Conversion rate

Conversion rate is the share of visitors who complete the action a page is built for. The basic formula is conversions divided by visitors (or sessions), multiplied by 100. If 1,000 people visit a page and 30 submit the form, the conversion rate is 3%.

The number is only useful when the definitions are consistent. Decide whether you count users or sessions, which action counts as a conversion, and which traffic you include. Mixing paid traffic, email traffic and returning customers into one number can hide what is really happening, because each group arrives with different intent. Comparing your rate against a generic industry average is rarely helpful for the same reason; comparing a page against its own past performance, segmented by traffic source and device, tells you far more.

Small pages often have small numbers, and small numbers swing a lot by chance. A jump from 2% to 3% in a week with a few hundred visitors may be noise. Look at longer periods, and when you change something, test it properly before drawing conclusions. Also keep an eye on what happens after the conversion: a form that brings more leads but worse ones has not really improved.

How to improve it

• Calculate your current rate per traffic source and device with the free conversion rate calculator (open tool).
• Define one primary conversion per page and track it consistently in your analytics.
• Fix clarity problems first: headline, offer and call-to-action are usually the biggest levers.
• Remove friction from the conversion step itself, such as unnecessary form fields or surprise costs.
• Validate changes with an A/B test rather than a before-and-after comparison when traffic allows.

How PageScore checks it

PageScore does not read your analytics, so it cannot see your actual conversion rate. Instead its 0 to 100 score rates the page factors that drive conversions, such as the first-screen CTA, headline clarity, proof, form length and mobile speed, and ranks the fixes.