SEA / Paid Search

Conversion Rate

Conversion rate is the share of visits or clicks that complete the action you care about.

In detail

It is a property of the whole path — query, ad, landing page, form — not of the page alone.

Segment it before acting: one device, campaign or country can hide the real problem in an average.

Example

12 leads from 400 clicks is a 3% conversion rate.

Why it matters

Improving it raises the return on every visit you already pay for or earn.

Common mistakes

  • Judging site-wide rates instead of per-intent rates.
  • Sending traffic from specific queries to a generic homepage.

Related questions

Related articles

Related guides

  • The Complete Google Ads & SEA Guide
    Guide

    Paid search from first principles: account structure, keywords and match types, ads, landing pages, bidding, tracking and profitability.

Related terms

  • CPA

    CPA (cost per acquisition) is what you pay, on average, for one conversion.

  • Conversion Tracking

    Conversion tracking records the valuable actions people take after clicking an ad or visiting a page.

  • Core Web Vitals

    Core Web Vitals are Google's metrics for loading performance, interaction responsiveness and visual stability.

Related questions

  • How much should I spend on Google Ads?

    Work backwards from value, not from a benchmark. If you know what a customer is worth and roughly how many clicks it takes to win one, you know the most you can afford per click.