How conversion rate is calculated
Conversion rate is the share of users who complete a target action:
conversion rate = (users who converted / users who entered the step) x 100
A worked example: a campaign drives 8,000 installs. Within 7 days, 2,400 of those users sign up and 320 make a first purchase. Install to sign-up conversion is 30%; install to purchase conversion is 4%; sign-up to purchase conversion is 320 / 2,400, about 13.3%.
Every conversion rate needs three things defined: the starting step, the target step, and the window. "4% D7 install-to-purchase" is clear; "4% conversion" is not.
The conversion rates app teams watch
- Click-to-install rate: installs divided by clicks on the attribution link. Reflects store page, link routing and intent.
- Store conversion: installs divided by store page views. Mostly an app store optimization metric.
- Install to sign-up: onboarding quality.
- Install to first purchase or subscription: monetization and paywall design.
- Trial to paid: subscription value.
Each has an owner. Growth teams usually own click-to-install, ASO teams own store conversion, and product teams own the in-app steps.
Conversion rate and cost
Conversion rates multiply. If CPI is $2, install to sign-up is 30% and sign-up to purchase is 13.3%, the cost per purchaser is 2 / (0.30 x 0.133), about $50. Lift sign-up conversion to 36% and the cost per purchaser drops to about $42 without touching media. This is why an attribution view that shows conversion by campaign is as useful to product teams as it is to growth teams.
Conversion also varies by source. Two campaigns can share the same CPI and differ threefold on purchase conversion, which changes the answer to which one to scale.
Measuring conversion by campaign
Linkrunner attributes installs, sign-ups and every in-app event you send to the campaign, ad set and creative behind each install. The Events tab includes funnels for step-by-step conversion, cohorts can be split by install day, and cost per event uses synced spend from Meta, Google and Apple Ads. See Linkrunner analytics for the full view.