How to Track ROI with SEO

Want to determine how successful your SEO efforts are? At Local Blitz we show you how to track your ROI with SEO using Google Analytics and other advanced tools. Due to the complexity of SEO, calculating an exact ROI on SEO can be a challenge. You may have to look across various indicators like sales revenue, visitor clicks, new leads, increases in search traffic, and ranking improvements. The first step is gathering conversion data from your target clients. To do so, you’ll need to determine if your website is an ecommerce operation or lead-generation tool.

Ecommerce Websites: Sell goods directly to consumers online, transactions completed on the site.
Lead-Generation Websites: Provides information about services and enables clients to book online. Transactions may be completed on or off of the website.

ROI Tracking for ECommerce Sites vs. Lead-Based Initiatives

The ROI calculation for SEO is different whether you are selling products online (as in ecommerce) or selling a service (generating leads online). Ecommerce businesses may track unit sales while lead-based businesses may track queries, bookings, and other indicators that a client may take before booking a service. In either case, you can set up conversion tracking to count sales and/or new leads.

The type of conversion tracking you will use depends on whether you are generating leads or directly selling products online (lead-generation activities vs. ecommerce). Each option is detailed below:

Ecommerce Conversion ROI Metrics

If you are selling products online you can set up ecommerce tracking within your Google Analytics suite. This is a helpful tool to measure the overall success of your website when it comes to generating sales online. You’ll want to gather data on:

Conversion Rates: Count of sales online via your website in units sold or count of transactions
Total Number of Transactions: Count of transactions on your website
Average Order Value: Value in $ amount of the orders from your site
Total revenue: Total $ amount generated via sales online

Lead-Generation Conversion ROI Metrics

If you are tracking ROI for SEO on a lead-generating website, you will define conversion-tracking metrics by assigning a potential $ amount to each lead generating activity. For example, filling out a Contact Us form, signing up for a newsletter, or clicking on a certain Call to Action button may lead-generating activities that help you earn more business. Each of these activities, or “company goals” is a potential lead-generator that adds value to your website. To track ROI you will assign a $ amount to each “company goal” in the Google Analytics platform.

How to Calculate Potential ROI of a Lead

In order to measure the ROI of your SEO efforts to generate leads, you will need to define a $ amount value for each company goal. Start by estimating the percentage of users that would make a purchase after completing the action. For example, if 100 people fill out a Contact Us form, how many will end up booking a service? If you determine around 20 people will book the service, then your conversion rate is 20%. If each customer spends $100 dollars, then the average value of someone booking is $100. Next, divide your total number of conversions by your original number of leads.

As an example, if you have 20 customers that book the service (20 x $100) you would divide $2,000 by 100, creating an average of $20 per lead. Once you have calculated an average $ value for each lead, enter this amount in the “goal details” section of your Google Analytics page.

Step Two: Measure and Analyse Your ROI Metrics

After setting up your conversion tracking you will start to gather data on the ROI of various SEO activities. We utilize Google Analytics to track ROI metrics on a weekly, monthly, and quarterly basis. The Google Analytics suite can be used to break down ROI across various campaigns, including:

Paid Search
Organic SEO
Email Campaigns
Social Media Campaigns
Google Ads and more

By comparing the amount invested with the current return on each activity you can start to access the return on investment in each SEO effort.

Step Three: Determine your ROI Percentage

The ROI percentage formula helps you further access your ROI on SEO marketing activities. The basic equation for your ROI percentage is the total gain from your investment, minus the total cost of your investment, divided by the cost of your investment. For example, if you gained $500 from your efforts and spent $100 to get there, the equation would look like this:

($500-$100)/$100 = 400% Return on Investment

Your percentage return on investment not only helps to verify if your SEO efforts are successful, but also helps to determine which areas are yielding the best results for your dollar. In addition, this metric also helps you determine the total impact of your investments by platform over time.

Step Four: Review and Assess

It is important to set up ROI metrics early on in your SEO campaign creation. Over time you can use Google Analytics and other tools to determine which SEO efforts yield the best return on your investment. We recommend tracking ROI early and often to avoid spending on an SEO investment that ultimately does not yield results.

Step Five: Explore SEO Options to Support Your ROI

SEO, or “search engine optimization” is a constantly evolving field within digital marketing. SEO allows you to reach customers that are searching for your goods and services. Google hosts a wide array of SEO tools, including Google Ads, Google My Business and Google Analytics. By assessing the ROI of your efforts, you’ll be better able to identify the methods that support your organic and paid SEO campaigns. Learn more about SEO on our blog here.

About Local Blitz

Local Blitz is a full-service SEO marketing company serving clients across the United States. We offer SEO analytics, social media marketing, keyword research, Google Ad management, Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads, and email marketing. Our data-driven processes are designed to optimize your return on investment. Get started by booking a complimentary consultation with our team today.