence of direct traffic.

Common mistakes: post-purchase silence, one-size-fits-all messages, aggressive promotions unrelated to actual product use.

With SEOZoom: monitor branded keywords over time, observe how support/knowledge base pages rank and generate assisted traffic to BOFU.

Dealing with the messy middle

Let’s repeat: between interest and decision there is the messy middle, the space where people oscillate – they explore options, then go back to evaluate, then re-explore. Here you win if:

• You make it easy to compare: honest “comparison” pages (vs. yourself and vs. alternatives), summary tables, comparative videos.
• You activate healthy behavioral levers: social proof (recent reviews), authority (recognized experts), reassurance (clear warranty/return policy), real scarcity (not fake urgency).
• You are present where needed: “educational” remarketing (not hammering), fresh MOFU content, snippets that really respond to comparative queries.

The goal is not to force a linear path, but to reduce uncertainty at every micro-moment. The funnel remains your map: it helps you understand what assets to create, how to connect them, and how to measure impact without losing sight of the big picture.

Types of funnels and practical applications

There is no universal funnel that works for everyone. You need to choose the right structure based on what you want to achieve and how your customers make decisions. In some cases, you need to shorten the time frame and get a contact to try the product right away: this is where we talk about sales funnels. In others, the priority is to collect qualified leads and nurture them with content until they are ready to buy: this is the realm of lead generation.

If, on the other hand, your goal is to become a point of reference and gain authority, the content marketing and SEO funnel is the model to follow: thematic hubs, pillar pages, and content designed to capture searches and turn them into branded searches. The e-commerce funnel is even more concrete: from initial inspiration to checkout, every page and every interaction affects the final result.

These types do not exist in isolation, but often overlap: a SaaS combines lead gen and content hubs, a retailer combines e-commerce and SEO logic, a B2B brand builds sales funnels fueled by webinars and white papers. The point is to understand that the funnel is not a textbook theory, but a practice to be adapted: choose the most useful scheme, observe how your audience reacts, and recalibrate your moves.

• Sales funnel (SaaS)

If you sell software or subscriptions, or you have a trial or freemium product and want to turn interest into paying activations, the most effective path remains: targeted content/advertisement → dedicated landing page → trial → onboarding → upgrade. It works when you remove any doubts before the trial and quickly bring the user to their “aha moment.”

A well-known case is that of Crazy Egg. After some CRO work, a much longer and more detailed page (with objections, social proof, explanations) led to a +363% conversion rate, with an additional +64% thanks to an explanatory video and +116% by removing friction in the free trial checkout. Translated: more clarity before the trial, less anxiety at the time of payment, more sign-ups that then become paying customers.

In practice, monitor BOFU and comparative queries (“trial,” “prices,” “vs”), build a landing page that responds extensively to objections, and design an essential onboarding process (3–5 steps) to immediately convey value. With SEOZoom, you can intercept decision-making keywords and monitor comparative SERPs; then keep an eye on the growth of branded search to see if you are gaining trust.

Remember: your goal is not only to activate the trial, but to ensure that the user immediately sees the value of the product. Take care of onboarding: a few steps, an immediate “aha moment,” and a path that quickly leads them to use the key feature.

• Lead generation funnel (B2B/services)

When the sale is consultative or long-cycle, the goal is not to “sell immediately,” but to generate qualified leads to nurture. You need a qualified pipeline, not just traffic; concrete lead magnets (e-books, checklists, benchmarks) and webinars with real Q&A, followed by nurturing emails segmented by role or interest, perform well here. Benchmarks from platforms such as ON24 show average participation rates of around 55-57% of registrants and excellent on-demand performance for weeks after the event: an asset that continues to generate leads and opportunities if the follow-up is personalized.

In concrete terms, choose an “urgent but solvable” problem, promise a specific result, and reduce the form to the essentials. A webinar is not a commercial: use real cases and live questions to segment, then send a sequence of 5–7 emails that lead from content to demo/consultation. With Question Explorer, you can identify the questions that matter, and with Competitor Analysis, you can understand which formats are bringing in leads in the industry.

The secret is not to leave the lead “cold.” After registration, send a sequence of emails designed to nurture interest and trust: first useful content, then case studies, and only at the end the demo or consultation proposal.

• Content marketing and SEO funnel → thematic hubs, pillar pages, branded search

If you need to gain authority and share of voice, work on thematic hubs and pillar pages that oversee the informational intent and naturally connect to solutions. In the B2B sector, Cisco has invested in a proprietary magazine (The Network) and editorial series such as “True Stories of the Connected”, capable of generating thousands of views and shares and strengthening the perception of the brand as a primary source in its domain. Among other indicators, the initiative achieved over 16,000 page views on the magazine and thousands of social interactions, proving that well-orchestrated narrative content fuels awareness and consideration.

You can map the topic with SEOZoom (pillar + cluster + comparisons), design pages to “stay in SERP” (PAA, snippets, videos, reviews), insert “Why [brand] for [problem]” blocks in the pillars, and monitor the growth of branded searches over time.

For you, this means mapping a key topic, creating a pillar page that covers it in depth, and linking satellite content that answers specific questions. This way, you intercept informational queries and comparisons and, over time, strengthen demand for your brand.

• E-commerce funnel (fashion, travel, retail) → Santoni, THUN, Avventure Bellissime

In e-commerce, inspiring content, credible PDPs, and a frictionless purchasing flow are what count.

Three useful cases:

1. Santoni (luxury footwear): full-funnel approach (upper funnel + performance) across multiple markets. Reported results: +123% sessions YoY, decrease in bounce rate, increase in pages per session and average duration; increase in frequency of exposure to messages, then extension of the project to the entire funnel.
2. THUN (home décor/retail): omnichannel strategy with Store Visits measurement and integrated media mix. Results: +62% traffic, +60% revenue, and +60% revenue from Paid over the indicated period.
3. Avventure Bellissime (tour operator): educational funnel (content + email + CRO) for post-pandemic relaunch: +30% requests/bookings and over €320k in additional revenue attributed to the sales funnel implemented.

If you work in fashion/retail, take care of PDP with fit, materials, short videos, recent reviews, and UGC; in travel, build clear itinerary pages (transparent dates/prices/FAQs) and an email sequence for the time window of interest. In all cases, measure add-to-cart, cart abandonment by step, review velocity, and the impact of remarketing on the comparison phase. With SEOZoom, observe SERP volatility on key categories, check competitors’ “winning” assets, and align content and UX where it matters.

The common thread is always the same: complete product sheets, recent reviews, FAQs that eliminate doubts, and a checkout without surprises. Add to this post-purchase retention and advocacy incentives (reviews, UGC, loyalty programs) to close the loop.

How to optimize the modern funnel: strategies and examples

Let’s continue to understand how to navigate these chaotic paths, with more practical tips for mapping content and marketing actions to the exploration/evaluation cycle, as well as ideas for using SEOZoom to orchestrate everything in a strategic and data-driven way.

• The funnel for e-commerce: from need to unboxing

For an e-commerce business, mastering the messy middle means becoming a trusted guide even before becoming a point of sale.

In the exploration phase, the user has a need (“I want to improve the quality of my sleep”). Your job is to intercept their informational queries with in-depth blog articles (“How to choose the right pillow for side sleepers”), buying guides, and inspirational content. Use keyword research tools and user question analysis to discover the entire universe of problems and doubts related to your product. Identify high-volume, low-competition informational intent to build your content around.

In the evaluation phase, the user is comparing options (“memory foam pillow vs. latex pillow”). Here you need to dominate with impeccable product pages, rich with verified reviews, “unboxing” photos and videos, and clear comparison tables. Use our SERP Analysis to study what Google puts on its page, but also how the top competitors present their products. With ADS Insight, analyze their paid ads to understand what benefits and persuasive levers they use to drive sales and replicate the winning strategies on your pages.

• The funnel for SaaS (Software as a Service): from demo to retention

For a SaaS company, the funnel is longer and based on building trust and demonstrating value.

In the exploration phase, you can create “problem-aware” content that doesn’t talk about your software, but about the problem it solves (such as “5 strategies to reduce email management time”). Offer free resources of enormous value, such as webinars, e-books, or industry reports, in exchange for a contact. Use our topic analysis feature to map all the subtopics related to your customer’s main problem. This will allow you to build an authoritative content hub that covers every aspect of the issue, positioning you as the industry expert.

In the Evaluation phase, you know that the user is looking for software. Offer free trials, personalized demos, detailed case studies showing concrete results, and, above all, honest and transparent comparison pages with your competitors. Monitor your ranking for comparative keywords (“your brand vs. competitors”) and the growth of your branded searches. An increase in searches for your name is the strongest indicator that you are winning the battle for trust in the messy middle.

• The funnel for publishing and content marketing: from casual reader to loyal subscriber

For a blog or online magazine, the product is the content itself, and the conversion is trust, which manifests itself in newsletter subscriptions.

In the Exploration phase, you attract traffic with news, guides, and articles that respond to broad curiosities and intercept current trends. The goal is to get discovered by a wide audience. Use our trend analysis tools to identify emerging topics and fast-growing keywords in your industry, so you can get there before everyone else.

Once the user is on your site, your job is to show them that you are such an authoritative source that you deserve a place in their inbox. Use strategic internal links to guide them to your “pillar” content and offer exclusive insights (a report, checklist, video) in exchange for subscribing to your newsletter. Use our Editorial Assistant while you write. It will guide you in creating semantically rich content that answers all of the user’s related questions, increasing the time spent on the page and the likelihood that the user will be convinced of your expertise.

Tools and techniques for building a funnel

Beyond theory, a funnel only works if you have tools that allow you to manage contacts, automate steps, and read data. Without a CRM, you risk losing track of leads; without automation, you waste time on repetitive tasks; without analysis, you don’t know where you’re losing people along the way. And today, there’s an extra ally: artificial intelligence, which helps you interpret signals and make faster decisions.

Techniques don’t magically change from one industry to another, but they do need to be adapted. What matters is having control over:

• data collection and management
• automation of follow-ups and content
• the ability to continuously test what works and what needs to be eliminated.

Automation tools and CRM

A CRM is the beating heart of your funnel: it allows you to track every interaction and have a clear history of contacts. Platforms such as HubSpot give you the ability to manage the entire cycle, from the first lead to the sale, with visible pipelines and detailed reports. If you don’t need such a large ecosystem, lighter solutions such as Mailchimp or ActiveCampaign remain solid tools for email automation, nurturing, and segmentation.

The difference is in how you use the data. It’s not enough to just send a newsletter; you need to understand what stage the contact is at and send different messages to those who have just joined, those who have shown interest, or those who are one step away from making a decision. With a well-set-up CRM, you have the history of each lead at your fingertips and can orchestrate consistent follow-ups without missing opportunities.

Funnel and optimization software

A funnel is also made up of pages, paths, and continuous testing. That’s why there is dedicated software that helps you build landing pages, track conversions, and experiment with variations. Tools such as Unbounce or Instapage allow you to create ad hoc landing pages without having to write a line of code, while A/B testing platforms such as Optimizely or Google Optimize alternatives are used to check which version of a page generates the most results.

The right approach is not to “create once and leave it there,” but to measure, compare, and change. Even a small change—a clearer CTA, a form with one less field, a title that better answers a question—can reverse conversion rates. And without optimization tools, you risk relying on intuition, which rarely stands up to the test of data.

How SEOZoom supports the funnel

This is where SEOZoom comes in, because the funnel starts long before the landing page or CRM. It all starts with keyword research: knowing what questions users ask at different stages (informative, comparative, transactional) allows you to build content that meets their real needs. With our platform, you can identify TOFU, MOFU, and BOFU clusters and turn them into editorial assets or product pages.

When the content is ready, the AI Engine simulates how it will be interpreted by classic or AI-based search engines, so you can understand if you have hit the mark before you even publish, avoiding costly mistakes. If you work with advertising, Ads Insight shows you your competitors’ strategies: keywords, copy, landing pages. This is valuable information for designing funnels that go beyond organic traffic.

And there is one aspect that many underestimate: branded searches. If searches related to your brand are growing, it means that your funnels are not only converting, but also building trust and memory.

SEOZoom is not a CRM or an automation tool, and it does not replace them, but it gives you the foundation: it tells you what content to create, how to monitor SERPs, and where you are losing ground.

Without this part, the funnel risks resting on thin air.

How to create a funnel for SEO

SEO is an important component of a successful funnel, as it aims to improve the visibility of the website on search engines and increase organic traffic.

To create an SEO-optimized funnel, it is useful to follow these steps:

• Keyword research. Identify the keywords relevant to your industry and your products or services, so you can create content optimized for these keywords at different stages of the funnel. Using tools such as Google Keyword Planner or SEOZoom (ça va sans dire), you can identify and analyze the most relevant keywords, with a good search volume and realistic chances of competition.
• Create quality content. Write useful, high-quality content that answers users’ questions and meets their needs at every stage of the funnel. For example, create in-depth articles and guides for ToFu, case studies and comparisons for MoFu, and customer testimonials or reviews for BoFu. It is important to optimize this content for the topics and keywords identified in your research.
• Site structure and navigation. Organize your website in a logical and intuitive way, making it easy for users to navigate through the funnel. Basic recommendations include using a hierarchical structure with clear categories and subcategories and creating specific landing pages for different stages of the funnel.
• On-page optimization. Take care of every page of the website so that it is optimized for SEO, with appealing and relevant titles and meta descriptions, semantic and well-structured URLs, and proper content formatting (use of titles, subtitles, bulleted lists, etc.). In addition, optimize images by using alt attributes and reducing file size to improve page loading speed.
• Link building. Work on building a quality backlink profile by obtaining links from authoritative sites relevant to our industry: this will help improve your authority and also boost your position in search results.
• Analysis and continuous improvement. Constantly monitor funnel performance through tools such as Google Analytics, paying attention to key metrics such as conversion rate, time spent on the site, and bounce rate. Identify any problems or areas for improvement as soon as possible and make the necessary changes to further optimize the funnel and improve results.

How to measure and optimize the funnel

If the funnel is no longer linear, how do you measure it? As always, your compass for understanding whether you are working correctly is numbers and data, but you need to abandon vanity metrics and focus on new brand KPIs.

Measuring the funnel means transforming the user’s journey into a readable map: where you gain attention, where you grow in trust, where you convert, and how much value you retain over time. Classic metrics (CTR, conversion rate) remain useful, but today we also need indicators that tell us about competitive positioning and brand strength: share of voice on your topics, branded search growth, SERP share occupied by your results (organic, video, reviews, AI Overview).

You should not think of measuring a sequential path, but rather evaluating the effectiveness of individual touchpoints.

To gain actionable insights, define a measurable goal for each stage, set up consistent tracking (GA4 events, micro-conversion tags, CRM synchronization), and review the data at regular intervals.

The cycle is continuous: observe → hypothesize → test → implement → remeasure.

Each stage of the journey has its own KPIs, and learning to read them correctly puts you in a position to improve not only your immediate results but also the long-term strength of your brand.

What are the KPIs for awareness?

Awareness is about the problem, not the product. Here, you want to understand how much space you occupy when the demand arises.

• Organic share of voice on information clusters: how much visibility do you have compared to your competitors on TOFU queries.
• Non-branded traffic and new users: these measure your ability to attract those who do not yet know you.
• Coverage of SERP features (PAA, videos, reviews, snippets): the more formats you cover, the more likely you are to be chosen as the answer.
• SERP volatility on key topics: if the page drops when volatility increases, you need to update the content, examples, and format.

Typical actions when signals slow down: expand the cluster with adjacent questions, rewrite the initial hook to win the snippet, add a short explanatory video, update examples and data to realign with current intent.

What are the KPIs for interest

In the interest phase, depth and progression matter: how long you remain relevant and how many steps towards evaluation actually take place.

• Actual reading time and deep scrolling on MOFU pages;
• Downloads (e-books, checklists), registrations for webinars/on-demand, subscriptions to newsletters;
• Returns within 7–14 days and views of “how it works” pages: signs that you are building trust;
• Engagement on intermediate content (comparisons, case studies, tutorials): if these grow, you are bringing the user closer to a decision.

With SEOZoom, you can enrich MOFU content with the Editorial Assistant, create internal links from high Zoom Authority assets to “next step” pages, and monitor evaluative keywords to see if you are rising where the choice is made.

What are the KPIs for the decision

In the decision phase, every friction counts. Measure performance and sustainability.

• Conversion rate per page/pipeline (demo, trial, purchase) and completion per step of form/checkout;
• AOV (average order value) and UPT (units per transaction) to measure perceived value;
• CAC (customer acquisition cost) and ROI/ROAS to determine if you can scale;
• CTR and position of BOFU keywords (“prices,” “opinions,” “vs”): if they grow, the shortlist includes you.

Optimizations that move the needle: recent and verifiable social proof, honest comparisons (including vs. alternatives), friction FAQs integrated into the page, essential forms, clear payment options. Each element must be tested and kept only if it brings a net improvement in conversion or margin.

How to test and optimize continuously

The funnel yields more when you experiment in a disciplined manner. Set up a test backlog with hypotheses, primary metrics, and minimum improvement thresholds; avoid random experiments.

• A/B test headlines, CTAs, layouts, arguments, and pricing displays; in SEO content, test attack structure and response blocks to win snippets and PAAs.
• Prioritization: start with bottlenecks (pages with high traffic and low phase progression).
• Continuous competitive analysis.

The right pace is cyclical: observe data and SERPs with SEOZoom, choose the point of maximum leverage, test a single variation, implement what wins, and remeasure the impact on share of voice, branded search, and conversion. This is how the funnel stops being theory and becomes a growth machine.

What to learn from examples of successful funnel marketing

Practical examples are the best way to understand if a funnel really works. Looking at the numbers helps you distinguish theory from reality: every industry has its own dynamics, but in all cases, the effective path starts with listening to users and the ability to guide them with targeted messages and touchpoints. Fashion, tourism, retail, and B2B have different goals, but they share the same challenge: turning initial attention into trust, and trust into action.

In high-end e-commerce, the funnel is often a delicate balance between storytelling and performance. A brand cannot rely solely on the product: it must orchestrate content, pages, and campaigns that maintain consistency with its image while delivering measurable results. Santoni has redesigned its digital experience with funnels that accompany users from discovery to purchase, through editorial content and curated product sheets. The result has been more qualified traffic and users who stay longer, a sign that the path has been built to convince step by step.

In tourism, on the other hand, the funnel works when it transforms inspiration into concrete bookings, with smooth transitions and zero friction. And the case study of Avventure Bellissime shows that there is no need to chase aggressive discounts: it is enough to build trust with clear information and smooth paths.

Omnichannel retail has yet another requirement: integrating online and offline, because the purchasing journey does not end on the website but continues in the store. Thun has succeeded in this, generating value throughout the ecosystem and connecting the digital to the physical experience.

Finally, in B2B, the funnel does not aim to sell immediately: it serves to build a qualified pipeline, made up of contacts to be nurtured and automated over time. Galbani Professionale has built targeted paths for chefs and HoReCa operators, with dedicated content and an automation system that manages newsletters, recipes, and promotions. In a short time, it has generated over 5,000 qualified leads and activated more than 100 automated workflows, transforming communication into a scalable and continuous process.

What these scenarios have in common is the ability to measure impact in a tangible way. We are not talking about abstract “engagement”: success stories report growth percentages, additional revenue, qualified leads, and average time on site. These are numbers that tell real stories and show how funnel optimization can directly impact sales, loyalty, and brand value.

Advantages and challenges of funnel marketing

The funnel remains a powerful tool because it forces you to look at the customer journey in an orderly and logical way. It gives you clarity because it makes visible the stages that lead from an anonymous contact to a paying customer. It offers you measurability because each step can have specific KPIs: share of voice, conversion rate, CAC, retention. And it allows for personalization, because you can segment messages and content based on where the person is. In a market saturated with channels and messages, this structure continues to be a competitive advantage: if you know where the journey breaks down, you also know where to intervene to recover opportunities.

But today’s challenges are no longer those of a linear funnel. The customer journey is fragmented: a user goes from TikTok to Google, from a Facebook group to a comparison site, then maybe buys from their mobile after seeing a newsletter. Message saturation makes it difficult to stand out, and the arrival of Google’s AI Overview changes the rules: evaluation no longer takes place only on the site, but directly in SERP, where information is synthesized by artificial intelligence.

Last-click attribution models are definitely dead, and you need to think in terms of “Search Everywhere Optimization”: monitoring every touchpoint, creating a consistent, recognizable, and valuable brand experience, from Google’s SERP to Instagram feeds, from the podcasts they listen to in the car to the newsletters they read in the morning.

Why the funnel will still be useful in 2025

The funnel, therefore, is no longer a static funnel but a framework that helps you make sense of the chaos. It is not the definitive answer, but the compass that allows you to adapt. The real benefits come when you use it dynamically: you observe the data, redesign the paths, test new experiences, and maintain a consistent vision despite the complexity of the channels.

Even with all these limitations, it remains the most practical framework for structuring a marketing process. It allows you to link content, KPIs, and tools in a sequence that you can measure. Even if users do not follow a linear path, you need a map to understand where to focus your investments and resources. It’s not a perfect model, but it’s the one that allows you to talk to your team, partners, and management in a clear and shared way.

The challenges of multichannel and AI

The messy middle is already a complex reality, but evolution does not stop. The forces of artificial intelligence and multichannel are making the user journey even more fragmented and unpredictable. Being aware of these challenges is the only way to build a strategy that will last over time and not become obsolete in six months.

The funnel is measured using data

Only comprehensive data tells you where you are losing users and where you are gaining trust. SEOZoom shows you the real picture.

Find out more

Today, your users never encounter you in just one place. They switch from Google to social media platforms, scroll through reviews, read articles, and watch videos. This makes the funnel multi-channel and discontinuous: you need to be ready to intercept signals everywhere, adapting your content to the format and context. AI further complicates the picture: Google’s AI Overview concentrates the evaluation phase directly in SERP, reducing the space for your landing pages and raising the barrier to entry. To get chosen, you must already be recognized as an authoritative source, because only then will Google include you in the summary.

The brand as a “true funnel”

The only real “shortcut” that users can take to get out of the messy middle is trust.

When a brand becomes so strong, recognizable, and authoritative that it is the user’s first choice (the first search they do when they have a need), it has effectively won the battle. If the searcher has already decided to type in your name, you’ve skipped all the messiness of the messy middle: they don’t have to compare endless alternatives, they don’t have to validate every detail, they already know they trust you. This is the “true funnel” of 2025: building a brand so solid that it becomes the natural first choice. It means investing in consistent content, customer experience, and reputation. Because, beyond models and tools, it is the brand that really makes the difference between a bumpy ride and an immediate choice.

Funnel marketing: FAQs and final questions to clarify

Our journey into modern funnel marketing ends here. We have dismantled the old and reassuring linear funnel and embraced the more complex, but also much more opportunity-rich, reality of the messy middle. We have seen how your customer’s journey is a chaotic cycle of exploration and evaluation, and how your goal is no longer to force a path, but to become the constant and reliable reference point within this cycle.

The digital funnel has evolved: it is not a model to be applied mechanically, but a method for reading and optimizing the customer journey based on real data. It has gone from being a rigid sequence of steps to a fluid strategy of building trust on every channel. Your job is no longer to create a mandatory path, but to be the light that guides the user on their messy journey, providing them with the right answer at the right time, wherever they are.

The road to success is clear: if you can understand where the journey gets stuck and build precise responses, you have a competitive advantage. However, there are still some recurring questions that are worth addressing directly.

1. What is a marketing funnel?

It is a representation of the journey that takes a user from their first contact with a brand to the final conversion, passing through stages of awareness, interest, decision, and action.

2. What is the purpose of a marketing funnel?

It serves to structure activities and content in order to guide the user, reduce dispersion, and improve the chances of conversion.

3. What are the stages of the marketing funnel?

Traditionally: awareness, interest, decision, and action. Today, loyalty and advocacy are often added to include retention and word of mouth.

4. What is the difference between a marketing funnel and a sales funnel?

The marketing funnel aims to generate leads and interest; the sales funnel works to turn those leads into paying customers. They are related but not identical. The conversion funnel is a broader concept that covers both processes to maximize the number of paying customers.

5. How do you create an effective marketing funnel?

Start with thorough keyword and needs research, build targeted content for each stage, take care of landing pages and UX, and constantly measure KPIs to optimize.

6. What is the conversion funnel?

It is the part of the funnel that focuses on the final actions (sign-up, purchase, demo request), with the goal of turning interest into a decision.

7. What do TOFU, MOFU, and BOFU mean?

They are operational acronyms: Top of Funnel (awareness), Middle of Funnel (consideration), Bottom of Funnel (decision and conversion).

8. What is the Messy Middle?

It is the model introduced by Google that describes the intermediate phase between stimulus and purchase: a disordered cycle of exploration and evaluation, influenced by cognitive biases and multiple sources.

9. Will funnels still be relevant in 2025?

Yes, but not as linear schemes: today they work if they integrate multichannel, AI Overview, and strong brand demand.

10. What tools help build and monitor a funnel?

CRM and automation platforms (HubSpot, ActiveCampaign), landing page and testing software (Unbounce, Optimizely), analytics and SEO tools such as SEOZoom.

11. Who invented funnel marketing?

The first foundations date back to Elias St. Elmo Lewis, who in 1898 formulated the AIDA model (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action).

12. What is the difference between a funnel and a customer journey?

The funnel is a schematic model used to manage marketing; the customer journey is the real, often more fragmented and non-linear map of user behavior.

13. How much does it cost to build a marketing funnel?

There is no fixed cost: it varies depending on the channels, tools, and resources used. You can start with a limited budget (content + basic automation) and work your way up to complex projects with advanced CRM and multi-channel campaigns.

14. How do you measure the success of a funnel?

With specific KPIs for each stage: share of voice and non-branded traffic for awareness, time on site and leads generated for interest, conversion rate and AOV for decision, retention and branded search for loyalty.

15. What does “the brand as a true funnel” mean?

It means that a strong brand simplifies the journey: if the user searches directly for your name, they skip the chaotic stages of the messy middle and reach a decision much faster.