SEO ROI calculator showing what moving up on Google is worth to your business
Paste your keywords with their monthly searches, your position today and the one you're aiming for. See the traffic, inquiries and revenue at stake, and what the same clicks would cost you in Google Ads.
SEO ROI calculator
What's at stake each month
Add at least one keyword with its monthly searches to see traffic, leads and what that traffic is worth in ads.
Clicks by position on Google
Share of clicks for each result in commercial searches (Advanced Web Ranking, September 2026, U.S.).
| Position | Clicks by position on Google |
|---|---|
| 1 | 30.45% |
| 2 | 6.8% |
| 3 | 4.7% |
| 4 | 3.25% |
| 5 | 2.03% |
| 6 | 1.37% |
| 7 | 0.96% |
| 8 | 0.75% |
| 9 | 0.6% |
| 10 | 0.6% |
This is an estimate from your numbers and a public click curve, not a promise: no one can guarantee rankings on Google.
Are these keywords worth going after?
In the free audit we look at who ranks first today, what your site needs to compete and where to start.
Your numbers are saved in this page's address: copy the link to come back to them or share them.
SEO ROI begins with traffic: for each keyword, monthly searches times the click-through rate of the position you want, minus the visits you already get. Multiply that gain by your conversion and close rates to get inquiries and customers, and by the keyword's cost per click to see what those visits would cost in Google Ads.
How to use the SEO ROI calculator in four steps
Get your keywords and their volume
Google Ads Keyword Planner is free with an account. Copy the list and paste it as it is.
Enter where you rank and where you want to be
Your average position is in Search Console. If you're not on the first two pages today, leave it blank.
Add your conversion rate and average sale
That turns traffic into leads, customers and revenue. The CPC shows what the same clicks would cost in ads.
Compare with Google Ads over 12 or 24 months
Enter your monthly SEO investment and how many months you think it takes to get there. You'll see when SEO becomes cheaper than paying for clicks.
No one can guarantee rankings or timelines: it's your assumption.
Clicks by position on Google
| Position | Mobile | Desktop |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 30.45% | 16.42% |
| 2 | 6.80% | 4.11% |
| 3 | 4.70% | 2.37% |
| 4 | 3.25% | 1.50% |
| 5 | 2.03% | 1.23% |
| 6 | 1.37% | 0.76% |
| 7 | 0.96% | 0.65% |
| 8 | 0.75% | 0.50% |
| 9 | 0.60% | 0.50% |
| 10 | 0.60% | 0.50% |
| 11 | 0.60% | 0.50% |
| 12 | 0.60% | 0.50% |
| 13 | 0.60% | 0.50% |
| 14 | 0.60% | 0.50% |
| 15 | 0.60% | 0.50% |
| 16 | 0.60% | 0.50% |
| 17 | 0.60% | 0.50% |
| 18 | 0.60% | 0.47% |
| 19 | 0.60% | 0.41% |
| 20 | 0.60% | 0.25% |
How the estimate is calculated
- Traffic from a keyword
- monthly searches × CTR of the position
- Traffic gained
- traffic at target position − traffic today
- Leads
- traffic gained × website conversion rate
- Customers
- leads × close rate
- Value in Google Ads
- traffic gained × that keyword's CPC
- Scenarios
- conservative: 2 spots below target · optimistic: 1 spot above
- SEO vs. ads
- traffic grows in a straight line until the month you reach the target; totals add up month by month
- SEO ROI
- (cumulative revenue − cumulative investment) ÷ cumulative investment
- Click-through rate by position: Advanced Web Ranking's study with September 2026 data (U.S., Search Console data, commercial searches), on mobile or desktop. It's the most recent public benchmark we found; there isn't an equivalent for this country.
- From position 9 the source's numbers move up and down because of small samples: we keep the previous position's value so a lower ranking never shows more traffic. Beyond 20, zero.
- If a keyword already ranks above the target, it counts as no gain and no loss.
- Worked example: a search with 1,000 monthly searches, on mobile. In position 6 it gets 1.37% of clicks (about 14 visits); in position 2, 6.8% (68 visits): 54 more visits a month to multiply by your conversion rate.
Where the data comes from
- Advanced Web Ranking, Google Organic CTR Study (September 2026, commercial intent) · September 2026
- LocaliQ, Search Advertising Benchmarks for Every Industry (2026) · May 26, 2026
- European Central Bank, Euro foreign exchange reference rates · October 21, 2026
Checked on October 22, 2026
Embed this calculator
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How to cite this calculator
Scalia (2026). SEO ROI calculator. Retrieved October 22, 2026, from https://scalia.agency/en-ca/tools/seo-roi-calculator
Questions about SEO ROI and rankings in Canada
How do you calculate the ROI of SEO?
Revenue from SEO minus what you invested, divided by what you invested. The revenue is the extra traffic times your conversion rate, close rate and average sale. The calculator does it month by month over 12 or 24 months.
How many clicks does the first result on Google get?
In Advanced Web Ranking's September 2026 data (U.S.), the first result gets 30.45% of clicks on mobile and 16.42% on desktop for commercial searches; third place drops to 4.70% on mobile. Canadian figures aren't published separately, so treat them as a guide.
What does click-through rate by position mean?
The share of people who click the result in each position. Multiplied by the monthly searches, it gives the visits you can expect in that spot.
When does SEO start paying for itself?
It depends on where you start, your competitors and what your site needs, and no honest agency can promise a date. The calculator lets you enter your own assumption and see how the comparison with ads changes.
How do I find search volumes for Canada?
In Google Ads Keyword Planner, free with an account, with the location set to Canada, your province or your city, or in paid SEO tools. Your average position today is in Google Search Console, in the Performance report.
Is my money better spent on SEO or on Google Ads?
Ads bring visits from day one, but you pay for every click while they run. SEO takes time and the clicks aren't paid one by one. The comparison shows the month SEO starts costing less, with your numbers.
Can this calculator tell me how much SEO costs?
Not directly: it estimates what ranking higher is worth, and you enter what SEO would cost you to see when it pays off. What Canadian providers charge is in our article on how much SEO costs in Canada.
Do Google's AI Overviews lower the clicks to the top result?
At the top, yes. In Advanced Web Ranking's data (September 2026, desktop, U.S.), when an AI Overview appears the first result drops from 19.35% to 14.78% of clicks; further down the gap almost disappears.
Want to know which searches you could really win? We'll tell you, with your own keywords.
In the free audit we look at how people in your city search for you, who shows up first today and what your site needs to move up.
Show me the searches I can win