Conversion rate
Conversion rate is the share of visits to a shop, or to one product page, that end in a purchase, usually shown as a percentage.
- Ecommerce conversion rate
What it means
Conversion rate measures how often looking turns into buying. Divide the number of orders by the number of visits and multiply by 100. So 3 orders from 200 visits is a conversion rate of 1.5%.
Reports count it in different ways. Some divide by visits and some by visitors, and some count goals other than a sale, such as a sign-up. Compare figures from the same report, over the same period.
Product data sits on the buying side of that sum. A shopper who cannot find the size, the capacity or whether a part fits has no reason to buy, however good the traffic. A sale that comes back as a return still counted as a conversion, so watch returns alongside it.
Think of it like this
It is like counting how many people who walk into a shop leave with a bag. A busy door means little if the shelves do not answer their questions.
For example
Say two kettles in the same range each get 400 visits in a month. One takes 8 orders, a conversion rate of 2%, and the other takes 4, or 1%. If the second page has no capacity and a thumbnail for its only image, its data is the first place to look.
Why it matters
More visitors cost money, in ads or in effort. A better conversion rate makes the visitors you already have worth more. The product page, with its title, specifications, images and price, is the part of the journey a shop controls most directly.