Calculating the ROI of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is crucial for justifying marketing budgets and understanding the long-term value of organic search traffic. Unlike paid advertising, where costs stop the moment you stop paying, SEO builds an asset that can generate revenue for years.
The SEO ROI Formula
The basic formula to calculate SEO ROI is:
(Net Profit from SEO / Total SEO Cost) × 100 = ROI %
To determine the "Net Profit," you first need to estimate the revenue generated from organic traffic. This calculator uses a funnel approach:
Traffic: The number of visitors coming to your site from search engines.
Conversion Rate: The percentage of visitors who become leads (fill out a form, call, etc.).
Close Rate: The percentage of leads your sales team turns into paying customers.
Customer Lifetime Value (LTV): The total revenue expected from a single customer over their relationship with you.
Why is SEO ROI often higher than Paid Ads?
While SEO takes longer to ramp up, the cost per acquisition (CPA) tends to decrease over time. Once a page ranks well, it requires maintenance rather than the per-click cost associated with PPC (Pay-Per-Click) campaigns. A healthy SEO campaign should target an ROI of 300% to 500% (or 3:1 to 5:1 returns).
Using This Calculator
Input your current or projected metrics above. If you don't know your exact conversion rates, industry averages often hover around 2-3% for ecommerce and 2-5% for B2B lead generation. Use this tool to forecast potential outcomes before committing to an agency retainer or hiring an in-house specialist.
function calculateSeoRoi() {
// Get input values using var
var trafficInput = document.getElementById("monthlyTraffic").value;
var convRateInput = document.getElementById("conversionRate").value;
var closeRateInput = document.getElementById("closeRate").value;
var ltvInput = document.getElementById("customerLTV").value;
var costInput = document.getElementById("seoCost").value;
// Parse values
var traffic = parseFloat(trafficInput);
var convRate = parseFloat(convRateInput);
var closeRate = parseFloat(closeRateInput);
var ltv = parseFloat(ltvInput);
var cost = parseFloat(costInput);
// Validation
if (isNaN(traffic) || isNaN(convRate) || isNaN(closeRate) || isNaN(ltv) || isNaN(cost)) {
document.getElementById("errorMsg").style.display = "block";
document.getElementById("resultsBox").style.display = "none";
return;
}
// Hide error if valid
document.getElementById("errorMsg").style.display = "none";
// Logic Calculations
// 1. Leads = Traffic * (ConvRate / 100)
var leads = traffic * (convRate / 100);
// 2. Sales = Leads * (CloseRate / 100)
var sales = leads * (closeRate / 100);
// 3. Revenue = Sales * LTV
var revenue = sales * ltv;
// 4. Net Profit = Revenue – Cost
var profit = revenue – cost;
// 5. ROI = (Profit / Cost) * 100
var roi = 0;
if (cost > 0) {
roi = (profit / cost) * 100;
} else {
roi = 0; // Handle divide by zero if cost is 0
}
// Formatting results
document.getElementById("resLeads").innerHTML = leads.toFixed(1);
document.getElementById("resSales").innerHTML = sales.toFixed(1);
// Format currency
var formatter = new Intl.NumberFormat('en-US', {
style: 'currency',
currency: 'USD',
});
document.getElementById("resRevenue").innerHTML = formatter.format(revenue);
document.getElementById("resProfit").innerHTML = formatter.format(profit);
// Format ROI with color coding
var roiElement = document.getElementById("resRoi");
roiElement.innerHTML = roi.toFixed(2) + "%";
if (roi > 0) {
roiElement.style.color = "green";
} else {
roiElement.style.color = "red";
}
// Show results
document.getElementById("resultsBox").style.display = "block";
}