What is conversion rate (CVR)?
CVR, or conversion rate, in in-app advertising is the percentage of users who saw an app-install ad, clicked on it, and converted through some pre-specified action. CVR tells app advertisers how well their ad converted users.
However, the act of ‘conversion’ varies depending on the pricing model. In cost per install campaigns, for example, conversion is measured by app installs, while in cost per engagement campaigns, conversion is measured by engagement events.
How is CVR calculated?
CVR = (# of users who took action / # of users who clicked on the ad) x 100
The CVR formula divides the number of users who converted by the number of users who clicked on the ad, then multiplies by 100.
For example, if 1,000 users saw an ad and 15 users installed the advertised app, the conversion rate would be 1.5%, meaning the ad converted 1.5% of users.
CVR is an important metric for measuring ad performance, indicating how well an ad converts users. This metric is typically used in performance campaigns.
CVR vs. CTR
Click-through rate (CTR) measures how many people clicked on an ad out of everyone who saw it. CVR measures something further down the funnel: of the people who clicked, how many actually completed the desired action, like installing the app.
A campaign can have a high CTR and a low CVR at the same time. That usually means the ad itself is compelling enough to get the click, but something after the click, the app store listing, the onboarding flow, the offer, isn't converting that interest into action.
For tips on closing that gap, see Unity's guide to optimizing ad campaign performance.
What are the benefits of tracking CVR?
- Easy to compare across channels: A single percentage lets you put very different campaigns side by side on equal footing.
- A real diagnostic signal: A sudden drop can flag a broken funnel or bad targeting before it shows up in revenue.
- Ties directly to budget decisions: Knowing CVR lets advertisers calculate cost per conversion and set realistic spend targets.
Campaigns that use automated bidding, like Unity Ads' Vector AI, optimize toward these outcomes directly rather than relying on manual adjustments. Unico Studio saw installs scale more than 4x while keeping CPI flat after moving to Vector-powered ROAS campaigns.
What are the challenges of using CVR?
- Varies widely by industry and channel: There's no single “good” benchmark number to chase blindly across every campaign.
- Sensitive to attribution window: A user might click today and convert days later, so the same behavior can look different depending on the window used to measure it.
- Doesn't explain why: A low CVR flags a problem but not which one, bad creative, the wrong audience, or a broken checkout can all produce the same number.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
Does a higher CVR always mean a campaign is performing better?
Not necessarily. A high CVR can also mean the audience was small or already highly qualified, not that the creative or targeting was better. It's most useful compared against your own past campaigns or similar channels, not chased as a single number in isolation.
Does a conversion always require a click first?
No. Some conversions are tracked through view-through attribution, where a user sees an ad without clicking it and converts later anyway. Click-based and view-through conversions are usually measured and reported separately since they reflect different user behavior.