SaaS SEO ROI Made Simple: Measuring Your Success

Pankil Shah
by Pankil Shah
Updated On: October 17, 2023
SaaS SEO ROI Calculator: 5 Ways To Measure Success

Imagine your SaaS website is up and running. How can you be sure it’s on the path to success? Simply tallying up sales or leads isn’t the most reliable gauge. To truly assess your website’s success, consider measuring the ROI of your SEO campaigns.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to improve the ROI for your SaaS website, along with insider tips to reverse decreasing ROI trends. Plus, discover how Outranking can help you boost your website’s ROI.

What is SaaS SEO ROI?

SaaS SEO ROI (Return on Investment) is a performance measure designed to help SaaS businesses predict potential gains from their search engine optimization efforts. This score commonly considers factors like boosted website traffic, conversion rates, average customer value, and other relevant metrics to provide an estimate of how much value can be generated through improved search engine optimization. 

Simply put, it’s a relation between what you spend on SEO and what you get in return. Understanding where your budget goes helps you save money on useful strategies. If you’re curious about how SEO affects your business, calculating your SEO ROI is essential. 

Why Measuring SaaS SEO ROI Matters

1. Seeing the SEO Payoff in Action

ROI is your way of seeing if your SEO investments are yielding tangible results or not. It allows you to determine the effectiveness of your efforts in driving organic traffic and conversions to your SaaS website. This insight guides you in assessing the value of your SEO initiative and making informed decisions about resource allocation. Research suggests that an average SEO ROI is $2.75 for every dollar spent or an ROI of 275%.

2. Guiding Data-Driven Decision Making 

Measuring SaaS SEO ROI is deeply connected with data-driven decision-making. By analyzing the metrics and performance indicators associated with your SEO endeavors, you can gain valuable insights into what’s working and what isn’t. This enables you to adjust your methods and SEO resources based on real data rather than relying on hypotheses, leading to more adequate SEO campaigns for your SaaS website.

3. Mastering Keyword Strategies 

Imagine having a treasure map that tells you which keywords lead to the most gold. Measuring ROI gives you that map. By tracking how different keywords perform, you can identify which ones are generating the most traffic, leads, and conversions. Armed with this data, you can refine your keyword targeting and focus on the terms that provide the best results for your SaaS product.

4. Predicting Website Profits 

Calculating SaaS SEO ROI also allows you to estimate profits generated through your website. By correlating organic traffic with conversions and income, you can estimate the direct impact of your SEO efforts on the financial success of your SaaS business. This no only validates the resources devoted to SEO but also paints a clear picture of how much it contributes to your bottom line.

5. Identifying Improvement Opportunities 

Like a GPS for your SEO strategy, measuring SaaS SEO ROI helps you pinpoint areas where you may be taking a wrong turn. By uncovering aspects of your SEO strategy that might be underperforming, you can take targeted actions to enhance those areas. This iterative process of refinement ensures that your SEO efforts remain effective and aligned with your business objectives.

6. Comparing Marketing Channels

Comparing the ROI from different marketing channels is facilitated by estimating SaaS SEO ROI. This enables you to evaluate how SEO stacks up against other channels such as PPC or SMM in terms of cost-effectiveness and conversion rates. Such insights aid in making informed judgments about resource allocation and marketing strategy adjustments.

7. Staying Ahead of the Competition 

In the race for digital dominance, measuring SaaS SEO ROI empowers you to stay ahead of the competition. When you can track the impact of your SEO tactics on a higher level, you can adapt and evolve your strategies to maintain your competitive edge. Keeping a pulse on your SEO performance helps you remain nimble and responsive in the ever-changing tides of the digital landscape. 

SaaS SEO ROI Calculator: Your ROI Roadmap

The SaaS SEO ROI Calculator is a powerful tool for SaaS businesses to measure their return on investment accurately and effectively. Here’s what you’ll need to calculate the ROI for your SaaS SEO:

  1. Production Costs: These expenses are tied to creating your SaaS software. Think about the number of features and their complexity—they all play a role.
  2. Conversion Rates: Determine how effectively your site converts traffic into leads or customers. Monitoring and optimizing conversion rates can reveal valuable opportunities to enhance user experience, refine CTA strategies, and improve overall website performance. 
  3. Estimated Revenue: With income potential from increased traffic and improved conversion rates, you can better evaluate the value of your SEO strategies. 
  4. Estimated Monthly Traffic: Predicting and tracking the inflow of visitors allows you to make informed decisions to fine-tune your strategies, enhance user experience, and ultimately maximize the chances of converting this traffic into valuable leads or customers.
  5. Total Leads: Estimate the volume of potential leads generated through SEO optimizations.
  6. Customer’s Lifetime Value: Assess the long-term value of acquired customers for accurate ROI.
  7. Investment in SEO: Evaluate the costs allocated to SEO campaigns and optimizations every step of the way.

Remember, the SaaS SEO ROI Calculator is your co-pilot for strategy and planning. ☝️ The better your inputs, the more reliable the outputs. This tool coupled with a strategic approach can significantly contribute to improving the SEO performance of your SaaS business. 

How to Calculate SaaS SEO ROI

To calculate SaaS SEO ROI, calculate how much you invest in SEO every single month and how much you earn from it. This formula can help you calculate ROI for SEO: 

SEO ROI = (Revenue from SEO – Investment in SEO) / Investment in SEO 

Calculating Revenue for SEO

Calculating revenue from SEO involves understanding the impact of your search engine optimization efforts on your business’s financial performance. Here’s a simplified analysis of the process:

  1. Keyword performance: Assess which keywords are ranking on Google and driving traffic to your site. Tools like Google Search Console or Moz Keyword Explorer can help with this.
  2. Conversion rates: How optimized for conversions is your website? Determine how many visitors take desired actions on your site like making a purchase or filling out a form—these are the ones that you converted into paying visitors.
  3. Estimate revenue: Multiply the number of conversions by the average order value to calculate the revenue generated from your organic traffic.
  4. Time Frame: Analyze your revenue over a specific period to understand the outgoing effect of your SEO effort.

Using Google Analytics to Calculate SEO ROI

Using Google Analytics to measure the ROI of your SEO efforts is another valuable way to track the effectiveness of your search engine optimization activities. Here’s how you can leverage Google Analytics to estimate the revenue of your SEO efforts:

1. Define Goals 

In Google Analytics, set up and define specific goals that correspond to desired actions on your website—be it purchases, sign-ups, or downloads. This helps you estimate the impact of your SEO on conversions. To set up a new goal, go to Admin > View > Goals, and select “New Goals.”

Screenshot of Google Analytics "Goals" page.
Establish clear-cut goals to enhance your SEO ROI success.

2. Monitor Organic Traffic

Consider the organic traffic section in Google Analytics your SEO lookout tower. It shows you how many visitors are coming to your website via search engines. This will show you the impact of your SEO efforts on driving relevant traffic.

3. Assess Your Goal Conversion Rate

Calculate the conversion rate for each goal by dividing the number of completed goals by the total organic sessions. This tells you how well your SEO is driving valuable actions on your SaaS website. For a deeper dive, you can filter the source to organic or referral to see the revenue generated from these channels.

4. Attribution Model

Suppose that a visitor lands on your website organically, but doesn’t convert until later—perhaps through an ad. Who decides if the profits came from your SEO campaigns or PPC campaigns? Google Analytics typically credits the last channel visitors interacted with. You can change this! Simply go to Admin > Multi-Channel Funnel Settings and change the attribution model to your liking.

Screenshot of Google Analytics Multi-Channel Funnels Settings.
Often, visitors don’t convert the first time they visit your site.

5. Assisted Conversions

Look at the “Assisted Conversions” report to see how many conversions were influenced by SEO as an assisting channel, rather than the last channel before conversion.

6. Revenue and Value Tracking

If you’ve assigned monetary values to your goals (e.g., standard order value), Google Analytics can calculate the revenue generated from your SEO efforts.

7. Segmentation

Segment your organic traffic by different factors like location, devices, or demographics. This can help you identify which segments are most profitable and tailor your SEO strategy accordingly.

8. Comparison Over Time

Compare your SEO performance over different periods to identify a positive trend in terms of traffic, conversions, and revenue.

9. Landing Page Performance

Analyze the performance of specific landing pages that receive organic traffic. Identify which pages contribute the most to conversions and revenue.

10. Monitor Bounce Rates

Keep an eye on bounce rates for organic traffic. If users are bouncing quickly, it could indicate a disconnect between search intent and the content on your site.

Remember, the revenue generated might not be solely from SEO, as other factors can also influence conversions. Regular monitoring and adjustments are essential to accurately measure the revenue attributed to your SEO activities.

Calculating the Cost of Your SaaS SEO

Each piece of your SEO puzzle matters. Whether you are handling it through an agency or in-house, Here’s a step-by-step guide to calculating your SEO costs:  

1. Hourly Rates or Package Cost

Determine whether you are paying for SEO by the hour or through a packaged service. This sets the stage for your calculations. 

  • If it’s hourly,  track the hours spent on various tasks by your SEO team. Multiply these hours by the hourly rate to estimate the cost for each task. 
  • For a monthly retainer, add up the total fee for all the services covered in the package.

2. Scope of Work

Familiarize yourself with the specific tasks and assistance included in your SEO plan. It’s like your strategy’s DNA—from keyword research and on-page optimization to content creation and link building.

3. Link Building and Outsourcing

If your plan includes link-building activities, budget for the cost of securing those backlinks from other websites. If certain tasks are outsourced to specialists, remember to include those costs in your calculation as well. 

4. Ad Campaigns and Internal Efforts

If you’re running paid ad campaigns as part of your SEO strategy, account for platforms like Google Ads. If you’re handling SEO in-house, calculate the cost of employee salaries devoted to SEO-related tasks.

Add up all the costs mentioned above to reveal the total cost of your SEO strategy for a specific time frame—usually a month or a year.

Tips to Improve Your SaaS SEO ROI

1. Identify Target Keywords

Conducting effective keyword research is crucial for developing online businesses or SaaS agencies. By exploring a variety of niche keywords and crafting compelling content around them, you have a golden chance to improve your topical authority. Keywords relevant to your topic let you claim your space as the go-to source for your chosen topic.

Improving SaaS SEO ROI by conducting keyword research and identifying target keywords involves several steps. Here’s how you can enhance your SaaS website’s results:

1. Understand and match the search intent

Before choosing keywords, it’s essential to understand your searchers’ intent and tailor your content to meet their demands for specific terms. This alignment ensures a better user experience and, subsequently, higher search ranking potential.

2. Prioritize high-intent keywords

Imagine finding keywords that practically whisper, “I’m ready to buy.” These terms indicate a user’s readiness to take action, such as making a purchase or signing up for a free trial. Including these top-value keywords in your SaaS SEO strategy can help in driving higher-quality traffic and, as a result, increase revenue.

3. Use various keyword research tools

Embrace the power of keyword research tools. These tools can provide data on search volume, keyword difficulty, competition, and related phrases. They also provide insights into what potential customers are looking for so you can shape your SEO content strategy accordingly.

4. Look for long-tail keywords

Don’t underestimate the magic of long-tail keywords. Although they have lower search volumes, long-tail keywords often have a higher conversion value as they target specific, niche audiences. They also tend to have lower competition, making it easier to rank for them.

5. Evaluate competitors’ keywords

Understanding what keywords your competitors are ranking for can provide valuable insight for your own strategy. By identifying and targeting the gaps in their keyword strategy, you can capture a segment of the audience that your competitors might be missing.

6. Cluster related keywords

Grouping related keywords and weaving them throughout your website can significantly improve the relevancy of your pages for those topics. This boosts your relevancy across pages, leading to better site structure and higher chances of ranking.

7. Build high-quality links

Links act as votes of confidence for your website and can, therefore, increase your site authority on specific topics based on the keywords targeted in the content you’re linking. The higher the quality of the link, the better it will impact your ranking positions on search engine results pages (SERPs).

Keyword research isn’t just a game of words; it’s your master key to online visibility. By embracing these tactics, you’re not just investing wisely—you’re making a long-term commitment to success in the ever-evolving world of SaaS SEO.

2. Elevate SaaS SEO KPIs for Better ROI

SaaS websites can improve SaaS SEO ROI by focusing on several key SaaS SEO KPIs (Key Performance Indicators). These indicators act like compasses guiding you toward higher returns:

Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)

This is what it costs to attract a user to your SaaS product through SEO efforts. The goal? Keep this cost as low as possible to maximize ROI. Strategies to reduce CAC could include optimizing the sales funnel, reallocating the marketing budget, and using end-to-end analytics.

Customer Lifetime Value (LTV)

This KPI measures the overall effect of one user over the entire period of their interaction with your SaaS. Increasing LTV by boosting customer loyalty, focusing marketing efforts on products with the highest LTV, and prioritizing SaaS areas based on a portfolio investment in marketing can enhance ROI.

Traffic Sources and Flow

Map out where your traffic is flowing from. This insight unveils which SEO strategies are working and which ones need attention.

Click and Bounce Rates

A high bounce rate signifies visitors leaving your website after just one glance (ouch). It could mean that your site isn’t living up to expectations, denting your SEO performance. Improving site usability and speed can help reduce bounce rates and improve SEO ROI.

Keyword Rating

This refers to the ranking of your website on search engine result pages for specific keywords or phrases. Higher rankings increase visibility and traffic, boosting your SaaS SEO ROI.

To track your SaaS SEO efforts and calculate ROI effectively, use a reputable CRM system. This tool can help track micro-conversions from SEO activities, providing accurate data for ROI calculation and analysis.

By focusing on these SaaS SEO KPIs and continuously working on improving them, you can steer your SaaS website towards better ROI. This continual improvement and optimization process form the basis for successful SaaS SEO strategies.

Keep in mind—SEO takes time to show results. Stay patient, stay consistent. Initial months might seem uneventful, but the ROI figures will provide the most objective view of the real situation.

Lastly, it’s important to compare LTV and CAC in the form of SaaS SEO ROI, as it can help in identifying the source of growth in return on investment in SEO promotion and optimization. By increasing LTV and reducing CAC, you can successfully grow your SEO ROI.

3. Improve SaaS SEO ROI through On-Site Optimization

SaaS websites can significantly enhance their SaaS SEO ROI by optimizing their on-page SEO. Content optimization involves strategically including keywords, improving readability, and using appropriate meta tags, among others. Here’s how it can be done:

  1. Use relevant keywords: Understand and include keywords that your target audience is most likely to use while searching for your SaaS product. Keyword research tools can help you identify these key terms and embed them in your content naturally.
  2. Improve readability: Break down your content into bite-sized chunks with bullet points, headlines, and subheadings. Short paragraphs and sentences make your content skimmable, improve the user’s reading experience, and minimize bounce rates.
  3. Optimize meta tags: Meta tags serve as a preview of your content on search engines. Ensuring they’re keyword-rich and engaging increases click-through rates.
  4. Optimize media: By optimizing your image’s alt-texts and embedding relevant videos to your content pieces, your on-page SEO score greatly improves.
  5. Employ SEO-friendly URLs: Make your URLs easy to understand for search engines and users. Ideally, they should contain your main keyword and accurately describe the content of the page.
  6. Use internal and external links: They provide additional information resources to your visitors and help search engines understand the structure and context of your website better.

By combining excellent on-page optimization with strategic content creation, SaaS businesses can significantly improve their SEO ROI and enhance their online visibility. The outcome? More targeted traffic, higher conversions, and a product that shines brighter in the competitive market.

Apart from manual content optimization techniques, content optimization software like Outranking can optimize your content for higher rankings and assist you in the researching and writing process through their advanced AI features. Seamlessly streamlined, Outranking’s on-page SEO scores allow you to optimize your content pieces based on data analyzed from the top 20 SERPs.

Screenshot of outranking's SEO grader.
Outranking’s SEO score helps your content rank at the top every time.

Learn more about Outranking’s features from the following video:

4. Employ Content Marketing to Attract Visitors

SaaS websites can significantly improve their SaaS SEO ROI by effectively utilizing content marketing to attract potential visitors. Here’s how:

  1. Implement Keyword Research: Using highly relevant, long-tail keywords that match your potential customer’s intent can aid in the improvement in SEO, and subsequently the ROI. It’s not just about getting visits to your site but more about attracting those who will be converted into customers.
  2. Deliver High-Quality Content: High-quality content that’s easy to understand, demonstrates expertise, and is reliable can drive organic traffic, leading to an increased SEO ROI. Ensuring that the content published is relevant to the target audience of the SaaS product is essential.
  3. Regularly Update Content: Existing content should be regularly updated with the latest information and data-driven insights to ensure its continued relevance. Google also loves up-to-date content and this could potentially improve your SEO rankings.
  4. Use Analytics to Monitor Performance: Gathering and analyzing data can give valuable insights into what content works and what doesn’t. By understanding the kind of content that resonates with the target audience, effective strategies can be deployed to enhance SEO ROI.
  5. Link Building: Roping in guest bloggers, engaging in content collaborations, or being featured on reputable publications can improve your credibility, leading to better SEO rankings. These high-quality backlinks can drive more traffic to your site, thereby increasing the ROI.
  6. Leverage SEO-friendly Meta Descriptions: Writing compelling, keyword-rich Meta descriptions can improve your click-through rates from search engine result pages.
  7. Create Informative Infographics: Infographics can increase web traffic as they are a visually appealing way to communicate complex information, making them an excellent tool for boosting SEO ROI. Apart from infographics, using feature images for your content pieces increases engagement levels by 120%.
  8. Implement a Content Promotion Strategy: Just creating content is not enough. It needs to be promoted strategically using social media platforms, newsletters, or other effective channels to reach a greater audience.
  9. Engage with Visitors: Responding to comments and queries promptly enhances user experience and helps in building trust with the audience. This user engagement could potentially improve your SEO and therefore, the ROI.

Improving SEO ROI using a content marketing strategy is not an overnight process. It requires constant experimentation, tracking, and optimization based on analytical insights to bear fruitful results.

5. Improve Your Website’s Usability

By focusing on user experience, you’re creating a website that keeps visitors engaged and encourages them to stay longer. Search engines take note of low bounce rates, interpreting them as indicators of valuable and relevant content. This positive user experience can contribute to improved search rankings, as search engines prioritize delivering quality results to users.

To improve your SaaS website’s usability, weave the following techniques into your strategy:

  1. Enhance the site’s speed: Data shows that people are likely to abandon sites that take more than 3 seconds to load. Therefore, improving your site’s loading speed can significantly improve its usability and, consequently, SEO ROI.
  2. Optimize for mobile: Optimizing for mobile is necessary as mobile internet usage has surpassed desktop usage. Making sure your website is mobile-friendly ensures a better user experience, hence leading to better SEO ROI.
  3. Simplify navigation: Websites that are easy to navigate improve the user experience. Users should be able to find the information they need quickly and easily, contributing directly to improved SEO ROI.
  4. Use clear and easy-to-read fonts: Readability significantly impacts a user’s experience on your website. Using clear, easy-to-read fonts can improve the site’s usability.
  5. Implement pictures and video content: Including visuals on your website can attract and retain users’ attention—user’s eyes are naturally drawn towards visuals, and media such as images and videos can significantly enhance their experience.
  6. High-quality content: According to Hub Spot, frequently updating your site with relevant, high-quality content can increase its usability. Users are more likely to return to a site that provides valuable and updated information.
  7. Enable the feature of social sharing: Sharing content improves usability by allowing users to easily share information they find valuable. This can lead to increased site traffic and higher SEO ROI.
  8. Incorporate user feedback: Sites that take into account user feedback typically perform better in terms of usability, as they evolve based on users’ needs and preferences. This kind of responsiveness not only improves the user experience but also boosts SEO ROI.
  9. Use white space efficiently: Besides reducing visual clutter and improving readability, using white space effectively can contribute significantly to improved website usability, enhancing SEO performance.
Infographic of 5 web usability components for SaaS websites
Concentrating on these components can boost your SaaS website’s usability and drive your SEO ROI to unprecedented heights.

6. Identify Underperforming Pages

You can identify underperforming webpages of your SaaS website by following the below steps:

StepsDetails
Step 1: Identify Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)Outline your expectations for your web pages. The KPIs may include organic traffic, bounce rate, total time spent on the page, conversion rate, backlinks, etc.
Step 2: Use Analytics ToolsUse Google Analytics or a similar tool to determine how your web pages are performing against the set KPIs. Check for pages that have high bounce rates or low dwell time.
Step 3: Perform a Content AuditCollect data on all of the content you have posted on your site. Identify underperforming pages (lower traffic, less engagement).
Step 4: Check SERP RankingFind where your web pages are ranking on Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs). Pages that don’t appear on the first page of results for relevant keyword searches are underperforming.
Step 5: Pay Attention to Click-Through Rate (CTR)Low CTRs indicate that your meta description or title tag may not be attractive or relevant enough to get users to click on your link from the SERPs.
Step 6: Evaluate Backlinks and Social SharesPages with fewer than average backlinks and social shares may be underperforming. Tools like Moz’s Open Site Explorer or Ahrefs can help analyze backlink data.
Step 7: Analyze User EngagementHigh bounce rates and low time spent on pages could indicate that users aren’t finding the content valuable or relevant.
Step 8: Compare Against CompetitorsCompare your stats with directly competing web pages. If they’re performing better on the same KPIs, your corresponding page might be underperforming.
Step 9: Look for Content GapsAnalyze content on underperforming pages for any missing or incomplete information that could lead to lower user engagement.

After identifying the underperforming web pages for your SaaS website, you can optimize them to improve their rankings, organic traffic, and conversions.

7. Leverage Social Media Platforms

When you promote your high-quality articles, blog posts, and videos across your social media channels, you extend their visibility and attract engagement from your audience. 

Optimize your social media profiles with relevant keywords and a concise description of your business. This not only helps users find you but also enhances your brand’s overall online presence. Combining efforts leads to improved SEO performance, heightened online visibility, and finally, increased website traffic and conversions, enhancing your ROI.

Navigating SaaS SEO ROI  for Success

In the quest for SaaS website success, SEO ROI is a definite way of determining the success of your SEO campaigns. While SEO ROI calculation may seem intricate, with dedication, time, and consistency, achieving your dream ROI for your SaaS website is within reach. 

Outranking is your trusty ally in optimizing your content’s ROI. With the power of Outranking, you can witness the real-time evolution of your website’s ROI, a game-changer in your SaaS journey.

Ready to improve your SaaS website’s rankings? Read our comprehensive guide, The Complete SaaS SEO Checklist for 2023.