Top Conversion Paths, Amplitude

Top Conversion Paths for Amplitude stores. Tracked live in Vortex IQ Nerve Centre. How to read it, why it matters, and how to act on it.

Metrics type: Supporting Metrics • Category: Analytics

At a glance

Top Conversion Paths is the ranked list of the most common event sequences users follow before completing a purchase in Amplitude, broken down row by row. It exposes the real routes to conversion rather than the idealised funnel, so merchants can see which journeys actually drive revenue. The card pairs with sibling metrics in the Analytics category to build a complete diagnostic picture; cross-reference the related cards listed below for context.

What it counts	The highest-volume ordered event sequences that end in a purchase, each row showing a path and its converting-user count, derived from Amplitude pathing analysis.
Sample type	Backend API data from Amplitude, refreshed on the standard data refresh.
Why it matters	Knowing which paths convert most lets merchants reinforce the journeys that work and spot unexpected routes that may indicate confusion or hidden demand.
Reading the value	Read the table top down. The top rows are the dominant routes; surprising entries or shifting rank between periods are the signals worth investigating.
Currency	count
Time window	30D
Alert trigger	-
Sentiment key	amp_top_conversion_paths
Roles	owner, marketing

Calculation

Calculated automatically from your Amplitude data. Amplitude’s pathing analysis reconstructs the ordered event sequences users follow and groups those that end in the purchase event. The card ranks these sequences by the number of converting users over the 30-day window and presents the leaders as table rows. See the At a glance summary above for what the metric tracks and the worked example below for a typical reading.

Worked example

A representative reading of Top Conversion Paths for a typical merchant on Amplitude. The table might show the route product view to add to cart to checkout to purchase as the top path with 820 converting users, followed by a search-led path search to product view to add to cart to purchase at 410, and a category-browse path further down at 190. If a path that runs through an on-site promotion suddenly climbs the ranking, that is a route worth protecting and amplifying. Use Vortex Mind to trace why a path’s rank shifted between periods; for natural-language exploration, ask Ask Viq which path converts at the highest rate rather than the highest volume.

Sibling cards merchants should reference together

Card	Why merchants reach for it
amp_funnel_conversion	The aggregate rate these paths roll up into; read together to see what drives it.
amp_funnel_step_dropoff	Shows which step the top paths survive and which ones collapse at it.
amp_top_sources	Reveals where the users on the top paths originate.
amp_top_pages	Identifies the pages anchoring the most common converting routes.
amp_top_cohorts_by_conversion	Connects high-converting paths to the cohorts that travel them.

Reconciling against Amplitude

Where to look in Amplitude’s own dashboard:

Open Pathfinder and set the end event to your purchase event to see the ordered routes users take to convert, ranked by volume. Confirm the events in scope and the lookback window match the Vortex IQ profile. The Funnels chart cross-checks the dominant linear route, and Event Segmentation verifies the underlying event counts.

Why the Vortex IQ value may legitimately differ:

Reason	Direction	What to do
Period boundary. Vortex IQ uses a 30-day rolling window by default; a Pathfinder view may be set to calendar periods.	Variable	Match the date range in Pathfinder to a rolling 30 days.
Time zone. Amplitude buckets events by the project time zone; Vortex IQ aligns to the merchant reporting time zone.	Marginal	Confirm the project time zone matches your reporting time zone.
Filter or segment scope. Profile-level filters (platform, B2B, test users) change which paths appear and how they rank.	Variable	Apply the same segment in Pathfinder.

Cross-connector reconciliation: complement with sibling cards in the same category for the full diagnostic picture. For divergence investigations, use Vortex Mind.

Known limitations / merchant FAQs

Q: How often does Top Conversion Paths update? The card refreshes on the standard data refresh (typically every 30-60 minutes for live integrations). For real-time signals, force a manual refresh from the dashboard.

Q: Why does my Amplitude dashboard show a different number? The most common reasons are differences in which events are in scope for pathing, the lookback window, period-boundary differences (Vortex IQ uses 30-day rolling vs a Pathfinder view set to calendar months), time-zone alignment, and segment scope. Match these settings before assuming a real divergence.

Q: How does Top Conversion Paths relate to other Amplitude metrics? It is the route-level detail behind the funnel cards. Read it with funnel conversion and step drop-off to understand which journeys carry the conversions and where they break. Single-metric reads can mislead; the diagnostic value is in the cross-reference.

Q: Can I customise the alert threshold? Yes, alert thresholds are configurable per profile in the Alert Rules tab. This card lists paths rather than firing on a single number, but you can configure related funnel alerts to match your business baseline rather than relying on generic defaults.

---

Tracked live in Vortex IQ Nerve Centre

Top Conversion Paths is one of hundreds of KPI pulses Vortex IQ tracks across Amplitude and 70+ other ecommerce connectors. Nerve Centre runs the detection layer; Vortex Mind investigates the cause when something moves; Ask Viq lets you interrogate any number in plain English.

Start for free or book a demo to see this metric running on your own data.