SEO ROI Calculator
Calculate the return on investment of your SEO campaigns using monthly cost, traffic increase, conversion rate, and average order value.
SEO ROI (Return on Investment) measures how much profit your organic search campaigns generate relative to what you spend on them.
The core formulas:
Monthly Revenue from SEO = Traffic Increase × Conversion Rate × Average Order Value
Monthly Profit = Monthly Revenue − Monthly SEO Cost
ROI = (Monthly Profit / Monthly SEO Cost) × 100
What each variable means:
- Traffic Increase — the additional monthly visitors arriving via organic search
- Conversion Rate — the percentage of visitors who complete a purchase or goal (typically 1–5%)
- Average Order Value (AOV) — the mean dollar amount per transaction
- Monthly SEO Cost — agency fees, freelancer pay, tool subscriptions, and your own time valued at an hourly rate
Worked example: You spend $2,000/month on SEO. Your organic traffic increases by 5,000 visitors. Your conversion rate is 3% and AOV is $75.
Monthly conversions = 5,000 × 0.03 = 150 Monthly revenue = 150 × $75 = $11,250 Monthly profit = $11,250 − $2,000 = $9,250 ROI = ($9,250 / $2,000) × 100 = 462.5%
Industry benchmarks:
- Average organic conversion rate: 2–5%
- Healthy SEO ROI: above 200%
- Break-even ROI: 0% (revenue equals cost)
- SEO typically takes 3–6 months to build momentum — measure ROI over 12 months for an accurate picture
- Factor in customer lifetime value (LTV), not just the first purchase, for e-commerce sites