You've invested in a new website. You've put money into SEO. Now comes the big question that keeps business owners up at night: is any of this actually working?

Here's the thing. A lot of businesses throw money at digital marketing without ever knowing if they're getting a return. That's like filling up your gas tank without checking if your car is actually moving. Not great

The good news is tracking your ROI doesn't have to be complicated. You just need to know what to look at and how to measure it. Let's break it down

Why Tracking ROI Matters

Before we get into the how, let's talk about the why

Every dollar you spend on your website or SEO should be working toward a goal. Maybe that's more leads. Maybe it's more sales. Maybe it's just getting more eyeballs on your brand. Whatever it is, you need to measure it

Without tracking, you're basically guessing. And guessing is expensive

When you track your ROI, you can:

• See what's working and do more of it
• Spot what's not working and fix it
• Make smarter decisions about where to invest next
• Justify your marketing budget with actual numbers

It's not about being obsessive with data. It's about being smart with your money

The Basic ROI Formula

Let's start simple. The formula for calculating ROI is:

((Revenue - Investment) / Investment) × 100

So if you spent $2,000 on SEO and it brought in $10,000 in revenue, your ROI would be:

(($10,000 - $2,000) / $2,000) × 100 = 400% ROI

That's a solid return. But here's where it gets tricky, you need to accurately track both your investment and the revenue it generates

Tracking SEO ROI

SEO is a long game. You're not going to see results overnight. Most experts say you should measure SEO performance over 6-12 months to get a real picture of what's happening

Here's what you need to track:

Total SEO Investment

Add up everything you're spending on SEO:

• Monthly retainer fees or agency costs
• SEO tools and software subscriptions
• Content creation costs (blog posts, landing pages)
• Time spent by your team on SEO tasks

Be honest here. A lot of businesses underestimate what they're actually putting into SEO

Revenue from Organic Search

This is where Google Analytics becomes your best friend. You need to:

• Set up conversion tracking for your key actions (form submissions, phone calls, purchases)
• Use UTM parameters to track where traffic is coming from
• Isolate organic traffic from paid traffic and direct visits

Once you know how many conversions came from organic search, multiply that by your average customer value. That's your SEO revenue

Key SEO Metrics to Watch

Beyond just revenue, keep an eye on these numbers:

The average website conversion rate from organic traffic is around 2.7%. If you're below that, there's room to improve. If you're above it, you're doing something right

A good SEO ROI typically falls between 200-700% depending on your industry. If you're not seeing those numbers, it might be time for an SEO audit to figure out what's holding you back

Tracking Web Design ROI

Web design ROI is a bit different than SEO. Your website is the foundation everything else sits on. A bad website can tank even the best SEO campaign

Here's how to measure if your web design investment is paying off:

User Experience Metrics

These tell you if your site is actually working for visitors:

• Page Load Speed: If your site takes more than 3 seconds to load, you're losing people
• Mobile Responsiveness: More than half of all web traffic comes from phones. Your site needs to work on them
• Time on Site: Longer visits usually mean people find your content valuable
• Pages Per Session: Are visitors exploring or bouncing after one page?

Conversion Metrics

Your website has one job: turn visitors into customers. Track these:

• Form Submissions: How many people fill out your contact forms?
• Phone Calls: If you have a click-to-call button, track those clicks
• Sales: For ecommerce, this is straightforward. Track revenue from website purchases
• Lead Quality: Not all leads are created equal. Track which ones actually become customers

Before and After Comparison

The easiest way to measure web design ROI is to compare performance before and after your new site launched

Look at:

• Traffic numbers (did they go up?)
• Conversion rates (are more visitors becoming leads?)
• Revenue (is the bottom line growing?)
• User feedback (are people finding what they need?)

If all these numbers moved in the right direction after your redesign, your investment is working

Tools You Need for Tracking

You don't need a fancy setup to track ROI. Here are the basics:

Google Analytics: Free and essential. Set up goals and conversion tracking from day one

Google Search Console: Shows you how you're performing in search results. Also free

Call Tracking Software: If phone calls matter to your business, use a tool that tracks which marketing channels drive calls

CRM Software: Helps you follow leads from first click to closed sale. This is crucial for understanding true ROI

Reporting Dashboards: Pull all your data into one place so you can see the big picture

At WorldWise, our digital marketing reporting gives you a clear view of what's working and what needs attention. No guessing required

Setting Realistic Expectations

Here's something important: ROI takes time

For SEO specifically, you're looking at 6-12 months before you see meaningful results. That's just how search engines work. They need time to crawl your site, index your content, and decide where to rank you

Web design ROI can show up faster, especially if your old site was really holding you back. But even then, give it a few months to collect enough data

Don't panic if you don't see huge returns in the first 30 days. That's normal. What matters is the trend over time. Are your numbers moving in the right direction month over month?

What Good ROI Actually Looks Like

So what should you be aiming for?

For SEO, a good ROI is typically 200-700%. That means for every dollar you invest, you're getting $2-7 back. The exact number depends on your industry, competition, and how long you've been at it

For web design, aim for your site to pay for itself within the first year through increased leads or sales. After that, it's all profit

If you're not hitting these numbers, don't panic. It usually means one of two things:

1. You need more time (especially with SEO)
2. Something in your strategy needs tweaking

Either way, the data will tell you what to do next

Getting Started

Tracking ROI doesn't have to be overwhelming. Start simple:

1. Make sure Google Analytics is set up correctly
2. Define what a "conversion" means for your business
3. Calculate your total investment (be honest)
4. Check your numbers monthly
5. Look for trends over 6-12 months

If you need help setting up tracking or want a professional eye on your current performance, reach out to WorldWise. We can run an audit and show you exactly where you stand

The bottom line: if you're spending money on web design and SEO, you should know if it's working. Track the right metrics, give it time, and let the data guide your decisions

That's how you turn marketing from a gamble into an investment