Free SEO tool

SEO ROI calculator and traffic forecast

Add the keywords you're targeting and the positions you expect to reach. The calculator forecasts monthly visits, then turns them into revenue, ROI and the month SEO pays for itself.

1. Target keywords

Monthly search volume and the position you expect to reach. Positions beyond 10 count as zero.

Forecast: 287 visits/month at full ranking

Overrides the keyword forecast when filled in.

2. Value and cost

Order value, or lead value × close rate

Traffic ramps up linearly

CTR by position (edit to match your Search Console data)

Visits / month

287

Revenue / month

$1,724

12-month ROI

-9%

Payback

Not within horizon

Over 12 months: $16,376 revenue vs $18,000 cost, -$1,624 net. 6 conversions a month once rankings are reached.

The SEO ROI formula

ROI = (organic revenue − SEO cost) ÷ SEO cost × 100, where organic revenue = visits × conversion rate × value per conversion. For example, 1,000 extra visits a month at a 2% conversion rate and $300 per conversion is $6,000 a month. At $1,500 a month in SEO costs, that's a 300% return once rankings are reached.

How the forecast works

  1. Visits per keyword = monthly search volume × CTR at your target position.
  2. Ramp: traffic grows in a straight line until the month you expect to reach those positions, then stays flat.
  3. Revenue = visits × conversion rate × value per conversion, each month.
  4. Payback is the first month cumulative revenue covers cumulative cost.

It doesn't model compounding (pages that rank for hundreds of related queries), seasonality or brand lift, so real results can beat it. It also assumes you reach the positions you entered, so it can fall short of them too.

Make the forecast realistic

Use your own CTR

Open Search Console → Performance, show Average CTR and Average position, and look at queries at positions 1, 3, 5 and 10. Your numbers already include your niche's ads and AI Overviews. The CTR calculator helps with the arithmetic.

Start with keywords you already rank for

Keywords at positions 4–15 move faster and more predictably than new ones. See striking distance keywords and how to find keywords you already rank for.

Value leads honestly

For lead generation, value per conversion = average deal value × lead-to-customer rate. A $5,000 deal with a 10% close rate is worth $500 per lead.

Run three scenarios

Conservative (lower positions, longer ramp), expected, and optimistic. If only the optimistic case pays back, rethink the keyword list or the budget.

Frequently asked questions

How do you calculate SEO ROI?

SEO ROI = (revenue from organic search − cost of SEO) ÷ cost of SEO × 100. Revenue is organic visits × conversion rate × value per conversion. Because rankings take months, calculate it over a 12–24 month horizon, not month by month.

How do I forecast SEO traffic?

For each target keyword, multiply monthly search volume by the expected click-through rate at the position you aim to reach, then add the keywords up. Ramp the total in over the months it takes to rank. This calculator does exactly that.

Where do the CTR numbers come from?

The defaults are deliberately conservative assumptions for results pages with ads and AI Overviews. Published CTR studies disagree widely, so replace them with your own: in Search Console, compare average CTR for your queries at each position.

What is a good SEO ROI?

There's no universal benchmark. SEO usually loses money in the first months and becomes profitable once rankings are reached, so judge it on payback month and 12–24 month ROI, and compare it with what the same budget earns in paid ads.

How long does SEO take to pay off?

Commonly 6–12 months for competitive keywords, sooner for long-tail terms or pages already ranking on page two. Try different 'months to reach rankings' values to see how sensitive the payback is.

How accurate is an SEO forecast?

It's a scenario, not a promise. Rankings, CTR and conversion rates all vary. Use a conservative and an optimistic case, and update the forecast with real Search Console data after a few months.

Forecast from your real Search Console data

ElixRank finds the keywords you already rank for on page one and two, with volume and difficulty, so your forecast starts from facts, not guesses.

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