Glossary · Conversion & retention
What is micro-conversion?
A micro-conversion is a smaller action that signals a visitor is moving toward the main goal — such as viewing the pricing page, starting a sign-up form, watching a demo video or copying an install snippet — as opposed to the macro-conversion itself (the sign-up or purchase).
Also called: Soft conversion, Secondary conversion
Updated
Micro-conversion examples
| Business | Macro-conversion | Micro-conversions |
|---|---|---|
| SaaS | Paid subscription | Pricing view, docs visit, sign-up, first project created |
| E-commerce | Purchase | Product view, add to cart, checkout started |
| Newsletter | Paid subscriber | Free sign-up, second article read, share |
| Agency | Signed client | Case study view, contact form started, call booked |
How to measure micro-conversions
Micro-conversion rate = visitors who completed the micro-action ÷ visitors × 100
Each micro-conversion is a goal of its own. The real value comes from linking them: what share of visitors who view pricing go on to sign up? If visitors who view the docs convert to paid at three times the rate of those who don't, docs visits are a leading indicator worth growing.
Micro-conversion example
Out of 10,000 monthly visitors, 2,200 view pricing (22%), 600 start sign-up (6%), 400 finish it (4%), and 60 pay (0.6%). A landing page test can't measure paid conversion in a week — 60 a month is too few — but the pricing-view rate moves with 2,200 events, enough to see a real effect quickly.
Why micro-conversions matter
They give you signal when macro-conversions are too rare to learn from, show where in the journey people stall, and let you judge new traffic sources before they've had time to produce paying customers.
Micro-conversion pitfalls
- Proxy drift. Optimizing a micro-conversion that doesn't predict the macro one — more pricing views from people who will never pay.
- Too many goals. Twenty micro-goals make the dashboard noisy; track the few that predict revenue.
- Counting intent as outcome. A form start isn't a lead.
How VisitTrack tracks micro-conversions
Create a goal for a page (for example /pricing) or for an event. Events can come from one line of code, from a data-vt-goal attribute on any element, or from data-vt-scroll for when a section scrolls into view — see custom events. VisitTrack also records some micro-actions automatically: file downloads, mailto:/tel: clicks, form submits and outbound clicks. Chain them in a funnel to see which lead to sign-ups and payments.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a micro and macro conversion?
A macro-conversion is the primary business outcome, such as a purchase or paid subscription. A micro-conversion is a smaller step toward it, such as viewing pricing or starting a sign-up form.
Which micro-conversions should I track?
Track the ones that predict your macro-conversion. Compare the macro-conversion rate of visitors who did each micro-action with those who didn't, and keep the ones with the biggest difference.
Related terms
- GoalA goal, or conversion goal, is a visitor action that you define in your analytics tool as a success — reaching a page, firing an event, completing a purchase — so the tool can count it and calculate a conversion rate for it.
- Conversion rateConversion rate is the percentage of visitors (or sessions) that complete a desired action — a sign-up, purchase, demo request or any other goal — out of all visitors (or sessions) in the same period.
- Conversion funnelA conversion funnel is an ordered sequence of steps a visitor takes toward a goal — for example landing page, pricing, sign-up, payment — measured as how many visitors reach each step and how many drop off between them.
- Custom eventsCustom events are events you define and send to your analytics tool yourself — such as signup, demo_booked or plan_upgraded — to record actions that are specific to your product and can't be detected automatically.
- Activation rateActivation rate is the percentage of new sign-ups who reach a defined "activation" milestone — the first moment they get real value from the product, such as creating a first project or seeing their first data.
Tools and guides
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