With online business booming, many businesses are spending more of their marketing budget promoting their business online. But the question "How much is Google SEO worth?" leaves many people scratching thier heads. Here we look at a fast method of estimating the value of a first page search engine ranking.

The Google Keyword tool can tell us how many searches are performed each month for a given keyword. Using the keyword 'Boxing Classes' as an example, we see 4,400 searches are performed, each month, in Australia.

An average first page position in Googles "organic search results" can expect a CTR or click through rate of 7.5%. So a first page ranking for 'Boxing Classes" would yield an average of 330 visitors per month or 3960 visits annually.

To find out how much those clicks are really worth, we turn back to the keyword tool. You can add a column to see the average cost per click of a 'sponsored link' . The cost of a sponsored link indicates the price businesses are prepared to pay for website visitors. In our case the Average CPC for Boxing Classes is $0.65c. So some simple multiplication shows the first page organic ranking is effectively generating $2,574 of advertising annually!

The value or return on investment (ROI) for the business is a completely different thing. To estimate this we first need to look at website conversion. The website conversion rate is the percentage of visitors that become paying customers.

This will vary with several factors including different products and services, industry categories, and the usability of the business website. For the example lets assume a 2% conversion rate for a boxing gym website. Now suppose the annual membership fees are $700, so 2% of 3960 visitors or 79 people become members. This is a potential $55,300 in new business annually!!

This method allows us to estimate the effective advertising value and ROI. As with any marketing campaign, you should monitor the ROI and make any adjustments to get the best return. What is SEO worth to your business?