The Metrics That Matter Most in CRO: How to Measure What Actually Moves the Needle

We sat down with Jacob Elbaum, founder of Shivook, a performance CRO agency that’s helped dozens of DTC brands scale profitably. In our 90-Day CRO Roadmap project, he shared how they think about success, what metrics matter in each phase of testing, and why "conversion rate" is only the beginning.

Here's what you need to know if you're building a CRO program that actually drives revenue.

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Start with Conversion Rate, But Don’t Stop There

Yes, conversion rate (CR) is the most common metric. And it’s often the easiest to track, especially in Shopify Analytics or ABConvert’s experiment dashboard.

But CR only tells you if more people bought. It doesn’t tell you how much they bought, what influenced it, or if it was even profitable.

“Conversion rate is your first checkpoint,” Jacob said. “But once you hit volume, it becomes about revenue per visitor, not just conversion.”

The True North: Revenue Per Visitor (RPV)

Revenue per visitor (RPV) is where Shivook and ABConvert align most deeply.

At scale, what matters is not how many people convert—it’s how much value you extract from each visit. That’s what makes RPV the metric that bridges conversion and order value.

Example:

If Variant A has a 2.5% CR and €60 AOV, and Variant B has a 2.3% CR but €70 AOV…

Variant B wins. Because RPV is higher.

And with ABConvert, merchants can see this kind of performance clearly—no custom analytics setup needed, no product duplication, no messy tagging.

Low traffic? Track Interaction Metrics

If you're still early, or if your traffic is under ~5,000/month, statistical confidence on CR or RPV can be hard to reach fast.

In these cases, interaction-based metrics matter more:

• Click-through rate (CTR) on hero CTA or bundle selector
• Scroll depth or section engagement (via tools like Hotjar)
• Page-to-page flow: how many people land → scroll → click → add

“We look at scroll, engagement, click-through—because they signal intent before a purchase,” Jacob said. “Especially when volume is limited, bold changes and qualitative feedback help more.”

Profit-related metrics

If your AOV is steady, and your conversion rate is rising, you’re on the right path—right?

Not always.

We’ve seen ABConvert merchants run a discount test that lifted CR but killed margins. On paper, it looks like a win. But zoom out, and profit per visitor (PPV) tells a different story.

You can track this manually by applying margin data to your ABConvert results.

• RPV = CR × AOV
• PPV = CR × (AOV – COGS – shipping – fees)

If you're scaling, don’t just chase top-line revenue—measure what’s profitable.

Key Takeaways

1. Start with CR, but don’t stop there. It’s just the first checkpoint.
2. Use RPV as your primary metric once you have enough data.
3. For low-traffic stores, track interaction and behavioral signals.
4. Don’t ignore profit. A high-CR variant with low margin isn’t a win.
5. Test with intent. Measure with clarity. That’s how CRO becomes a growth engine.

Get your full 90-day CRO roadmap

This article is just one slice of the system. We partnered with Shivook to build the full testing plan—what to test first, how to sequence your sprints, and what success really looks like at each phase.