How To Work Out Conversion Rates For Your Business

If you’re B2B, in SaaS/Fintech, and/or sick of surface-level metrics this blog is for you…

Whether you're pouring budget into Google Ads or testing LinkedIn with laser-focused targeting, at some point the question will come: "Are our conversions actually worth it?"

And to answer that, you need to know exactly how to calculate your conversion rate—and what that rate actually means for your bottom line.

But here’s the twist: in B2B, particularly SaaS and Fintech, the answer is rarely as simple as "100 clicks = 2 demo requests = 2% conversion rate." Because in reality, those demo requests might convert six months down the line, through a sequence of nurture emails, calls, procurement hoops and multiple stakeholders.

So, let’s unpack the key metrics that give you the full picture—from click to customer.

First up: What is a conversion rate?

In the simplest terms, your conversion rate is the percentage of users who complete a desired action out of the total number of users who could have.

The classic formula is:

Conversion rate (%) = (Conversions ÷ Total Visitors (or ad clicks)) × 100

But as we’ll see, what counts as a “conversion” can vary wildly depending on your business goals and sales cycle.

How do I calculate conversion rate in PPC campaigns?

Let’s say you’re running a Google Ads campaign for a free trial signup.

• Total ad clicks: 5,000
• Trial signups: 200

Conversion rate = (200 ÷ 5,000) × 100 = 4%

Now, that looks decent on paper—but if your trial-to-paid conversion is only 5%, your actual business conversion rate is 0.2%.

That’s why it's so important to track different types of conversions—leads vs pipeline vs customers—and know which rate you're talking about when you're discussing performance.

Types of conversion metrics to track

1. Top-level conversions (Marketing qualified): Demo requests, trial signups, contact forms. These are early signals of intent.‍
2. Sales qualified leads (SQLs): Contacts who meet your criteria and are worth pursuing.‍
3. Opportunities created: Real pipeline—meetings booked, proposals sent.‍
4. Closed-won conversions: The final, glorious "customer acquired" moment.

Each of these steps has its own conversion rate and tells a different story. PPC might deliver a 10% lead conversion rate, but only a 1% closed-won rate.

Tracking these stages helps you identify where your funnel is leaky—and where to optimise.

Cost per conversion: how to work it out

Another biggie. This is what you spend to acquire a single conversion (again—define what you mean by conversion).

Formula:

Cost per conversion = Total ad spend ÷ Number of conversions

Example:

• Spend: £2,000
• Conversions (trial signups): 100
• Cost per conversion = £20

Now repeat that for SQLs and for closed-won deals. The closer to revenue you get, the more meaningful this figure becomes.

What’s a good conversion rate?

The ultimate shoulder-shrug answer: it depends.

Here’s some rough PPC benchmarks to anchor your expectations:

But really? A “good” conversion rate is one that’s profitable. Which leads us to...

The metrics that make or break your conversion strategy

Let’s zoom out for a sec. It’s easy to obsess over conversion rates—but a 2% conversion rate means nothing without knowing what a conversion is worth.

Here are three metrics to track alongside your conversion rate:

1. Average Lead Value

How much is a lead actually worth?

If you close 1 in 20 leads, and your average deal is £10,000, then:

Average lead value = £10,000 ÷ 20 = £500

So, if your cost per lead is under £500, you’re technically profitable. Over that? Time to adjust targeting or optimise your landing page.

2. Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV)

Especially important for subscription-based models. A customer might be worth £1,000/month for 24 months = £24,000 CLTV.

Understanding this helps you work backwards and decide how much you’re really willing to spend on acquisition.

3. Lead-to-Close Time

This one’s underrated. Long lead times in B2B mean you can’t judge performance in a 30-day ad cycle. A Google campaign might generate leads now that close six months later—especially in Fintech or enterprise SaaS.

That’s why blending short-term conversion tracking with longer-term CRM data is key.

How do I calculate conversion value?

If you want to understand the true ROI of your conversion rate, use this:

Conversion value = Conversion rate × Average deal value × Number of leads

This gives you a way to estimate projected revenue based on your current pipeline.

Final thoughts (and a little tough love)

Conversion rates are great. But don’t treat them like gospel without context.

Your lead gen campaign isn’t failing because it’s "only converting at 3%." It might be producing the exact right leads, and your sales process just needs refining. Or, you could be overpaying for MQLs with no intent.

Always ask: conversion to what, and at what cost?

So the next time someone asks, “What’s your conversion rate?”—you can smile, pause dramatically, and say:

“Which one?”

Want help measuring the metrics that matter in your PPC campaigns? Lever Digital are the ppc agency here for the real numbers and the full-funnel thinking.

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