The multiplier in your funnel
Conversion rate is the percentage of visitors who complete the action you care about. It is the highest-leverage number in most funnels, because it multiplies through everything upstream: doubling conversion rate halves your cost per customer across every campaign simultaneously, without touching a single bid.
The formula
Cost per conversion = Total spend ÷ Conversions
Worked example
184 conversions from 8,000 visitors, ₹30,000 spend
- Visitors
- 8,000
- Conversions
- 184
- Conversion rate
- 2.30%
- Cost per conversion
- ₹163.04
What is normal
| Type | Typical rate |
|---|---|
| E-commerce, all traffic | 1% – 3% |
| E-commerce, paid search | 2% – 4% |
| Lead form, service business | 3% – 8% |
| Landing page, single offer | 5% – 15% |
| Free trial signup, SaaS | 2% – 6% |
Where the gains usually are
- Page speed. On Indian mobile networks this is frequently the single biggest lever, and the cheapest to fix.
- Form length. Every field removed lifts completion. Ask for what you need to make the first call, nothing more.
- Trust signals. GST number, address, a real phone number and genuine reviews measurably reduce hesitation for Indian buyers.
- Payment options. UPI as the default, and cash on delivery where the category expects it.
- Message match. The headline on the page should repeat the promise in the ad, in the same words.
Test one change at a time and let it run to a meaningful sample. Most declared "wins" in small accounts are noise from a few hundred sessions.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good conversion rate?
For e-commerce, 2–3% is a reasonable target. Service lead forms often reach 5–8%. A dedicated landing page for a single offer can exceed 10%.
Should I count micro-conversions?
Track them separately. Newsletter signups and WhatsApp clicks are useful diagnostics but should not be mixed into the same rate as purchases or qualified leads.
How much traffic do I need to test a change?
Enough to be confident the difference is not chance — usually a few hundred conversions per variant, not a few hundred visitors.