SEO Forecasting: How Can You Forecast Your Organic Growth?

Did you know that when you conduct keyword research, you also attempt to forecast the organic traffic the chosen phrases will bring to your website?

An efficient SEO strategy starts with accurate SEO forecasting.

Accurate SEO forecasting puts you one step ahead of your campaign objectives since it provides a fair estimate of your site’s future traffic.

This SEO forecasting article will show you how to anticipate organic traffic using various successful methods.

What is SEO Forecasting?

SEO forecasting is a strategy for estimating a website’s future performance in search engines based on existing knowledge about how the site performs in SERPs. Estimated monthly traffic, organic CTR, and overall keyword search volume are current metrics to examine.

Imagine being able to forecast your website’s traffic, conversions, and income. Does that sound good? This guide will teach you how to anticipate your SEO success, make data-driven choices, and effectively communicate the value of your SEO efforts to your leadership team.

SEO is constantly changing, but one thing stays consistent: the necessity to demonstrate ROI.

Remember that your projections do not have to be perfect; they should give a directionally correct range to set expectations.

Whether you’re a seasoned practitioner or just starting, understanding SEO forecasting can help you generate long-term development and demonstrate the value of your efforts.

Why is SEO Forecasting Important?

Because seasonality may impact both eCommerce sales and SEO success, it is critical to plan your SEO strategies around data-driven visitor estimates.

For example, if your site traffic traditionally increases during the holiday shopping season (as it does for most eCommerce companies), you’ll know to devote extra resources to your SEO content strategy to capture and convert those visitors.

On the other hand, if you foresee that site traffic will fall over a specific time, you may set more realistic goals and focus more on different areas of your digital marketing plan (such as social media, PR, paid search efforts, and so on).

Knowing when to expect traffic slumps or spikes may help your marketing team develop more brilliant SEO strategies and support a comprehensive digital marketing plan. 

How to Forecast SEO Growth and Potential?

Remember that forecasting is about analyzing your previous performance to anticipate future performance and development prospects.

Let’s look at the SEO metrics that may be forecasted, the formulae to utilize, and how to accomplish it step by step. 

Step 1: Gather historical data

To begin with, you must analyze your website and business’s historical tendencies. Evaluate your site’s performance at peak seasons (such as the Christmas shopping season) over the previous few years and then determine your slowest periods.

You may also leverage past data from Google Search Console, Google Analytics, and other channels, such as PPC advertising, to better understand your target population’s yearly and monthly search traffic.

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While there will be variations from year to year (more on that later), this first data assessment should provide a thorough “average” year.

Step 2: Examine historical data and seasonal trends, taking into account external influences

Historical traffic data need to be more comprehensive for a reliable estimate. When forecasting future performance, consider prospective changes to platforms, search engines, user habits, and the overall business landscape in the past and future. 

COVID-19 is an excellent example. When the pandemic struck in March 2020, several eCommerce firms experienced significant increases in online sales due to the required online purchasing during the early lockdowns. However, based on experience, it would be foolhardy to expect the same performance every March in the future.

In this case, we propose viewing 2020 and 2021 as anomalous. Many eCommerce firms achieved unprecedented traffic and income during this period due to the COVID-19 outbreak. 

Attempting to achieve the same outcomes in the post-COVID age is sometimes disappointing.

Consider external influences such as Google algorithm updates, shopping trends, and the news cycle when evaluating your historical data.

Step 3: Utilize an in-house or automated SEO forecasting tool

You don’t need to go through pages of spreadsheets and years of data to predict your SEO success precisely. There are many automatic tools to aid you.

Once you’ve mastered it, you could even use an in-house template for additional flexibility and exact reporting.

Before providing projections to clients, we examine a few different tools. Ahrefs’ Traffic Site Forecast and Moz’s Google Sheets-based SEO forecasting tool are favorites.

Please see a screenshot of the latter below.

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Whether you use automated or manual techniques, you must be knowledgeable in digital eCommerce marketing and have a thorough understanding of business analytics to evaluate the data effectively and identify any outlier tendencies.

If you are unsure about your capacity to do so, you may employ an SEO agency to do it for you.

Create Your SEO Forecast Strategy Today 

Traffic and keyword forecasts are extremely useful in determining total SEO effect and ROI, particularly in B2B. If you know your site traffic in the next months, you can make more educated marketing selections.

However, SEO forecasting is unique to each organization and may rapidly become convoluted. The tools listed above can help you get a clearer view of your future traffic. Still, for the most comprehensive forecast, we recommend employing a data professional to produce the most accurate forecasts for your organization.

Fortunately for you, our team is always eager to assist.

Contact one of our B2B SEO data professionals now to locate the best tools for your needs, create your organic search forecasting model, and plan a long-term strategy to improve visitor conversion rates and produce scalable income for your online business.

FAQs

1. How often should SEO forecasting be conducted?

SEO forecasting should be done frequently to track changes in search engine algorithms, industry dynamics, and competition strategies. Forecasts should be evaluated and modified periodically to ensure alignment with changing trends and objectives.

2. Which is the best method for predicting organic growth traffic?

No one strategy can guarantee perfect accuracy in anticipating outcomes. Organic growth is fundamentally unpredictable, impacted by market dynamics, consumer behavior, industry trends, and the competitive environment.

3. What metrics should businesses track to evaluate SEO forecasting accuracy?

Businesses should monitor organic traffic, search engine rankings, click-through rates, and conversion rates to determine the correctness of SEO forecasts. Comparing anticipated values to actual performance measures gives insight into forecasting model efficacy and identifies areas for improvement.