Little Glossary · Measurement and search
Conversion rate
Conversion rate is the percentage of visitors or users who complete a specific action: booking a demo, signing up, downloading a resource or paying. It's calculated by dividing conversions by visits, sessions or users and multiplying by 100.
How it's calculated
Conversion rate = conversions ÷ visitors × 100.
If a landing page gets 2,000 visits in a month and generates 50 demo requests, its conversion rate is 2.5%. You need to decide what goes in the denominator: sessions, unique users or visits to that page. Each tool does it its own way, so fix the definition and don't mix sources.
Macro and micro conversions
- Macro conversions: the actions that matter most to the business. Demo, sign-up, purchase.
- Micro conversions: intermediate steps that signal interest. Viewing pricing, playing a video, starting a form, subscribing to the newsletter.
Micro conversions help you understand the journey and provide data when macro conversions are few, which is common in B2B.
Why benchmarks mislead
Conversion rates vary enormously by channel, offer, industry, price and visitor intent. A page receiving branded traffic will convert more than one receiving cold ad traffic. What's useful is comparing a page with itself over time and across similar segments.
Beyond the percentage
- Quality: how many of those conversions become opportunities or customers? Simplifying a form can double leads without increasing sales.
- Volume: with few conversions, month-to-month changes may be pure noise.
- Segmentation: mobile and desktop, new and returning, by channel. A global average hides specific problems.
How to improve it
- Align the page's message with what the ad or link promised.
- Reduce friction in the form and the process.
- Add social proof near the CTA.
- Improve load speed.
- Test changes with A/B tests once there's enough traffic.
Related terms
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