Conversion is a completed action that delivers value to your product. It’s the moment a visitor does what you wanted them to do—purchase, submit, subscribe, or trigger a qualified lead. In analytics terms, a conversion is a countable outcome, typically defined as a goal and measured across sessions, the user scope, or by channel and campaign. You’ll usually benchmark it alongside conversion rate and break it down by landing page and traffic source.
Why conversions matter (and how to frame them)
Think in two layers:
- Macro conversions — the primary business outcome (purchase, paid signup). Often the final step of your goal funnel.
- Micro conversions — meaningful milestones (add to cart, start checkout, email signup) that predict the macro result.
This separation keeps your funnel readable and your attribution model sane. For complex journeys, consider multi-touch attribution to distribute credit across touchpoints.
Measurement basics
A conversion is usually fired by an event (e.g., form submit, payment success) and deduplicated by explicit rules:
- Scope: per session vs per user
- Window: how long after the first visit you still count a conversion
- Attribution: which touchpoint gets credit (see attribution model)
Formula (session-scoped):Conversion Rate = (Conversions / Sessions) × 100%
Mini example
| Period | Sessions | Conversions | Conversion Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | 5,000 | 250 | 5.0% |
| Week 2 | 4,200 | 294 | 7.0% |
Fewer sessions, more conversions — likely better traffic mix or a stronger landing page.
Practical tips
- Define one macro goal per key journey; keep micro goals lean to avoid noise.
- Fire conversion only on true success states (server-validated thank-you).
- Slice conversion rate by device, country, and page cluster; small leaks hide in aggregates.
- Align naming and parameters with your tracking spec to match event count and goal completion reports; analyze paths in the multi-channel funnel and validate credit in the attribution report.