Conversion Rate (CR) is the share of clicks, visits, or users that completed a target action. Not visitors divided by conversions, but conversions divided by the chosen denominator.
Updated August 11, 2026.
Conversion Rate Formula
CR = number of conversions / number of eligible interactions x 100%.
If 1,000 clicks produced 40 deposits, the conversion rate is 40 / 1,000 x 100% = 4%.
The denominator can be clicks, sessions, visits to the offer page, unique users, or installs. The important thing is to lock down the definition and count it consistently. CR per click cannot be compared directly with CR per unique user.
What Counts as a Conversion
The conversion depends on the task:
- a click from the pre-lander to the offer;
- a registration or completed form;
- an install and first launch;
- an approved lead;
- a first purchase or deposit;
- a repeat purchase or post-install event.
The event name must match in the tracker, affiliate network, and report. If one counts form_submit, another counts approved lead, and the third counts sale, you can argue about CR until retirement.
Raw CR, Approved CR, and Approval Rate
Suppose 1,000 clicks produced 80 leads, and the advertiser approved 60 of them:
- Raw CR: 80 / 1,000 = 8%.
- Approved CR: 60 / 1,000 = 6%.
- Approval rate: 60 / 80 = 75%.
These are three different numbers. A high raw CR with a low approval rate can mean trash traffic, poor validation, or a conflict with the offer rules. CR alone does not prove quality.
Can CR Be Above 100%?
Yes, if the system counts several conversions after one interaction. One click can produce a registration, a purchase, and a repeat purchase. With the “count every conversion” setting, the final metric can exceed 100%.
If the business needs only one conversion per user or click, turn on deduplication or the “one” counting mode. Before comparing reports, check the attribution window, event, attribution model, and duplicate-counting rules.
Conversion Rate, CTR, and EPC
CTR is the share of impressions that produced clicks. CR is the share of target actions after the chosen interaction. For a pre-lander, you can separately measure landing page CTR, then the offer CR.
EPC is earnings per click. A high CR with a tiny payout can earn less than a low CR with a fat payout. That is why a media buyer looks at CR together with payout, approval rate, EPC, and traffic cost.
In a viral loop, invitation conversion rate combines with the average number of invitations to form the K-factor.
How to Diagnose CR
Segment CR by source, campaign, placement, creative, GEO, device, and launch day. The overall number can easily hide a placement draining the budget.
- CR is low: check whether the creative matches the offer, page speed, the form, errors, GEO, and traffic quality.
- CR is suspiciously high: check sample size, duplicates, bots, incentivized traffic, and a broken event.
- CR is good but there is no money: look at approval rate, payout, EPC, refunds, and post-conversion quality.
Conversion Rate is useful only with an exact event and denominator. Without them, it is just a percentage that nobody remembered to give a meaning.
See the other terms in the CPA glossary.