Conversion Rate
Conversion Rate
The conversion rate (CR) states which share of visitors performs a desired action - a purchase, a sign-up, a download. It is calculated as the number of conversions divided by the number of interactions, multiplied by 100. What counts as a conversion is defined by every site operator for their own project.
| Abbreviation | CR or CVR, sometimes called the conversion ratio |
|---|---|
| Formula | conversions ÷ interactions × 100 |
| Unit | per cent |
| What counts as a conversion | defined individually: purchase, sign-up, download, completed form |
| A good value | there is no universal one - it is only meaningful over time within the same project |
Conversion rate definition
The conversion rate is an important key performance indicator (KPI) in marketing. The conversion rate expresses the number of visitors per conversion and is given as a percentage. It shows how much revenue a single visitor produces. Conversions are the transformation of interested visitors into customers and buyers. The higher the figure, the more effective the website. Alternative terms are conversion ratio or click-to-sale rate. The abbreviation for conversion rate is CR or CVR.
How to calculate the conversion rate
Calculating the conversion rate uses a simple formula. It expresses the relation between a successful conversion and the number of interactions needed for it. So if 2 conversions came out of 6 website visits, the conversion rate is roughly 33 %. The only constant is that the number of conversions can logically never be greater than the number of interactions.
number of conversions / number of interactions * 100 = conversion rate in %.
Do not confuse the conversion rate with the click through rate: the CTR measures whether an ad was clicked at all, the conversion rate measures what happens after the click. Only both figures together with the bounce rate give a complete picture of a campaign.
What is a conversion?
As explained above, a conversion means turning an interested party into a buyer. In that case people also speak of a lead. The term conversion is widespread by now and can carry different meanings. A conversion can be fulfilled when the visitor has taken part in a vote successfully or signed a petition. It can equally mean a download or a purchase in an online shop. So the rule is: the meaning of a conversion is always defined individually. A conversion can be calculated on the basis of unique visitors as well as on plain impressions. That in principle already answers the question about a "good" conversion rate.
What is a good conversion rate?
Many site operators try to measure their own success against others. Our support team is often asked what a good conversion rate is. The question is fundamentally put wrong and there can only be one answer: there is no such thing as a good conversion rate. There are many reasons for that. The revenue of a page depends first of all on its business field and its industry. A website promoting something free of charge will struggle to sell things that cost money, whereas the only goal of an online shop is turning interested parties into buyers.
- The conversion rate is high when the conversion is defined by a free interaction, such as a free newsletter sign-up. When a conversion requires a purchase including payment and address details, a high percentage becomes much harder to reach.
- For advertising creatives the conversion rate can alternatively be defined by views or clicks. If views - that is, the number of impressions - serve as the basis, the number of conversions will of course be lower than with clicks.
Conclusion: there is no uniform definition of a CR. A CR is always site-specific and gives the webmaster a figure they can use for historical comparisons within one project. If the rate of interested parties turning into conversions has dropped over time without anything changing in the calculation or in the offer of the page, they can put the numbers into relation and draw conclusions from them. The goal must then be to optimise the conversion rate.
Conversion rate optimization with eBesucher
The conversion rate is optimised by sending selective, high-quality traffic to the landing page. eBesucher offers many ways to increase the conversion rate of a marketing campaign. A few important factors:
- Webmasters can advertise through several marketing channels and so arrive at the marketing mix that is right for them. To achieve a high conversion rate (many leads per visit), click campaigns and tasks are the first recommendation - a model that matches billing in pay per click marketing. In the surfbar, by contrast, it is often harder to produce clicks or conversions. That is reflected in the cost of an advertising campaign. Even so, the same rule applies: the right advertising measure depends on the goal a page pursues. Not sure whether to advertise through the surfbar, click campaigns or tasks? Get in touch for free, no-obligation advice.
- With the IP suspension a webmaster can make sure they only receive unique visitors. If the interval is set to 1440 minutes, the same IP (the same visitor) can only visit the page once per day at most.
- Webmasters can pick individual interests that match the landing page being advertised. That makes sure visitors with exactly those interests reach the page - the practical implementation of what the target audience definition sets out beforehand.
- With tools such as the snippet generator a webmaster can optimise the meta title and the meta description. Both are very important criteria in search engine optimization and in winning customers through Google.
