Glossary /
Conversion Rate
Efficiency & cost
Conversion Rate
The share of clicks that become a conversion — with a denominator and a definition that shift by platform.
Attribution & Measurement
Unit Economics
Data Governance & Nomenclature
Creative & Delivery
Audiences & Targeting
Mobile & Privacy
Conversion Rate (CR) is the percentage of clicks that result in a conversion, calculated as conversions divided by clicks. It measures how efficiently traffic turns into the outcomes you care about.
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What is Conversion Rate?
Conversion rate answers a direct question: of the people who clicked, how many did the thing you wanted — bought, signed up, submitted a form? It's one of the cleanest signals of whether your landing experience and offer match the traffic you're paying for. The complication sits in both halves of the fraction. What counts as a "conversion" is platform-defined: a purchase, a lead, an add-to-cart, or a custom event you configured. And the denominator varies — some platforms divide by all clicks, others by link clicks, others by landing-page views. The attribution window matters too. A conversion credited within a 7-day click window on one platform and a 1-day window on another produces different rates from identical real-world behavior. So conversion rate is precise inside a single account but slippery across channels until the conversion definitions and windows are aligned.
Conversion Rate formula
Conversion Rate = (Conversions ÷ Clicks) × 100
Conversion rate is conversions divided by clicks, times 100. The numerator is the count of the conversion event you're tracking; the denominator is the click measure the platform uses. Both the event definition and the click definition (all clicks vs. link clicks vs. landing-page views) change the result.
Worked example
A campaign driving on-site purchases.
Conversions
100
Clicks
2,000
Conversion Rate
5.0%
(100 ÷ 2,000) × 100 = 5.0%
The denominator (all clicks vs. link clicks) and what counts as a conversion vary by platform, so identical sales can show different rates.
Conversion Rate formula
Conversion Rate = (Conversions ÷ Clicks) × 100
Conversion rate is conversions divided by clicks, times 100. The numerator is the count of the conversion event you're tracking; the denominator is the click measure the platform uses. Both the event definition and the click definition (all clicks vs. link clicks vs. landing-page views) change the result.
Worked example
A campaign driving on-site purchases.
Conversions
100
Clicks
2,000
Conversion Rate
5.0%
(100 ÷ 2,000) × 100 = 5.0%
The denominator (all clicks vs. link clicks) and what counts as a conversion vary by platform, so identical sales can show different rates.
How Conversion Rate differs across ad platforms
Google Ads
Google divides conversions by clicks and lets you choose which conversion actions count toward "Conversions." Attribution defaults and conversion windows are set per account, so two advertisers can report very different CRs for the same behavior.
Meta Ads
Meta typically frames conversions against link clicks or impressions and relies on pixel/CAPI events plus modeled conversions. Its default 7-day-click/1-day-view window credits more conversions than a click-only, shorter-window setup would.
TikTok Ads
TikTok measures conversions from its pixel or Events API against clicks, but feed-driven, lower-intent traffic and its own attribution windows usually yield a different conversion rate than intent-led Search clicks at the same spend.
Common Conversion Rate misconceptions
Conversion rate is the same number everywhere if the conversion is the same.
No — even for the same purchase event, platforms differ on the denominator (all clicks vs. link clicks) and the attribution window. Identical sales can show up as different conversion rates across channels.
A low conversion rate always means a bad landing page.
Often it's the traffic, not the page. Low-intent feed clicks convert worse than high-intent search clicks by design. Segment by channel and intent before blaming the page.
Related Terms
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Conversion Rate in simple terms?
Conversion rate is the share of clicks that turn into a result — a sale, signup, or lead. If 100 people click and 5 buy, that's a 5% conversion rate. It tells you how well your traffic actually converts into outcomes.
How is Conversion Rate calculated?
Why does Conversion Rate differ across ad platforms?
How does Clarisights report on Conversion Rate?
Attribution & Measurement
Unit Economics
Data Governance & Nomenclature
Creative & Delivery
Audiences & Targeting
Mobile & Privacy
Conversion Rate (CR) is the percentage of clicks that result in a conversion, calculated as conversions divided by clicks. It measures how efficiently traffic turns into the outcomes you care about.
?
?
What is Conversion Rate?
Conversion rate answers a direct question: of the people who clicked, how many did the thing you wanted — bought, signed up, submitted a form? It's one of the cleanest signals of whether your landing experience and offer match the traffic you're paying for. The complication sits in both halves of the fraction. What counts as a "conversion" is platform-defined: a purchase, a lead, an add-to-cart, or a custom event you configured. And the denominator varies — some platforms divide by all clicks, others by link clicks, others by landing-page views. The attribution window matters too. A conversion credited within a 7-day click window on one platform and a 1-day window on another produces different rates from identical real-world behavior. So conversion rate is precise inside a single account but slippery across channels until the conversion definitions and windows are aligned.
Conversion Rate formula
Conversion Rate = (Conversions ÷ Clicks) × 100
Conversion rate is conversions divided by clicks, times 100. The numerator is the count of the conversion event you're tracking; the denominator is the click measure the platform uses. Both the event definition and the click definition (all clicks vs. link clicks vs. landing-page views) change the result.
Worked example
A campaign driving on-site purchases.
Conversions
100
Clicks
2,000
Conversion Rate
5.0%
(100 ÷ 2,000) × 100 = 5.0%
The denominator (all clicks vs. link clicks) and what counts as a conversion vary by platform, so identical sales can show different rates.
How Conversion Rate differs across ad platforms
Google Ads
Google divides conversions by clicks and lets you choose which conversion actions count toward "Conversions." Attribution defaults and conversion windows are set per account, so two advertisers can report very different CRs for the same behavior.
Meta Ads
Meta typically frames conversions against link clicks or impressions and relies on pixel/CAPI events plus modeled conversions. Its default 7-day-click/1-day-view window credits more conversions than a click-only, shorter-window setup would.
TikTok Ads
TikTok measures conversions from its pixel or Events API against clicks, but feed-driven, lower-intent traffic and its own attribution windows usually yield a different conversion rate than intent-led Search clicks at the same spend.
Common Conversion Rate misconceptions
Conversion rate is the same number everywhere if the conversion is the same.
No — even for the same purchase event, platforms differ on the denominator (all clicks vs. link clicks) and the attribution window. Identical sales can show up as different conversion rates across channels.
A low conversion rate always means a bad landing page.
Often it's the traffic, not the page. Low-intent feed clicks convert worse than high-intent search clicks by design. Segment by channel and intent before blaming the page.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Conversion Rate in simple terms?
Conversion rate is the share of clicks that turn into a result — a sale, signup, or lead. If 100 people click and 5 buy, that's a 5% conversion rate. It tells you how well your traffic actually converts into outcomes.
How is Conversion Rate calculated?
Why does Conversion Rate differ across ad platforms?
How does Clarisights report on Conversion Rate?
See Viewable Impression across every channel in one report
See Viewable Impression across every channel in one report
See viewability and vCPM across every platform—display, video, programmatic— in one normalized report, instead of reconciling vendor numbers by hand.
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