What is cost per visit?
Cost Per Visit (CPV) is a key marketing metric that measures how much a business spends to bring one visitor to its website or store, regardless of whether the visitor makes a purchase.
CPV tracks actual visits, which means it accounts for users who land on a site through various marketing efforts, including paid ads, influencer marketing, affiliate partnerships, or organic promotions.
💡 CPV helps businesses evaluate the cost-effectiveness of their traffic acquisition strategy.
Why does this metric matter?
Tracking CPV allows brands to:
- Optimize marketing spend: Identify which channels drive the most cost-effective traffic.
- Compare traffic sources: Analyze CPV from Google Ads, Facebook Ads, influencer marketing, and SEO.
- Improve conversion rates: A high CPV with low conversions may show poor traffic quality.
- Evaluate website performance: If CPV is high but engagement is low, your website UX may need improvements.
How to calculate cost per visit?
Formula
Cost Per Visit = Total Marketing Spend Total Visits
Example:
A Shopify store spends $2,000 on marketing and receives 10,000 visits. Their CPV is:
CPV = 2,000 / 10,000 = $0.20
This means the business spends $0.20 per visit.
CPV vs. other related metrics
While CPV measures cost per visit, other traffic-related metrics provide you with more thorough insights.
| Metric | Definition | Key difference from CPV |
| Cost Per Unique Visitor (CPUV) | Measures the cost per individual visitor (excludes repeat visits). | CPV counts all visits, while CPUV only counts unique visitors. |
| Cost Per Mille (CPM) | Measures cost per 1,000 ad impressions, regardless of engagement. | CPM tracks visibility, CPV tracks actual website visits. |
💡 CPV is best analyzed alongside CPC, CTR, and Conversion Rate to get a complete view of marketing performance. A low CPV is valuable only if the traffic converts into paying customers, so it is essential to track engagement and sales metrics to improve strategy.
