What conversion really is – and why most people measure it wrong

Many people think conversion just means a sale. It doesn't. A conversion is any action you have decided, in advance, that you want a visitor to take.

That misunderstanding costs more than people realise. If you only measure the final sale, you miss everything that happens on the way there.

A concrete definition

A conversion happens when a visitor does what you want them to do. What that is depends on the page:

• Submits a contact form
• Books an appointment or a demo
• Downloads a guide
• Calls from a mobile
• Adds an item to the basket
• Completes a purchase

The point is that you have to define the conversion before you measure it. A website with no stated desired action can't convert – it can only be visited.

Micro and macro conversions

Most purchases don't happen on the first visit. That's why it helps to separate two types.

Macro conversion is your main goal: the sale, the signature, the paying customer.

Micro conversion is a step along the way: a newsletter sign-up, a downloaded price list, a click through to a product page.

If you only track macro conversions, you only see the tip of the iceberg. The micro conversions tell you where people drop off – and that's where you can actually do something about it.

How to calculate your conversion rate

The formula is simple:

Conversion rate = (number of conversions ÷ number of visitors) × 100

If you get 1,000 visitors and 25 submit the form, your conversion rate is 2.5 per cent. That's it. No magic.

What people get wrong isn't the maths – it's what they feed into it. Two common mistakes:

• Wrong denominator. Are you counting all visitors, including those who never reached the page with the form? That makes the rate look artificially low.
• Wrong numerator. Are you counting submitted forms or actual customers? Spam and mistakes inflate the number.

There is no such thing as a "good" conversion rate

The first thing people ask is what counts as a good rate. The honest answer is: it depends.

An online shop and a law firm live in completely different worlds. An expensive B2B offer converts at a different pace than a cheap impulse buy. Comparing yourself to an industry-average table you found online tells you almost nothing.

What actually matters is your own rate over time. Is it better this month than last? That's the only comparison you can trust.

Volume × rate × value

Conversion doesn't hang in mid-air. Your revenue comes from three numbers multiplied together:

• Traffic – how many people arrive
• Conversion rate – the share that act
• Value per conversion – what each action is worth

You can grow revenue by turning any one of these dials. Often the conversion rate is the cheapest to improve, because you've already paid for the traffic. Getting more customers out of visits you already have is nearly always cheaper than buying more traffic.

How to get started

You don't need advanced tools to begin. You need three things in place:

1. One clear desired action per page. What should this page get people to do?
2. A way to count it. Most analytics tools let you register forms, clicks and purchases as goals.
3. A steady rhythm. Look at the numbers once a month, not every day. Daily swings are mostly noise.

Once this is in place, you have the foundation. The rest of the work – copy, buttons, forms, testing – is just about moving that rate in the right direction.

Conversion isn't a trick discipline. It's making it easier for people to say yes to something they were already considering. If you'd like to know what's being left on the table on your site, we're happy to help you find out.