Why is my conversion rate above 100% when conversions are higher than clicks?
Because not every conversion in your report came from a click. Many ad platforms count conversions from people who saw the ad without clicking it, and some record more than one conversion per person. Divide that total by clicks and you get a figure above 100%. The calculator shows it and warns you instead of rejecting it.
Where the extra conversions come from
- View-through conversions: someone saw the ad on their phone, later found your store through search and bought, and the platform credits the ad without any click.
- Repeat conversions: one customer bought twice inside the attribution window, or signed up and then bought, and is counted more than once.
- Different events in one column: add-to-cart and purchase both sitting under 'conversions', depending on how the account is set up.
A worked example: two correct figures for two different questions
A campaign was shown 5,000 times and got 40 clicks for a spend of 200, and the report lists 55 conversions. In the calculator, conversion rate comes out at 137.5% with a warning that conversions exceed clicks, and CPA is just 3.6364.
All conversions: conversion rate = 55 ÷ 40 × 100 = 137.5%, and CPA = 200 ÷ 55 = 3.6364.
Click-through conversions only, 6 in this report: conversion rate = 6 ÷ 40 × 100 = 15%, and CPA is 33.3333.
CTR, CPC and CPM did not move: 0.8%, 5 and 40 either way.
The gap between 3.6364 and 33.3333 is not an arithmetic error but a different question. The first answers: what did each conversion the platform credits to the ad cost, however it happened? The second answers: what did each conversion from someone who clicked through cost? If you are deciding whether to raise the budget, the cautious figure is the safer one, because some view-through buyers might have bought without the ad.
Getting a click-based conversion rate
- In the platform report, look for a breakdown of conversions by attribution type, click-through versus view-through, if the platform offers one.
- Copy the click-through conversions together with impressions, clicks and spend for the same period.
- Enter them in the Campaign performance calculator. The warning stays away as long as conversions do not exceed clicks.
- If your report has no such breakdown, note next to the result that conversions include view-through, so nobody reads the figure the wrong way.
Why the calculator warns instead of rejecting
Because from the platform's side the numbers may be perfectly valid. Rejecting them would force you to change them for no reason, and adjusting them silently would hide the fact that your report mixes two kinds of conversion. So it calculates with what you entered and tells you plainly that a rate above 100% deserves a second look. Which figure to trust stays your call.
To see which orders really came from a click in your store analytics, tag the ad links with the UTM campaign link builder, then work out the return on confirmed orders with the ROAS calculator.
Common questions
Does a 137.5% conversion rate mean the campaign is excellent?
Not necessarily. It means the counted conversions include some that did not come from clicks. Judge the campaign on conversions whose source you trust.
Which figure goes in a client report?
The one that fits the client's question, with its definition next to it: all attributed conversions, or click-through conversions only.