Aligning value to SEO starts with calculating the return on investment, or ROI. By taking the cost of investment into account, it’s easier to calculate the impact SEO efforts make on the bottom line.
In this webinar, we will be diving into why it's important to forecast and calculate ROI for SEO, and how to do so.
Because calculating ROI for SEO isn’t as simple as it is for other marketing channels, it’s normal for businesses to value alternative marketing efforts over SEO.
Important topics we will be covering include:
-- The Importance of ROI for SEO
-- How to Forecast SEO ROI
-- How to Measure SEO Performance
-- How to Calculate SEO ROI
2. Agenda
• The Importance of ROI for
SEO
• How to forecast SEO ROI
• How to Measure SEO
performance
• How to calculate ROI for SEO
Forecasting&CalculatingROIforSEO
4. If you’re not focused on measurement, you’re just
doing a very expensive version of arts & crafts
- Mike King, Managing Director of iPullRank
5. The Importance of
ROI for SEO
• Types of SEO
• Why does SEO Matter for
ROI
• Types of ROI
• How does SEO
Contribute to ROI
Forecasting&CalculatingROIforSEO
11. The best place to hide a dead body is the second
page of Google Search
- Someone on Google
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Forecasting&CalculatingROIforSEO
Types of ROI
Return on Investment (ROI)
Actual ROIProjected ROI
ROI is essentially ambivalent when it comes to total profit.
Rather than focusing on how much was made, ROI focuses on the profit a marketing
effort produced compared to the amount invested in the effort.
18. How to Forecast ROI for
SEO
• Importance of
Forecasting ROI for SEO
• How to Develop SEO
Projections
• How to Communicate
SEO Projections
Forecasting&CalculatingROIforSEO
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Forecasting&CalculatingROIforSEO
Annual SEO Projections
Step 1: Compile the data on
the historical performance of
unbranded keywords for your
site in Organic Search by
exporting from Google
Search Console.
For maximum accuracy we
recommend pulling data via
the Google Search Console
API.
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Forecasting&CalculatingROIforSEO
Annual SEO Projections
Step 2: Google Search
Console gives an average
position value, we want to
calculate a CTR curve, so we
need to round up to a
Rankings value.
Do so by creating column F
and performing the
=ROUND(E2,0) function and
fill down.
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Forecasting&CalculatingROIforSEO
Annual SEO Projections
Step 5: Identify the annual
search volume of keywords
that you do not rank in the
top 10 for.
Also, collect the Organic
Search conversion rate, and,
if applicable, the average
order value. Multiply the CTR
by the Conversion Rate to get
the amount of potential
traffic.
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Forecasting&CalculatingROIforSEO
How to Communicate SEO Projections
1. SEO projections are ANYTHING but definite.
The best way to communicate your SEO projections is to ensure stakeholders are
educated on how these projections were calculated, and what factors may affect
achieving them
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Forecasting&CalculatingROIforSEO
How to Communicate SEO Projections
2. Visualizations are best when communicating SEO projections.
Show the range of what can be achieved, depending on investment and
implementation, and help communicate the variables involved when projecting
SEO performance and ROI.
33. How to Measure
SEO Performance
• What are We Measuring
• Importance of A/B Test
• Factors that Affect
Measuring ROI for SEO
• How to Measure ROI for
SEO
Forecasting&CalculatingROIforSEO
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Forecasting&CalculatingROIforSEO
The Importance of A/B Testing
Here are a couple of ways to do A/B testing with respect to SEO:
1. Date Segmentation: Isolate the SEO event and compare equal in length date
ranges before and after it was implemented.
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Forecasting&CalculatingROIforSEO
The Importance of A/B Testing
2. Split testing: Identify templated content on the site with a large enough set. Then
apply SEO changes to a subset and compare to the control pages.
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Forecasting&CalculatingROIforSEO
The Importance of A/B Testing
3. Bespoke SEO: Search engine optimization is not a paint-by-numbers game. SEO
needs to be tailored to the website, brand, page, user and asset type. Testing, making
more changes, and testing again will often be the SEO cycle you will employ.
39. SEO is a marketing function for sure, but it needs to be baked into
a product, not slapped on like icing after the cake is baked.
– Duane Forrester, VP of Industry Insights with Yext
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How to Measure ROI for SEO
Measurement ultimately shows changes in performance, whether they’re
positive or negative. In order to show these shifts, benchmarks and goals need
to be set.
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Forecasting&CalculatingROIforSEO
Measurement Tools
3. KWFinder: An SEO
Keyword Tool like KWFinder
helps companies find
long-tail keywords that have
a lower level of competition.
To use the tool, simply put in
the keyword you want to
target and watch the magic
happen.
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Forecasting&CalculatingROIforSEO
Showing SEO ROI
2. Increase in inbound links: Similar to the previous ROI analysis
on the growth in inbound links, you can put a monetary value on
those links and analyze “revenue” gained that way.
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Forecasting&CalculatingROIforSEO
Showing SEO ROI
4. Increase in revenue: An increase in organic revenue is as clear
cut as it can get for a top level executive. This is the true measure a
non-SEO stakeholder will be held accountable to.