Quick answer
Conversion rate is the number of conversions divided by the number of people or visits that had the chance to convert, expressed as a percentage.
Formula: conversion rate = converting visitors ÷ visitors × 100% (or per session, or per user — say which)
The denominator decides the number
The same week can produce three different conversion rates:
- Per visitor: 300 buyers ÷ 10,000 visitors = 3.0%.
- Per session: 300 buyers ÷ 16,000 sessions = 1.9%.
- Per order: 360 orders ÷ 16,000 sessions = 2.25% (some people bought twice).
None is wrong, but they cannot be compared with each other. When someone quotes a conversion rate, the first question is "per what?" Ad platforms, analytics tools and e-commerce platforms each have a default.
Is the change real?
Conversion rates move by chance. With 2,000 visitors and a 3% rate, the next week could easily come in anywhere from about 2.3% to 3.7% with nothing changed. Before celebrating a lift or panicking at a drop:
- Look at the count, not only the rate. 6 conversions to 9 is "+50%" and probably noise.
- For an A/B test, use a significance test on the two groups. The free conversion rate calculator runs a two-proportion test and gives a confidence interval for each group.
- Split by source. A site-wide change is often one channel changing its mix.
Conversion rate in TapCub
In TapCub a goal is either a page (exact path, prefix or wildcard such as /blog/*) or an event, optionally filtered by properties (plan=pro) and with a revenue property. The goals report shows conversions, converting visitors, conversion rate and revenue, and states the denominator next to the rate: unique visitors in the selected range. Each goal can be broken down by source, entry page, country and device.
For step-by-step conversion, use a funnel, where you choose between unique users and session attempts. Growth reports also show paying rate (buyers ÷ active users) for commerce.
Common mistakes
- Comparing rates with different denominators. An ad platform's click conversion rate is not your site's visitor conversion rate.
- Counting bots. Bots add visitors who never convert and pull the rate down.
- Reading small numbers. A page with 40 visitors cannot tell you whether 5% or 8% is right.
- Optimising one step in isolation. A pop-up that doubles email sign-ups can lower purchases.
Related guides: Conversion Tracking, Micro Conversions and Lead Conversion Rate. See also what is a good conversion rate and landing page conversion rate.
See also: Website conversion.
See also
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Growth Strategist
Explores acquisition channels, activation, and conversion experiments, turning data insights into actionable growth hypotheses and evaluation methods.