# Conversion rate

Conversion rate is conversions divided by the visits or visitors that could have converted, over a period, for a defined action. It only makes sense with a clear definition, measured per landing page, channel and device. This page shows what to track in GA4 and product analytics, and what to avoid.

Updated 2026-09-14 · Source: https://porteur.ai/glossary/conversion-rate

## What conversion rate means here

Conversion rate is conversions divided by the visits or visitors that could have converted, over a period, for one action such as a signup or a purchase.

Its value depends entirely on what you count: sessions or users, which action, and which pages are eligible. This is why published averages are not comparable.

On a small site, measure per landing page, per channel and per device. A single sitewide average hides problems and wins.

> Do not judge a rate from fewer than a few hundred sessions. Below that, it is noise.

## Choose a definition you can keep

- Action: name one key action, for example signup, trial start or checkout success.
- Denominator: choose sessions or users, and stick to it across reports.
- Scope: choose which pages could have converted, for example all sessions that entered on /pricing or all sessions that saw /signup.
- Period: pick a window you can repeat, for example the last 28 days.

Write the formula once and reuse it: conversion rate equals key action count divided by eligible sessions or users in the same period and scope.

Example: for /pricing, in the last 28 days, users who landed on /pricing and later fired signup. Rate equals signups from those users divided by those users.

## Measure it in GA4 and product analytics

1. **GA4, mark the action as a key event** In GA4, mark your signup or purchase event as a key event. Conversions were renamed key events in 2024.
2. **GA4, get eligible sessions** Use Engagement, Landing page. Add a filter for pages that could convert, and add Device category as a breakdown if needed.
3. **GA4, read by channel** Use the default channel group. Organic search visits fall in Organic Search, based on source and medium such as google or organic.
4. **Join Google Search Console** Link Search Console in Admin, Product links. This adds Google organic search queries and Google organic search traffic reports that join clicks and impressions to landing pages.
5. **Product analytics for funnels** In a tool like PostHog, build a funnel from a landing page view to your product event, for example $pageview where $pathname equals /pricing to signup. Break down by initial referring domain to see organic search performance across later sessions.

Attribution choices change who gets credit. First touch credits the visit that brought the person. Last touch credits the visit before the conversion. GA4 defaults to data-driven, with first click and last click available in comparisons. For product sites, ask which landing pages bring people who later sign up.

> Sessions and Search Console clicks never match exactly. Consent tools drop sessions; a click can start no session; a session can follow several clicks.

## Read it per landing page, per channel, per device

Start with the Landing page report in GA4. Add key events and a conversion rate metric built from those key events divided by sessions for each page. Compare Desktop and Mobile.

Use the linked Search Console reports to find pages with clicks but few key events. These are candidates for content and UX fixes. Also find high-rate pages with few clicks. These are candidates for SEO work to earn more impressions.

If you need revenue from search, the clean answer needs your payment event joined to the person and their first landing page. Build that in product analytics to answer what a search click earns.

## What to change and common traps

- Fix message match on key pages. If /pricing ranks for “free crm”, show the free plan and limits above the fold.
- Shorten the path. Cut dead steps between /pricing and /signup. Remove popups that block the form.
- Speed matters. Keep Largest Contentful Paint under 2.5 seconds and Interaction to Next Paint under 200 ms on converting pages.
- UTMs belong offsite. Never add utm_source to internal links. Internal UTMs start a new session and break attribution.
- Canonicalise any UTM URL that others might link. Point the canonical to the clean URL to avoid indexing the tagged version.
- Respect consent. In the EU, cookie-based analytics need consent. Every rate from consented sessions undercounts as of 2026.

A fixed page looks like this: /pricing, fast on mobile, clear plan cards, a short form, and one primary button with a clear next step.

## Questions

### What is the conversion rate formula?

Conversion rate equals conversions divided by the visits or visitors that could have converted, in the same period and scope. Decide the action, choose sessions or users, and keep that definition across reports.

### What is a good conversion rate?

There is no universal good rate. It depends on the action, the denominator, the page set and the audience. Compare like with like: per landing page, per channel and per device, with at least a few hundred sessions.

### Should I use sessions or users?

Pick one and be consistent. Sessions suit page-level and channel views. Users suit product funnels where people return. Mixing them makes trends and benchmarks meaningless.

### How do I measure website conversion rate in GA4?

Mark your key action as a key event. Use Engagement, Landing page to get eligible sessions, add key events, and compute the rate per page. For organic search context, link Search Console and read the joined landing page reports.

### Why do GA4 numbers not match my signups?

Key events may not be marked, consent can drop sessions, and attribution differs. GA4 also thresholds small segments and can sample large explorations. Expect differences between product analytics and GA4.

### Can Search Console show conversion rate?

No. Search Console shows queries, pages, impressions and clicks. Join it with analytics by landing page to see what people did after the click, and then compute the rate in analytics.

## Read next

- [Website conversion rate: from the visit to the signup](https://porteur.ai/guides/website-conversion-rate): The plain formula, what to count as a conversion, why rates vary by page and search, the on-page fixes that move it, and how to measure it well.
- [Landing page conversion rate: how to measure it and what moves it](https://porteur.ai/guides/landing-page-conversion-rate): Stop chasing averages. Measure your own landing page conversion rate, fix the five levers that move it, and run one focused test each month.
- [Organic search traffic in GA4: where it is and how to read it](https://porteur.ai/guides/organic-search-traffic-in-ga4): See organic search in GA4, read source and medium, landings and key events, link Search Console, and build a one‑screen monthly view that you can act on.
- [The GA4 landing page report: the pages that bring people, and what they do](https://porteur.ai/guides/ga4-landing-page-report): Find the GA4 landing page report, filter to Organic Search, compare key event rates, avoid thresholds and sampling traps, and turn it into a fix list.
- [Linking Search Console to GA4: what you get and what you do not](https://porteur.ai/guides/link-search-console-to-google-analytics): Link Search Console to GA4, find the two reports, read queries next to landing pages, and know why clicks and sessions never match.
- [Click-through rate (CTR)](https://porteur.ai/glossary/click-through-rate): CTR is clicks divided by impressions. See why it varies by position and the results page, how to read it in Search Console, and how to fix weak titles.
- [Evergreen content](https://porteur.ai/glossary/evergreen-content): Evergreen content is a page on a timeless subject that earns search clicks for years. See how to spot, measure and keep these pages fresh.
- [Breadcrumbs](https://porteur.ai/glossary/breadcrumbs-navigation): Breadcrumbs are the trail of links that show where a page sits. Add them for visitors, crawlers and rich results, without changing your URL paths.

Want a quick read on which landing pages likely waste clicks, run a free 30‑second check from your URL to see three findings, then measure them in analytics. Free check: https://porteur.ai/