Conversion Rate
The percentage of visitors who complete a desired action on your website, such as making a purchase, filling out a form, or calling your business.
Conversion rate is arguably the single most important metric for any small business website. It measures what percentage of your visitors actually do the thing you want them to do — buy a product, request a quote, book an appointment, or sign up for your email list. If 1,000 people visit your site in a month and 30 of them fill out your contact form, your conversion rate is 3%.
This metric matters because it directly connects your website traffic to business results. You could have 10,000 monthly visitors, but if your conversion rate is 0.1%, you’re only getting 10 leads. Conversely, a site with just 1,000 visitors but a 5% conversion rate generates 50 leads — five times more business from one-tenth the traffic. That’s why conversion rate optimization often delivers a better return than simply driving more traffic.
Improving your conversion rate starts with understanding your visitors. Are they finding what they expect? Is your value proposition clear? Can they easily take the next step? Common conversion killers include slow page load times, confusing navigation, weak or missing calls to action, and asking for too much information in forms. Even reducing a form from six fields to three can significantly boost conversions.
Track conversion rates separately for different traffic sources and pages. Your Google Ads traffic might convert at 4% while social media traffic converts at 1% — that insight helps you allocate your marketing budget more effectively.