Conversion rate

The conversion rate measures what percentage of a page’s visitors take the action you have set as the goal: buying, subscribing, filling in a form or clicking a recommendation link. You calculate it by dividing conversions by total visits: 1,000 visits and 30 purchases is a 3% rate. It is one of the most important metrics because it turns traffic into real results; attracting lots of visits means little if almost no one acts. It depends on factors like how clear the offer is, how much trust the page inspires, load speed and a convincing call to action. The work of improving it is called conversion rate optimisation (CRO), and it usually means testing changes and keeping the ones that convert best.