Store-page conversion measures visits that become wishlists
For a Coming Soon page, store-page conversion rate usually means the percentage of page visitors who add the game to their wishlist during the same measurement period.
The calculation is:
Wishlist additions ÷ store-page visits × 100
Impression click-through rate measures how often someone clicks the capsule after seeing it on a Steam surface.
Wishlist-to-purchase conversion measures how many existing wishlists later become sales.
Each metric describes a different stage of the funnel. A weak capsule can limit visits even when the full page converts well. A strong page can also earn wishlists efficiently while the campaign lacks enough reach.
Launch conversion sits later in the journey. Price, reviews, timing and audience quality can all affect whether an existing wishlist becomes a sale.
Public evidence supports a five to ten percent range
The strongest transparent multi-game dataset found reported a 10.8% average visit-to-wishlist conversion rate and an 8.9% median. The data came from an opt-in survey of games in the 2020 Steam Summer Festival, so it reflects one event rather than the whole platform.
Other public examples sit between 2.7% and 8.43%, depending on the game, period and source of traffic. One highly successful game converted 5.9% of 1.3 million visits into wishlists. The scale of that campaign shows why a lower blended rate can still produce an exceptional result.
Taken together, the evidence supports 5 to 10% as a cautious working range. Around 10% is a useful directional benchmark, and 12% or more is a strong result when the visits come from relevant traffic.
A rate below 5% deserves investigation once the page has enough qualified visits to reduce random variation. Broad Steam exposure can naturally produce a lower rate, so the percentage alone cannot diagnose the page.
Traffic quality changes the benchmark
Traffic source can move the result significantly. A player following a trusted creator has already seen the game and may arrive with high intent.
A player browsing a broad Steam discovery surface may be evaluating several unfamiliar games. That visitor often needs more persuasion from the page.
Combining both audiences into one rate can make the same page appear stronger or weaker as the traffic mix changes. A campaign can therefore increase total wishlists while lowering the blended conversion rate.
Genre, campaign timing and demo availability add further variation. The most useful benchmark is the same page receiving similar traffic during a comparable period.
The shape of the funnel identifies the problem
High impressions with few visits point to the top of the funnel. The capsule, title, tags or audience targeting may be attracting too little interest.
Healthy visits with few wishlist additions point to the page itself. The promise that earned the click may not match the trailer, screenshots or description.
The first screen carries most of that diagnostic value. Its trailer footage and opening screenshots should explain what the player does before secondary lore or feature depth appears.
Healthy conversion with low wishlist volume indicates a reach problem. In that case, the page is converting the people it receives, but too few qualified players are seeing it.
The full guide on Steam store page optimization explains how to improve each conversion asset.
Comparable inputs produce useful measurements
The reporting period for visits and wishlist additions must match. A daily wishlist count divided by cumulative traffic does not produce a valid conversion rate.
Steam UTM campaigns require a narrower denominator. Steam reports wishlist conversions against Tracked Visits, which cover eligible visitors logged into Steam in the relevant browser or mobile app. Total Visits include people who cannot be connected to a conversion and should not be used for that calculation.
Steam attributes an eligible UTM conversion when the player acts within 72 hours of clicking the tagged link. The general Traffic Breakdown and UTM Analytics reports can show different visit totals because they cover different traffic and respond differently to privacy settings.
Each comparison should record the traffic source, campaign activity and store-page changes. A controlled page change is easier to evaluate when the traffic mix stays reasonably stable.
The game's previous performance provides the final reference point. Once qualified traffic converts consistently near or above its established baseline, additional reach becomes more valuable.
Sources: Steamworks UTM Analytics and Store and Platform Traffic Reporting documentation; a published Steam festival developer survey; public campaign analyses and developer case studies.
