Conversion rate
Share of visits that convert
Conversion rate is the share of visitors who take a desired action, most often a purchase, out of the total number of visits. It’s expressed as a percentage and shows how effectively a website turns traffic into customers. It’s one of the most important performance metrics for an online store.
How conversion rate is calculated
You get the conversion rate by dividing the number of conversions by the number of visits and converting the result into a percentage. So if a thousand visitors come to the store over a given period and twenty of them buy, the conversion rate is two percent. A conversion doesn’t have to be a purchase only; it can also be a registration, a form submission, or a newsletter sign-up.
It’s important to read conversion rate in context. It varies by industry, device, and traffic source. A visitor from a targeted ad converts differently than a random arrival from search, so it pays to measure each channel separately.
What affects conversion rate
Conversion rate is shaped by everything the customer experiences on the way to the order. A slow site, a confusing cart, a missing preferred payment method, or an untrustworthy impression can put off even a customer who wanted the product.
- The speed and smoothness of the site, especially on mobile devices.
- The simplicity of checkout and the number of steps in the cart.
- Trust signals: reviews, clear prices, shipping, and terms.
- The payment and delivery options the customer expects.
How to increase conversion rate
A higher conversion rate means more orders from the same traffic, so profit grows without paying for more visitors. A custom e-shop gives you the most room here: remove obvious obstacles in the cart and at checkout, and validate your hypotheses through A/B testing rather than gut feeling.
Working with abandoned carts, clear and visible calls to action, and removing unnecessary form fields all help too. With higher traffic, small tweaks quickly show up in revenue.
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Explore our e-shop developmentFrequently asked questions
What is a good conversion rate?
There’s no single universal number. It depends on the industry, product prices, and traffic source. Instead of comparing yourself to others’ figures, track your own trend over time and aim to steadily improve against your own past.
How quickly can I raise my conversion rate?
Some obstacles, such as slow loading or a complicated cart, can be fixed fast and the effect is almost immediate. Systematic improvement through testing, however, is an ongoing process that delivers results gradually.
Is it better to invest in traffic or in conversion rate?
Both make sense, but raising the conversion rate is usually cheaper, since it makes the most of traffic you already pay for. Ideally, first tune the site so it sells, then send more people to it.