Conversion Rate Definition – what is the Conversion Rate?

The conversion rate is one of the most important and at the same time most complex key figures in online marketing. In order to use the conversion rate sensibly, it is important to know how it is actually defined. In the following, we will dive deeper into the conversion rate definition and show you what you can measure with the conversion rate and what influences it.

The Conversion Rate Definition

The conversion rate is, by definition, the measurable conversion of a prospect into a customer. This key figure is in the context of online marketing. If we take a closer look at the conversion rate definition, it becomes apparent that a conversion can take on different characteristics. Probably the clearest and most important is the conclusion of a purchase, a booking, an order in your online shop or a lead. This is why this conversion rate is known as the macro conversion rate and is the successful end of the customer journey or sales funnel. It is always the ultimate goal. Along the way, numerous micro conversions take place. Here, the conversion rate is defined in the small action steps such as:

• start search query
• open product page
• add product to shopping cart
• registration
• enter the payment process
• go through checkout

In summary, the definition of conversion rate is the conversion of a visitor into a prospect and from a prospect into a customer or lead. The decisive factor in determining whether a conversion works is the so-called customer journey. If you have a high number of visitors but no deals, you can use the conversion rate to measure at which point your prospects drop out. To do this, use the conversion rate formula. You can obtain the data from tracking tools such as Google Analytics. We’ll show you how to optimize your conversion rate in our article Increase Conversion Rate: This is how it works!

What types does the conversion rate definition include?

Let’s return to the conversion rate definition again, looking at the mathematical aspects. The key figure is measurable in online marketing. With the calculation, you get a value that, set in context, gives you information about the conversion of a specifically considered action.

Always measure the conversion rate for a specific step over a longer, defined period of time. If necessary, optimize the action and measure the conversion rate again. If it increases, your measures were successful. An example of the mathematical meaning of the conversion rate: you have 1,000 visitors on your site and 10 buy a product, so your conversion rate (CRV) would be 1%. What a good conversion rate is cannot be defined universally, but depends heavily on the industry. In our article Conversion Rates by Industry we show you some examples.

With the conversion rate, we define different types of conversions. You decide which goals you want to track with this metric:

– Ordering a product
– Booking a service
– Registration as a new customer
– Subscribe to the newsletter
– Click on an advertising banner
– Registration for an online course
– Downloading an e-book, whitepaper, etc.
– Test a demo
– Request a consultation appointment or book an appointment directly online

How to define your conversion rate

Let’s take a closer look at how to define your own conversion rate below. The individual meaning of conversion rate depends on your goals. As mentioned earlier, you can define the conversion rate for ordering a product based on collected data and optimize it if necessary. If 2,000 prospects have visited your online shop and 30 of them have bought a product, the conversion rate is 1.5%. So according to the conversion rate definition, you always divide the number of conversions by the number of visitors and multiply the value by 100.

However, in addition to the conversion rate, which refers to sales, you should define and measure more advanced conversion rates:

Micro and Macro Conversion Rate

For an online shop, the most important thing is of course to increase sales. But be careful: don’t focus only on the “big goal”, also known as macro conversion. Always keep in mind that a potential customer takes many small steps and performs actions until they trigger an order. These mini actions are defined as micro conversions. So calculate both macro conversions and micro conversions such as clicking on a product page, adding to cart, or entering contact information. With this holistic view of the customer journey, you can optimize much more decisively.

Downloads on a landing page

Perhaps you have also created a landing page and the goal is to get your visitors to download a free whitepaper. Here, you define the conversion rate based on visitors versus downloads. If you have counted 4,000 visitors and 150 have decided for a download, your conversion rate is 3.75%. Clearly, your conversion rate should be higher compared to a product purchase simply because of the low hurdle rate. Next, define your conversion rate on the downstream actions such as requesting a consultation appointment or registering as a new customer.

Conversion rate definition of popups

If you use a popup like the one from uptain, a conversion rate can be defined for it as well. You will get a clear picture of how well such a popup is received by your customers and how it affects the overall performance. Here are a few examples from our customers:

• the online shop Skapetze, the implemented service popup achieved a conversion rate of 35%.
• at myRobotcenter, an online shop for household and entertainment robots, the conversion rate increased by 21 % due to the uptain® ALGORITHM
• around 40 % conversion rate for abandonment emails and 15 % conversion rate for exit intent popups were the result at FEYDOM as a supplier of modular sofa systems

Which period should you define your conversion rate over?

Conversion rate is a metric that, like any other, is subject to certain fluctuations. This means that you should define your conversion rate over a longer period of time. There is no general answer for the period of length. But anything less than a month would be too short at this point.

However, you can also measure the conversion rate for too long. This would be the case if you offer a seasonal offer and define the conversion rate for a whole year for it. When choosing the period of the conversion rate definition, it is important that even deviations do not distort the picture. When defining the conversion rate, also take into account special features such as seasons, holidays and vacation periods. If you sell winter jackets in your online shop, the conversion rate will be lower in summer than in autumn or winter.

How to track the conversion rate

To track the conversion rate, you can use Google Analytics and pull the data from the statistics. These provide you with values about the number of visitors, which you set according to different parameters such as time period. To do this, simply link your website to Google Analytics. Alternatively, it may well be that your cms or shop system provides statistics you can view and manage. This data can also be used to calculate the conversion rate.

Our tip complementary to the conversion rate definition

Use the intelligent popups from uptain with real added value for your customers. Invite them to an exciting experience journey in your online shop. Our popups appear at exactly the right moment with the appropriate and individually tailored message for the customer. With cleverly placed incentives, you not only increase the conversion rate, but also the average shopping cart value.