What's the ROI of SEO? A Small Business Calculator

The Question Every Business Owner Asks

"I'm spending money on my website. Is SEO actually going to bring me more customers?"

The short answer: yes. But let's look at the real numbers.

The Math of SEO

Let's say you're a plumber in a mid-sized city. Here's what the numbers look like:

• Monthly searches for "plumber [your city]": 1,000-3,000
• Click-through rate for position #1: 28.5%
• Click-through rate for position #10: 2.5%
• Average conversion rate (home services): 3.5%
• Average customer value (plumber): $600

If you're on page 1, position 1:

• 2,000 searches × 28.5% CTR = 570 clicks/month
• 570 clicks × 3.5% conversion = 20 new customers/month
• 20 customers × $600 = $12,000/month in new revenue

If you're on page 1, position 10:

• 2,000 searches × 2.5% CTR = 50 clicks/month
• 50 clicks × 3.5% conversion = 1.75 new customers/month
• 1.75 customers × $600 = $1,050/month in new revenue

The difference between position #1 and #10? $10,950/month.

How Long Does It Take?

• Month 1-2: Fix technical issues, optimize on-page SEO. You'll see small improvements.
• Month 3-4: Content starts ranking. Traffic increases 20-40%.
• Month 6-12: Authority builds. You're competing for top positions.

Most businesses see meaningful results within 3-6 months.

What Does It Cost?

• DIY with Goodly Free: $0/month. Run audits, follow the action plan.
• Goodly Starter: $49/month. Weekly re-audits, keyword tracking, PDF reports.
• Goodly Pro: $149/month. Daily tracking, competitor analysis, all features.
• Goodly Concierge: $1,000/month. We do everything for you.

Even at the Concierge level, if SEO brings you just 2 new customers per month at $600 each, you're already profitable.

The Bottom Line

SEO has the highest ROI of any marketing channel for local businesses. It's not instant — but once you're ranking, the leads keep coming without ongoing ad spend.

Run a free audit at searchgoodly.com/audit to see your starting point and estimated revenue opportunity.