What Is Conversion Rate (CVR)?
Conversion Rate (CVR) is the percentage of users who complete the desired action — purchase, lead, signup, install — out of a defined starting group (usually clicks or sessions). It's the multiplier that decides whether traffic becomes revenue.
Formula
Always define the denominator. Session-based CVR (unique visits) is the honest ecommerce number. Click-based CVR (from an ad platform) will look higher because one user often clicks multiple ads. Pick one, name it, use it consistently.
Worked example
5,000 sessions produce 90 purchases. CVR = (90 ÷ 5,000) × 100 = 1.8%. If AOV is $75, revenue per session = $75 × 1.8% = $1.35. Ad spend that gets sessions below $1.35 all-in is profitable at the current CVR — everything above is a landing-page problem, not an ad problem.
Benchmarks
- Ecommerce (all industries, mobile + desktop): 1.5%–3% typical; > 4% strong.
- Ecommerce (specialty / high AOV): 0.5%–1.5% normal.
- B2B lead form (landing page): 3%–8% average; > 12% strong on a narrow-fit page.
- SaaS free trial signup: 2%–5% cold traffic; 15%–30% warm/direct traffic.
Why it matters
CVR is the compounding metric of paid marketing. Doubling CVR halves CPA at the same traffic cost, and it lets you outbid competitors on the same audience — which is why LP and offer optimisation almost always beats another round of ad tests.
Common mistakes
- 1.Reporting overall CVR without segmenting by device, source, or new vs returning. The averages hide everything.
- 2.Optimising CVR alone. Adding a giant discount raises CVR and cuts margin — net worse.
- 3.Judging a new landing page with < 500 sessions. Below that, CVR swings 2–3× on noise.
Put Conversion Rate to work
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FAQs about Conversion Rate
What is a good conversion rate?
Depends on channel and offer. A cold-traffic ecommerce store above 2% CVR is doing well; a narrow-fit B2B landing page can hit 15%+. Compare to your own last-90-day baseline, not to a Shopify blog post.
Why is my mobile CVR lower than desktop?
Mobile users have higher intent to browse, lower intent to complete. Forms are harder, wallets aren't ready, apps compete for attention. A 40–60% mobile-vs-desktop CVR gap is normal on most ecommerce sites.
How do I raise CVR fast?
In order of impact: (1) message match — the LP has to look like the ad, (2) offer clarity in the first viewport, (3) shorten the form, (4) add social proof near the CTA, (5) speed up LCP under 2.5s.
Is CVR the same as close rate?
No. CVR is a top-of-funnel metric measured on your site. Close rate is a bottom-of-funnel sales metric — leads that become paying customers. Both matter, both should be tracked separately.
Related terms
Ad spend divided by conversions — the price of one action.
Average revenue per transaction — total revenue ÷ number of orders.
Revenue attributed to ads ÷ ad spend — the fastest efficiency read.
Google's judgement of how useful your LP is post-click.
Repeatable process for launching, judging, and killing ad variants.
Clicks ÷ impressions — measures how often your ad earns a click.