Conversion Rate
Percentage of visitors or users who complete a desired action out of the total number of visitors
Overview
Conversion rate measures the percentage of visitors who complete a desired action, such as making a purchase, signing up for a trial, or filling out a form. It's a fundamental metric for understanding the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns, website design, and user experience.
Conversion optimization is critical for maximizing ROI from your traffic and marketing investments. By improving conversion rates, businesses can generate more revenue from existing traffic without increasing acquisition costs.
Conversion Rate = (Number of Conversions / Total Visitors) × 100
Macro Conversions
Primary business goals like purchases, subscriptions, or qualified leads that directly impact revenue
Micro Conversions
Smaller actions that indicate engagement like email signups, downloads, or social shares
Industry Benchmarks
E-commerce: 2-3% average, 5%+ excellent
SaaS Free Trial: 15-20% visitor-to-trial, 15-25% trial-to-paid
Lead Generation: 2-5% typical, varies by industry
Why It Matters
- ROI Optimization: Maximizes value from existing traffic and marketing spend
- User Experience: Indicates how well your site meets user needs
- Marketing Effectiveness: Shows which campaigns and channels perform best
- Revenue Growth: Direct impact on sales and lead generation
- Competitive Advantage: Higher conversion rates mean more efficient customer acquisition
- Product-Market Fit: Indicates how compelling your offering is to visitors
How to Measure It
Track conversion rates across different time periods, traffic sources, and user segments to identify optimization opportunities.
Basic Conversion Rate Analysis
-- Calculate conversion rates by traffic source
WITH daily_metrics AS (
SELECT
date,
traffic_source,
page_type,
SUM(visitors) as total_visitors,
SUM(conversions) as total_conversions,
SUM(revenue) as total_revenue
FROM web_analytics
WHERE date >= '2024-01-01'
GROUP BY 1, 2, 3
)
SELECT
traffic_source,
page_type,
SUM(total_visitors) as visitors,
SUM(total_conversions) as conversions,
ROUND(100.0 * SUM(total_conversions) / NULLIF(SUM(total_visitors), 0), 2) as conversion_rate,
ROUND(SUM(total_revenue) / NULLIF(SUM(total_conversions), 0), 2) as revenue_per_conversion
FROM daily_metrics
GROUP BY 1, 2
HAVING SUM(total_visitors) >= 100 -- Minimum traffic for statistical significance
ORDER BY conversion_rate DESC;
Funnel Conversion Analysis
-- Analyze conversion funnel step-by-step
WITH funnel_steps AS (
SELECT
user_id,
session_id,
MAX(CASE WHEN event_name = 'page_view' THEN 1 ELSE 0 END) as viewed_page,
MAX(CASE WHEN event_name = 'add_to_cart' THEN 1 ELSE 0 END) as added_to_cart,
MAX(CASE WHEN event_name = 'checkout_started' THEN 1 ELSE 0 END) as started_checkout,
MAX(CASE WHEN event_name = 'purchase' THEN 1 ELSE 0 END) as completed_purchase
FROM user_events
WHERE event_date >= '2024-01-01'
GROUP BY 1, 2
),
funnel_summary AS (
SELECT
COUNT(*) as total_sessions,
SUM(viewed_page) as page_views,
SUM(added_to_cart) as cart_additions,
SUM(started_checkout) as checkout_starts,
SUM(completed_purchase) as purchases
FROM funnel_steps
WHERE viewed_page = 1
)
SELECT
'Page View' as step,
page_views as count,
100.0 as conversion_rate,
0.0 as drop_off_rate
FROM funnel_summary
UNION ALL
SELECT
'Add to Cart' as step,
cart_additions as count,
ROUND(100.0 * cart_additions / page_views, 2) as conversion_rate,
ROUND(100.0 * (page_views - cart_additions) / page_views, 2) as drop_off_rate
FROM funnel_summary
UNION ALL
SELECT
'Checkout Started' as step,
checkout_starts as count,
ROUND(100.0 * checkout_starts / page_views, 2) as conversion_rate,
ROUND(100.0 * (cart_additions - checkout_starts) / cart_additions, 2) as drop_off_rate
FROM funnel_summary
UNION ALL
SELECT
'Purchase' as step,
purchases as count,
ROUND(100.0 * purchases / page_views, 2) as conversion_rate,
ROUND(100.0 * (checkout_starts - purchases) / checkout_starts, 2) as drop_off_rate
FROM funnel_summary;
Time-Based Conversion Trends
-- Track conversion rate trends over time
WITH daily_conversions AS (
SELECT
DATE_TRUNC('day', event_date) as date,
COUNT(DISTINCT session_id) as unique_sessions,
COUNT(DISTINCT CASE WHEN event_name = 'conversion' THEN session_id END) as converting_sessions
FROM user_events
WHERE event_date >= CURRENT_DATE - INTERVAL '90 days'
GROUP BY 1
),
conversion_trends AS (
SELECT
date,
unique_sessions,
converting_sessions,
ROUND(100.0 * converting_sessions / unique_sessions, 2) as daily_conversion_rate,
AVG(100.0 * converting_sessions / unique_sessions) OVER (
ORDER BY date
ROWS BETWEEN 6 PRECEDING AND CURRENT ROW
) as seven_day_avg_rate
FROM daily_conversions
)
SELECT
date,
unique_sessions,
converting_sessions,
daily_conversion_rate,
ROUND(seven_day_avg_rate, 2) as seven_day_avg_rate,
ROUND(daily_conversion_rate - LAG(daily_conversion_rate) OVER (ORDER BY date), 2) as day_over_day_change
FROM conversion_trends
ORDER BY date DESC;
Measurement Best Practices
Track multiple conversion types, segment by traffic source and device, use statistical significance testing for changes, and consider the full customer journey.
Best Practices
1. Conversion Tracking Setup
- Define clear conversion goals and events
- Implement proper tracking across all touchpoints
- Use attribution models to credit traffic sources
- Track both macro and micro conversions
2. Segmentation Analysis
- By traffic source (organic, paid, direct, referral)
- By device type (desktop, mobile, tablet)
- By user demographics and behavior
- By landing page and content type
3. Optimization Strategies
- A/B Testing: Test different page layouts, copy, and CTAs
- User Experience: Improve page load speed and mobile experience
- Trust Signals: Add testimonials, security badges, and guarantees
- Form Optimization: Reduce friction in signup and checkout flows
4. Landing Page Optimization
- Clear value propositions and headlines
- Prominent and compelling call-to-action buttons
- Minimal distractions and clear navigation
- Mobile-responsive design and fast loading
5. Testing and Iteration
- Run statistically significant A/B tests
- Test one element at a time for clear results
- Monitor long-term impact, not just immediate conversions
- Document learnings and build optimization playbooks