Conversion Rate Benchmarks


Use our Conversion Rate Benchmarks to check the performance of your channels against thousands of other marketers.

Compare your recent conversion rate to relevant trends, and find out if your performance is being affected by something other than your own work.

 

Top Tip: The best benchmark is always your own past performance. This benchmark tool is most useful to compare trends.

 

Conversion Rate Benchmark

Use the drop-downs to filter results so that you can compare your results to those similar to you.

 

 

Notes:

  • When using the drop-downs, you can:
    • Filter results by Paid Social or Paid Search. If you leave the categories unfiltered, the results will contain all channels.
    • Select multiple options at once. To do this first untick the top tickbox (by the name of the drop-down). Then tick the box by each option you would like to see included in the data
    • Reset to “all”. To do this you simply tick the top tickbox (by the name of the drop-down).
  • You can directly compare your results to the benchmark by using our Conversion Rate calculator.
  • As the above figures are self-reported we use multiple filters and levels of analysis to ensure the data is useful.
  • More options to break down the benchmark further (including by more countries) are coming as we gather more data.
  • If you notice this benchmark has stopped working, please let us know at justin@theonlineadvertisingguide.com.

 

How should I use this benchmark?

The best use of this benchmark is as context for your results – if your conversion rate is following a general trend then that is useful to know.

For example, if your conversion rate goes down suddenly one month and you see that this is repeated elsewhere, then perhaps it was not your campaign tanking but instead an economic issue out of your control.

Similarly, if your conversion rate is suddenly really good one month (but so is everyone else’s) then perhaps your latest sales promotion is less effective than it seems.

Adding benchmarks to reporting and forecasting can be very illuminating.

 

How do I compare my results to these benchmarks?

If you want to compare your results directly to the above benchmark, here is a simple guide to help you. If your results are…

  • above the Top 25% figure, you should be very pleased
  • above the Average Conversion Rate figure, you should be slightly pleased
  • below the Average Conversion Rate figure, you should be slightly disappointed
  • below the Bottom 25% figure, you should be very disappointed

Most results occur between the top 25% and bottom 25%, so if you are somewhere in the middle you are more or less doing ok.

Again, please note that the best benchmark is always your past performance. If you performed better compared to the same time last year then that is important. This benchmark is more useful for context than a direct comparison.

 

What do percentiles mean?

We included the 25th percentile (bottom 25%) and the 75th percentile (top 25%).

These work by putting all the conversion rates in order from smallest to largest, then choosing the numbers that are 25% from the bottom and 25% from the top.

We include these top and bottom 25% markers for a few reasons:

  • Most results occur between these top and bottom markers. If you are within this range, your campaigns are performing more or less as expected.
  • If you are performing below average then it is useful to know how far below it you can be before you should be concerned.
  • If you are performing above average then it is useful to know how much you should be celebrating.
  • If you are particularly good (or bad) at marketing, then comparing yourself to the average probably isn’t that helpful. By providing these extra sets of data, you can compare your results to benchmarks more relevant to yourself.

 

How is Conversion Rate calculated?

Conversion Rate is calculated by taking the number of conversions you have received and dividing that by the number of opportunities there was for a conversion. This can mean either clicks (if you are measuring an ad or link) or visits (if you are measuring a page).

The Conversion Rate equation is:

 

Conversion Rate Equation

Conversion Rate = (conversions ÷ clicks) x 100

 

Conversion Rate is a simple way to gauge success levels. If a piece of content or an ad is driving a high percentage of people to convert, then it is likely displaying the right message at the right time to the right people.

 

Top Tip: Conversion Rate is a more useful measure than just conversions as it can be used to compare different activities directly.

 

Find out more

 

Back: Benchmarks