NEW: English for Tech Bundle → Save 40%
Speak Tech English
Book class
Your progress…

Loading your progress…

Home
Business & Workplace Languagenoun · /kənˈvɜːrʒən reɪt/

conversion rate

In simple English

Conversion rate is a critical metric in business and product development that measures how effectively a product, website, or marketing campaign turns potential customers into actual ones. For example, if 100 people visit your website and 5 make a purchase, your conversion rate is 5%. This metric is used across many tech roles: product managers track it to understand user behavior, marketing teams optimize campaigns to improve it, and engineers build features to increase it. In tech companies, improving conversion rate by even 1% can mean significant revenue gains, making it a key focus area for teams. You will hear it discussed in product meetings, sprint planning, and performance reviews.

Understand what conversion rate means and how to calculate and improve it for websites, apps, and marketing campaigns.

At a glanceCEFR B2
Commonness5/5
Versatility4/5
FormalityCasualFormalNeutral
Spoken ↔ WrittenSpokenWrittenBoth
Directness ↔ DiplomaticDirectDiplomaticDirect
RegionUS and UK
New app · Free lessons

Speak up in meetings. Feel confident.

Standup vocabulary, native examples, and quick practice — 100+ free lessons

Start learning freeNo card needed · Google or email
MemberMemberMember

3,000+ tech pros preparing for global tech roles

Lessons · Quizzes · Progress

Say it like this

✓We need to boost our conversion rate before the holiday season.
✓Our conversion rate is higher on mobile than desktop.
✓Improving conversion rate is our top priority this quarter.

Real examples

in a standup

"I finished the checkout flow redesign. Early testing shows a 15% improvement in conversion rate."

in a code review

"This optimization should reduce page load time, which typically correlates with a higher conversion rate."

in a team meeting

"Our conversion rate dropped after we changed the sign-up flow. We should revert and test more gradually."

Don't say this

Handle with care. Do not confuse conversion rate with conversion itself. Conversion rate is the percentage or ratio, not the single event of a user converting.

✕We increased conversions by 50%.
✓We increased our conversion rate by 50%.— Without saying 'rate,' it is unclear if you mean absolute numbers or the percentage. Always specify 'conversion rate' or 'number of conversions.'
✕The conversion rate of users is very good.
✓Our conversion rate is very good.— Conversion rate already refers to users. Saying 'conversion rate of users' is redundant.
✕We should conversion rate this feature.
✓We should improve the conversion rate of this feature.— Conversion rate is a noun, not a verb. You cannot 'conversion rate' something; you 'improve' or 'optimize' the conversion rate.

Other forms

noun

conversion rate

"The conversion rate for our email campaign is 3.5%."

noun (plural)

conversion rates

"We compared conversion rates across different user segments."

noun (adjective modifier)

conversion-rate optimization

"We hired a specialist in conversion-rate optimization."

Often used with

improve conversion rateUsed to say you want to make the percentage of converts higher.
boost conversion rateSimilar to 'improve,' often used in a more enthusiastic or marketing context.
track conversion rateTo monitor or measure the conversion rate over time.
high conversion rateWhen a good percentage of users complete the desired action.
drop in conversion rateWhen the percentage decreases, usually indicating a problem.
conversion-rate optimization (CRO)The practice and discipline of improving conversion rates through testing and design changes.

Similar words

conversion metricMore general; conversion rate is one specific type of metric.
funnel efficiencyBroader term referring to how well users move through multiple steps; conversion rate is one measure.
success rateSometimes used interchangeably depending on context, but less specific to e-commerce and user actions.

Opposites

bounce ratechurn ratedrop-off rate

Featured course

English for Developers Bundle

Full tech-English bundle for meetings, code reviews, and everyday developer communication.

500+ reviews

View

Practice

Try it

4 quick exercises

Pick the most natural phrasing

1. Your boss asks about your website performance. Which sounds most professional?

Complete the sentence

2. After we fixed the mobile checkout, our _______ increased from 2% to 3.5%.

Spot the mistake

3. Which sentence uses conversion rate incorrectly?

Rewrite naturally

4. Rewrite this using 'conversion rate': 'Out of 1,000 people who came to our website, 25 bought something, and we want to know how good this number is.'

Questions

Quick poll

Have you said "conversion rate" in a standup this week?

Want more structured practice like this? Our English for Programmers course covers real workplace English in depth.

Your badges

XLinkedIn
← Back to home