Understanding your traffic growth rate is fundamental for measuring the success of your SEO and content marketing efforts. It tells you exactly how much your audience has expanded (or contracted) over a specific timeframe, usually month-over-month (MoM) or year-over-year (YoY).
The Traffic Growth Rate Formula
The math behind traffic growth is a simple percentage change formula. Here is how you calculate it manually:
Let's say you are reviewing your Google Analytics data for your blog:
January Traffic: 5,000 sessions
February Traffic: 6,500 sessions
1. Subtract the old value from the new value: 6,500 – 5,000 = 1,500 (Net Gain).
2. Divide that gain by the old value: 1,500 / 5,000 = 0.3.
3. Multiply by 100 to get the percentage: 0.3 x 100 = 30% growth.
What is a Good Traffic Growth Rate?
While benchmarks vary by industry, here is a general guide for website growth:
0-2% per month: Stagnant. This often happens to mature sites or those with technical SEO issues.
5-10% per month: Healthy growth. This is a standard target for established businesses.
15-20%+ per month: High growth. Typical for new startups or sites benefiting from viral content or aggressive SEO campaigns.
Why Tracking This Metric Matters
Calculating the raw number of visitors isn't enough. The growth rate allows you to normalize your data. For example, gaining 1,000 new users is incredible if you previously had 1,000 (100% growth), but it is negligible if you already have 1,000,000 (0.1% growth). This calculator helps you see the relative impact of your marketing strategies.
function calculateTrafficGrowth() {
var prev = parseFloat(document.getElementById("prevTraffic").value);
var curr = parseFloat(document.getElementById("currTraffic").value);
var resultDiv = document.getElementById("trafficResult");
var percentSpan = document.getElementById("growthPercentage");
var summaryPara = document.getElementById("growthSummary");
if (isNaN(prev) || isNaN(curr)) {
alert("Please enter valid numbers for both fields.");
return;
}
if (prev = 0) {
resultDiv.className = "result-positive";
summaryPara.innerHTML = "Great! Your traffic increased by " + difference.toLocaleString() + " visitors compared to the previous period.";
} else {
resultDiv.className = "result-negative";
summaryPara.innerHTML = "Your traffic decreased by " + Math.abs(difference).toLocaleString() + " visitors. It's time to audit your recent SEO changes.";
}
}