Conversion Rate Definition

A conversion rate is a measurement indicating how many visitors to a website or viewers of an advertisement took a particular action. In general, this action is something other than simply viewing content—a business may desire to track the conversion rate of how many visitors fill out a contact form, for example.

The conversion rate of a particular action is determined by dividing the number of successful actions taken by the total number of visitors. A high conversion rate indicates that an advertising campaign or marketing strategy is performing well and should likely be given extra attention to be further optimized. A low conversion rate means that something isn’t resonating; A/B testing or a new strategy may be necessary.

Conversion Rate Example

A business decides to track how many people schedule a call for a free consultation after receiving an email marketing campaign (a form of content marketing).

The business sends an email to 1,000 potential customers on their correspondence list. After the campaign is over, the business adds up how many recipients responded positively and scheduled a call for the consultation. They determine that of the original 1,000, 27 people made an appointment to receive a consultation. The conversion rate was 2.7%.

If desired, the business could further break things down. Of the 27 people who had a free consultation, 15 became paying customers. In this context, the conversion rate was 1.5%.

Why is Knowing Your Conversion Rate Important in Strategic Marketing?

Strategy

Tracking conversion rate for important actions in your online marketing efforts is an important part of any Sustainable Marketing^® strategy. While it isn’t necessarily the “end all be all” of metrics, knowing your conversion rate will give you a good idea of how well an advertising campaign or marketing strategy worked.

Continuous Improvement

Most digital marketers look at a conversion rate as something that can be continuously improved, either by better copy, more compelling visuals, or smarter audience targeting.