Microconversion
Conversion & UXAlso: Micro-Conversion · Soft Conversion
Quick definition
A small, measurable action a user takes that signals progress toward a main conversion goal. Examples: scrolling 75 percent down a page, clicking a CTA, adding a product to cart, or downloading a lead magnet.
Where it shows up in the data
A macroconversion is the primary goal: a purchase, a signed contract, a booked call. A microconversion is any meaningful step toward that goal: clicking a product, reaching the checkout, starting a form. Both matter for optimisation.
Microconversions reveal where the funnel leaks. If 1,000 people visit your pricing page, 400 click 'Get Started', 200 reach the form, and 30 submit, the drop-off between form reach and submission is the biggest optimisation opportunity, not the traffic.
Microconversions require custom event tracking in GA4, GTM or your analytics platform. Default analytics tracks pageviews; microconversions require intentional instrumentation of specific user actions.
What it actually means
A microconversion is any user action that signals intent or engagement and moves someone closer to your main conversion goal. Examples include: clicking a CTA button, watching more than 30 seconds of a video, scrolling to the bottom of a long-form page, adding an item to a wishlist, starting a checkout process or downloading a resource. These actions aren't the end goal, but they're meaningful data points in the funnel. Tracking them allows you to identify where users drop off and what separates high-converting visitors from low-converting ones, giving you specific places to focus optimisation effort.
If you only track final conversions, you're measuring outcomes but not understanding them.
How it shows up
Microconversions appear as custom events in GA4 or tagged events in GTM. Set up events for: CTA clicks, form starts, form completions, add to cart, checkout initiation, video completions (25, 50, 75, 100 percent), scroll depth (50, 75 percent), and file downloads. Funnel exploration reports in GA4 let you visualise step-by-step drop-off.
The Australian context
Australian B2B sales cycles tend to be longer than B2C, making microconversion tracking even more important for services and SaaS businesses where the path from awareness to purchase spans weeks or months. Lead magnet downloads, webinar registrations and consultation bookings are common Australian B2B microconversions that signal high purchase intent.
Where people get this wrong
Related terms
Common questions
What are good microconversions to track?
For ecommerce: add to cart, checkout initiation, coupon code use. For B2B: contact form start, pricing page visit, case study download, demo request. For content: scroll depth 75 percent, newsletter signup, resource download. Choose microconversions that genuinely indicate intent in your specific funnel.
How do I track microconversions in GA4?
Use Google Tag Manager to fire custom events on user actions (clicks, scrolls, form interactions). In GA4, mark the relevant events as conversions in the Events settings. Use Funnel Exploration reports to visualise the step-by-step journey.
What's the difference between a microconversion and an engagement metric?
Engagement metrics like time on page or pages per session measure passive behaviour. Microconversions measure active intent: a user deliberately takes an action that moves them closer to a goal. Microconversions are generally more predictive of purchase intent than passive engagement.
Keep exploring
About New Rebellion
New Rebellion is a marketing intelligence consultancy. We build tools, score Australian businesses on how their marketing actually performs, and publish Debrief every day. This dictionary is part of how we work in the open.
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