The formula
Conversion rate = (conversions ÷ visitors) × 100. A conversion is the action you decided counts, such as an order, a call or a form sent. In GA4 (Google Analytics 4), actions like these are set up as key events.
You must choose what to divide by. It can be visitors, sessions or ad clicks. Google Ads Help defines conversion rate as the average number of conversions per ad interaction, shown as a percentage. If you track more than one conversion action, or count every conversion, the rate can go above 100%, because one interaction can lead to several conversions. We read this on 9 October 2026.
A made-up example in rupees
An online shop gets 2,000 visitors in a month and 40 orders. The conversion rate is 2%. The average order is ₹1,500, so the sales are ₹60,000. The shop spent ₹30,000 on ads to bring those visitors.
- Cost of each order: ₹30,000 ÷ 40 = ₹750.
- ROAS (return on ad spend): ₹60,000 ÷ ₹30,000 = 2.
Now the shop fixes its checkout page, and the rate goes from 2% to 2.5%. The same 2,000 visitors give 50 orders. Sales become ₹75,000. The cost of each order falls to ₹600. The ad spend did not change. See CAC (customer acquisition cost) and ROAS.
What is a good conversion rate?
There is no fixed number. A shop selling ₹300 items and a company selling machines that cost lakhs may have very different rates. Compare your own pages and your own months. We do not quote averages from online tables.
What helps it rise
- A page that matches the ad or search the person came from.
- One clear next step: a call button, a WhatsApp link or a short form.
- A page that opens fast on a phone. Read about Core Web Vitals.
- Forms that ask only what you need.
- Testing your forms, call button and WhatsApp link at phone width before and after every change.
Common mistakes
- Changing the divisor from month to month, so the numbers cannot be compared.
- Counting every click on a button as a conversion, when only a finished action should count.
- Chasing the rate while lead quality falls. More forms are not better if the leads are poor.
- Judging a change on too few visitors.
- Changing many things at once, so you cannot tell which one worked.
Related terms
- CTR (click-through rate): the share of people who saw the ad and clicked it.
- CPL (cost per lead): what you pay to get one enquiry.
- CAC (customer acquisition cost): what you pay to win one paying customer.
- ROAS (return on ad spend): the sales you get back for each rupee of ad spend.
- Attribution: deciding which channel gets credit for a sale.
- GA4 (Google Analytics 4): Google's tool for measuring website and app visits.
For ideas on shops, read e-commerce CRO strategies. CRO means conversion rate optimisation. For help, see our conversion rate optimisation work.
Sources
- Google Ads Help, "Conversion rate: Definition" (support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2684489), read 9 October 2026.
- Google Analytics Help, "Engagement rate and bounce rate" (support.google.com/analytics/answer/12195621), read 9 October 2026, for the term key event.
