SEO ROI: How To Measure Your Results

Want to demonstrate the value of investing in SEO? You need to know how to measure its impact. Many organizations don’t have a clear understanding of how organic traffic generation works and what it can do for them in the long run. Knowing some of the ways to calculate the ROI of SEO can help you measure the effectiveness of your SEO efforts, optimize your strategy, and help you with long-term planning. 

What is SEO ROI?

SEO ROI is a measurement of the return on investment (ROI) for your search engine optimization (SEO). It’s typically expressed as a percentage, with a positive ROI indicating profitability and a negative indicating that the costs outweigh the benefits. 

The formula for calculating SEO ROI is relatively straightforward and can be seen below:

SEO ROI = (Revenue from SEO – SEO Spend / SEO Spend) x 100

In this formula, revenue from SEO would be any revenue that could be directly attributed to your SEO efforts. This would most likely be conversions from organic traffic generated from SEO. The second term is SEO spend. This would include all the costs associated with your SEO efforts, such as salaries for SEO staff, agency fees, tools, and other expenses. 

Why Is It Important To Measure SEO ROI?

There are several reasons why it’s important to measure SEO ROI. Most commonly, a positive demonstration of profitability is used to justify further investment in SEO projects. Outside of this, you can also use this calculation for optimization purposes. Measuring your performance while implementing different tactics can help you identify and focus on the strategies that work best for your business. This can help you allocate your resources more effectively. 

Finally, measuring your SEO ROI is also important for competitive analysis. Comparing your performance with that of the industry standard or your competitors can help you identify areas for improvement. 

How To Measure SEO ROI And It’s Overall Benefits

Measuring SEO ROI doesn’t have to be complicated. Knowing the right steps to follow is vital for ensuring your calculations and conclusions can be relied upon. 

Track Your Metrics

Metrics are the meat and potatoes of understanding SEO ROI. Tracking the following metrics can demonstrate both the ROI of your SEO efforts and the overall impact your strategy is having on your business:

• Organic Traffic: The number of visitors to your website from organic search
• Click-Through Rate (CTR): The percentage of visitors who click on your website in search results

• Bounce Rate: A negative metric: the percentage of visitors who leave your site after only viewing one page

• Average Session Duration: How long, on average, visitors spend on your website

Calculate Your Total SEO Revenue

The most important metric to set up in your software is conversion tracking. Using software like Google Analytics ensures that you have activated goals and are tracking conversions. Once you activate this, you will be able to accurately measure the total revenue generated from organic traffic. Adding the total revenue from all the relevant time periods will give you the total SEO revenue. 

Add Up Your Total SEO Costs

The next step to measuring SEO ROI is calculating the sum total of all your SEO costs. Some of the most common SEO expenditures include:

• Content Creation
• Link Building
• SEO Tools
• Website Optimization
• Consulting or Agency Fees
• Training and Education

Be sure not to overlook any areas of SEO spend. Add up all of these amounts to calculate your total SEO costs. 

Calculate ROI

Using the formula we highlighted above, calculate the ROI of your current SEO efforts. As you analyze your SEO ROI data, be sure to look for trends and patterns. It’s important to look for areas where you can improve and then optimize your SEO strategy accordingly. For example, you may be generating significantly more organic traffic, but if your conversion rate is low, you won’t have a better SEO ROI. Focusing on increasing your conversion rate could increase the profitability of your SEO strategy. 

How Do You Forecast SEO ROI?

Forecasting SEO ROI involves predicting the potential return of your SEO efforts based on various factors. Because the future is unknowable, these predictions are subject to inaccuracies. Nonetheless, predicting SEO ROI can be vital for setting realistic expectations for stakeholders, budget planning, and risk management. 

The first step to forecasting SEO ROI is gathering historical data. Look back at your key SEO metrics like organic traffic, conversion rates, and revenue generated from organic search. This data will serve as the baseline for your forecast. 

Then, identify growth opportunities for your SEO strategy. You might plan to target new keywords, optimize existing content, or improve website speed. It is essential that you can estimate the potential impact of these new strategies. For example, if you plan to target a new keyword, use Google’s Search Console to understand the potential increase in organic traffic and revenue that could result from ranking higher for those keywords. Be sure to consider seasonality and trends that may impact your SEO results. 

The Best Way To Maximize Your SEO ROI

Done right, SEO can be a major revenue generator for any business. However, it is a highly involved marketing strategy that can be incredibly time-consuming. The best way to maximize your SEO ROI is to work with a valuable partner who knows what you need. We help our clients rank higher for the keywords that matter. 

Need help with SEO research and strategy? You’ve come to the right place. Want help getting your SEO metrics higher? Contact us to see what we can do for you.