16 Essential Conversion Rate Optimization Metrics You Can't Ignore

Starting right from the awareness stage, where a visitor gets to know about your business, to making a purchase, there are a ton of KPIs you can track. Ideally, you should only track the KPIs that are directly linked to and support your business goals and objectives. The metrics below will help you track the performance of your conversion rate optimization (CRO) campaigns, with practical tips to improve each KPI — so you can determine why visitors aren't converting, where they're dropping off, and how to fix it.

What Are CRO Metrics?

Conversion rate is a crucial CRO KPI that measures the percentage of users who completed a desired action. If the conversion rate for newsletter signups is 30% and previously it was 20%, that means out of every 100 visitors, 30 are signing up for the newsletter instead of 20 — your CRO efforts are headed in the right direction. If the rate drops from 30% to 20%, something is wrong. Tracking CRO metrics gives you the initial hint and allows you to dig deeper to find the cause.

Why Track CRO Metrics?

To achieve a goal like increasing conversions, you must track the metrics associated with conversions — otherwise you cannot know which metric to tweak to boost results. Without tracking, optimizing random elements makes no sense. Tracking relevant metrics such as exit rate, bounce rate, and click-through rate tells you where the issue is in your marketing funnel, what to experiment with, and which tests to run. Once you're tracking the right metrics, you can narrow down options, identify potential issues, make the right optimizations, and run the right tests.

Overview of All 16 CRO Metrics

Primary Metrics

• Conversion Rate: Percentage of visitors completing a desired action (e.g., purchases, form submissions).
• Click-Through Rate (CTR): Percentage of users who click on your ads or links.
• Lead Conversion Rate: Percentage of visitors who become leads by submitting a form.

Supporting Metrics

• Bounce Rate: Percentage of visitors who leave your site immediately after landing on a page.
• Exit Rate: Percentage of visitors who leave your site from a specific page.
• Average Session Duration: Average time visitors spend on your website per session.
• Pages per Session: Average number of pages a visitor views during a single session.
• Time on Page: Average time spent by visitors on a specific page.

Customer Engagement Metrics

• Scroll Depth: Percentage of a page that visitors scroll through.
• Interactions per Visit: Number of interactions (clicks, hovers, etc.) a visitor has with your website.

Revenue-Focused Metrics

• Average Order Value (AOV): Average amount spent by customers per purchase.
• Customer Lifetime Value (CLV): Total revenue generated from a single customer over their entire relationship with your business.
• Return on Ad Spend (ROAS): Revenue generated per dollar spent on advertising.
• Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): Cost of acquiring a new customer.

Behavioral and User Experience Metrics

• Form Completion Rate: Percentage of users who submitted a form successfully against the users who started but did not complete it.
• Cart Abandonment Rate: Percentage of users who add items to their cart but do not complete the purchase.

Primary Metrics for Evaluating CRO

1. Conversion Rate

Conversion rate tells you the percentage of visitors that took a desired action — subscribing to a newsletter, filling out a form, or making a purchase. A higher or growing conversion rate indicates more visitors are taking the desired action, giving a boost to your bottom line. A lower conversion rate indicates potential issues and a negative impact on your bottom line. The conversion rate varies from industry to industry.

Formula: (Number of conversions / Total number of visitors) × 100

How to improve conversion rate

• A/B test your landing pages to identify potential issues.
• Make the necessary optimizations in your landing page elements and test again.
• Create better landing pages that follow the right design and structure principles.
• Offer discounts, lead magnets, or free trials to drive conversions.

2. Click-Through Rate (CTR)

Click-through rate gives you the percentage of users who clicked on your ad or link after seeing it. CTR tells you whether your ads, emails, or CTAs were up to the mark for your audience. A higher CTR than your industry average means your content is engaging and people are taking the desired action. A lower CTR indicates problems with your copy, CTA, or graphics.

Formula: (Number of clicks / Total number of impressions) × 100

How to improve CTR

• Create copy that is relevant to your target audience and resonates with them.
• Optimize your CTAs by choosing the right words, colors, or design.
• Personalize your ads and landing page copies to encourage clicks.

3. Lead Conversion Rate (LCR)

Lead conversion rate tells you the percentage of visitors who completed an action (submitting a lead gen form) and became a lead. A higher LCR indicates your forms, landing pages, and offers are hitting the right spot. A lower value means your form, messaging, or overall design could use improvement.

Formula: (Number of leads / Total number of visitors) × 100

How to improve lead conversion rate

• Optimize your lead form, making it easier for users to complete.
• Make sure there is a sync between your ad copy and the landing page.
• Personalize forms to make them more relatable.

Supporting Metrics to Help Analyze CRO

4. Bounce Rate

Bounce rate tells you the percentage of visitors who land on your page and leave your site without visiting any other page. According to a 2022 survey conducted by Shopify, the average bounce rate of visitors landing on a page through Google search is 41.1%. A high bounce rate means visitors are not engaging with your content — either the content is not engaging enough, or they're not getting what they need.

Formula: Use Google Analytics.

How to improve bounce rate

• Try to identify what is pushing users away.
• Potential reasons could be the content, UX, or audience mismatch.
• Create a hypothesis and run A/B tests.

5. Exit Rate

Exit rate is the percentage of visitors who leave your site from a particular page after viewing it. Unlike bounce rate, in exit rate users visit one or more pages other than the landing page before they leave from a particular page. This metric helps identify potential issues on particular pages that might be pushing visitors away. A good exit rate is usually less than 40–50%, according to Agency Analytics.

Formula: Use Google Analytics.

How to improve exit rate

• Analyze pages with a high exit rate and point out usability or content issues.
• Make it easy for visitors to take the next step.
• Solve technical issues like poor loading speed and mobile responsiveness.

6. Average Session Duration

Average session duration tells you the average time visitors spend on your website per session. If average session duration is higher than the industry average, visitors like engaging with your content and find it valuable. A lower average session duration could indicate problems with your website.

Formula: Use Google Analytics.

How to improve average session duration

• Make the content more engaging and interactive by including videos or short quizzes.
• Add new content and optimize existing ones.
• Make your content more readable using the right font, bullet points, and subheads.
• Address the pain points of your target audience to add relevance.
• Improve the loading speed.

7. Pages per Session

Pages per session tells you the number of pages your visitors interact with on your website per session. A higher number indicates engaging content, well-placed CTAs, and optimized elements — and eventually points to more conversions. A lower number indicates problems like poor navigation or low-quality content.

Formula: Use Google Analytics.

How to improve pages per session

• Make sure your content is relevant to your visitors.
• Add ample internal links and streamline the navigation.
• Work on improving user experience: design, loading speed, and mobile optimization.

8. Time on Page

Time on page tells you the time visitors spend on a landing page before moving to another page on your website. If visitors quit your website, no time on page will be calculated. Longer time on page indicates higher engagement. A shorter time span indicates poor engagement, which can impact conversions. A good average time on a page, according to OptinMonster, is 50–60 seconds.

Formula: Use Google Analytics.

How to improve time on page

• Create content that immediately grabs the attention of users.
• Integrate quizzes, polls, and videos to make your content interactive and engaging.
• Improve readability using easy language, bullet points, and subheadings.
• Improve your navigation and optimize the page for mobile.

Customer Engagement Metrics for Deeper Insights

9. Scroll Depth

Scroll depth tells you how far down a page visitors scroll. The average scroll depth is around 60–80%. A scroll depth in this range indicates your page is able to engage visitors. A lower average scroll depth indicates issues like poor content readability, engagement, or relevance.

Formula: Use Google Analytics.

How to improve scroll depth

• Optimize for mobile.
• Improve content quality, engagement, and readability.
• Tweak your content layout to ensure readers don't miss out on important information.

10. Interactions per Visit

Interactions per visit tells you the number of interactions per user per site visit. It helps you better understand user behavior — how many interactions visitors are making and what elements they're interacting with. High interactions but a poor conversion rate may mean visitors are unable to find enough information to take the next step.

Formula: Set up events for elements in Google Analytics.

How to improve interactions per visit

• Optimize your content for your audience: work on readability and include clear CTAs.
• Optimize navigation and user flow.

Revenue-Focused CRO Metrics

11. Average Order Value (AOV)

Average order value tells businesses the average amount a customer spends in a single transaction or purchase. It is particularly helpful for monitoring eCommerce conversion rate optimization. Tracking AOV helps you slowly increase revenue without having to onboard more customers.

Formula: Total revenue / Number of orders placed

How to improve average order value

• Try cross-selling related products that might go with the main product.
• Offer volume discounts.
• Provide a smooth return policy.

12. Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)

Customer lifetime value indicates the total revenue you generate from a customer during their relationship with your business. This metric is crucial for calculating whether you're making enough revenue from one customer. If CLV is lower than or nearly equal to your customer acquisition cost, you either need to upsell or reduce acquisition costs.

Formula: Multiply the average order value by repeat sales and the customer's retention rate.

How to improve customer lifetime value

• Improve customer service to boost customer satisfaction and retain the customer longer.
• Include loyalty programs to reward loyal customers.
• Upsell or cross-sell products to boost average order value.

13. Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)

ROAS tells you the revenue you generate against the money you invest in your marketing efforts. This metric tells you how effective your marketing efforts are. If you're getting substantial returns on your investment, you can allocate more budget to generate more revenue.

Formula: Revenue generated from an ad campaign / Total cost of the ad campaign

How to improve ROAS

• Optimize your ad campaigns by A/B testing different elements.
• Segment your audiences to identify and focus on the most profitable ones.
• Offer a more personalized experience to your audience.

14. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)

Customer acquisition cost tells you the average money — sales and marketing expenses included — you spend to acquire a single customer. By tracking CAC, you can understand how onboarding new customers is impacting your finances and take the necessary steps to keep your business more profitable.

Formula: Marketing costs / Number of newly onboarded customers during a specific period

How to improve customer acquisition cost

• Identify inefficiencies in your sales and marketing efforts to reduce spending.
• Encourage customer referrals to reduce marketing costs.
• Lay stress on long-term organic strategies like SEO.

Behavioral and User Experience Metrics

15. Form Completion Rate

Form completion rate tells you the percentage of people who successfully fill out and submit a form against the total number of people who started but did not complete it. A poor form completion rate indicates issues such as complex design, lengthy forms, personal questions, or confusing navigation.

Formula: (Total number of form submissions / Number of users who viewed the form) × 100

How to improve form completion rate

• Reduce the number of required fields and use clear labels.
• Add a progress indicator and optimize for mobile users.
• Add a dominant CTA.
• Conduct A/B testing to identify the best form design elements for your target audience.

16. Cart Abandonment Rate

Cart abandonment rate represents the percentage of users who add items to the cart but don't complete the purchase. It is most relevant to the eCommerce industry. A higher cart abandonment rate indicates issues with your checkout process.

Formula: (Total number of purchases / Total number of carts created) × 100

How to improve cart abandonment rate

• Try offering free shipping and easy returns to encourage purchase.
• Send emails to people who abandoned the cart to understand the reason.
• Reduce friction in the checkout process and make it easier.

How to Set Targets for Conversion KPIs

Setting practical KPI targets helps you determine what success looks like, giving you and your team a clear picture to collectively work toward goals that align with your bigger business objective.

1. Leverage KPI Standards

Every KPI is a metric, but not every metric is a KPI. To identify the right KPIs, use the S.M.A.R.T. standard — Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound. This will help you stay on the path and in sync with your overall business objective.

2. Assess Your Performance and Set Realistic Targets

After identifying the right KPIs, analyze your business's current performance. For example, if your present lead conversion rate is at 3%, you know where you're at and can set realistic expectations. To ensure targets are realistic: analyze historical data to see how KPIs have been trending, consult stakeholders, analyze competitor data, and reference industry figures. Every business, website, product, or customer base is different — following industry standards blindly can lead to misaligned expectations and poor decision-making. Always go for realistic targets that align with your business objectives.

3. Define Long-Term and Short-Term Objectives

KPI targets are your means to achieving your bigger objectives. For example, if you want to double revenue from $10 million to $20 million in five years, set a short-term objective of a 5% revenue boost in the first year and progressively increase it year by year rather than targeting 20% growth each year.

How to Analyze CRO Metrics Effectively

Do not rely on numbers alone — dig deeper. Segment the data by traffic source, logged vs. logged-out users, mobile vs. desktop users, new vs. returning users, and converted vs. other users. If the numbers are too broad, you won't get much insight. Segmented data reveals real value.

How to Act on CRO Metrics

Once you have analyzed the KPIs for a set duration, follow three steps: first, identify where the issues are — for example, if conversion rate is particularly lower for mobile users and the mobile bounce rate is high; second, make the necessary optimizations, such as improving navigation, increasing load speed, reducing image size, and adding clear CTAs for mobile; third, run A/B tests after making changes to determine if the optimizations improved results. Businesses that leverage CRO tools usually see a 223% average ROI.