Conversion Rate
Percentage of visitors who complete a desired action.
Formula
Variables
Example
120 purchases from 4 000 visitors → CR = 3 %
How it works
Conversion rate tells you what share of all visitors ended up doing the action you wanted, such as buying, signing up, or submitting a form. It works by dividing the number of successful actions by the total number of visitors, then multiplying by 100 to turn the fraction into a percentage. This makes it easy to compare how effective different pages, ads, or campaigns are, even when they have different amounts of traffic.
When to use it
Use this formula when you want to measure how well a website, landing page, email campaign, or ad turns traffic into results. It is especially useful for comparing performance over time or across different marketing channels.
Worked example, step by step
A landing page gets 850 visitors in one week. It produces 34 newsletter sign-ups. CR = (Conversions ÷ Visitors) × 100 CR = (34 ÷ 850) × 100 CR = 0.04 × 100 CR = 4% So, the conversion rate is 4%.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Using clicks or impressions as the denominator instead of visitors or sessions
- Forgetting to multiply by 100, which leaves the answer as a decimal instead of a percentage
- Mixing up conversions with total actions recorded, such as counting duplicate purchases or repeated form submissions
Did You Know?
E-commerce conversion rates average 2–3 %; a rate above 5 % puts a site in the top 25 % globally.
Share this formula
More in Digital Marketing & Analytics
View allClick-Through Rate
BasicPercentage of ad viewers who click on the ad.
Cost Per Mille (CPM)
BasicCost to reach 1 000 viewers with an ad.
Cost Per Click
BasicAverage price paid for each click on an ad.
Cost Per Acquisition
BasicAverage cost to acquire one paying customer or conversion.
Return on Ad Spend
IntermediateRevenue generated for every currency unit spent on advertising.
Bounce Rate
BasicPercentage of visits where the user left after viewing only one page.