Every marketer plays a role in SEO, helping clients recognize its impact on traffic and revenue. A common method for proving this value is analyzing year-over-year organic growth.
The Challenge of Brand vs. Non-Brand Traffic
Retailers with strong brand recognition often assume organic traffic is purely a byproduct of PPC and print campaigns. Additionally, IT teams may claim they have SEO handled, minimizing its significance.
The issue is further complicated by the rise of “keyword not provided”, limiting visibility into the non-brand keywords driving conversions. However, an effective method exists to demonstrate the value of non-brand organic traffic.
Using Google Search Console for SEO Insights
The Search Analytics report in Google Search Console provides 90 days of organic search query data. While there may be minor data discrepancies, it remains a powerful tool for evaluating search performance.
Steps to Extract Non-Brand Traffic Data:
1️⃣ Filter Out Branded Keywords – Use Excel wildcards to remove branded queries from the dataset. Manually check for brand misspellings.
2️⃣ Analyze Clicks & Conversion Potential – The remaining data represents non-brand traffic, showcasing the true impact of SEO.
3️⃣ Estimate Revenue Impact – Apply a conversion rate and average order value to calculate potential revenue from non-brand organic clicks.
Why This SEO Strategy Works
For PPC-focused managers, framing non-brand SEO traffic in terms of click value and revenue makes its impact clearer. Even if rankings contribute to only a portion of these clicks, the ROI of SEO becomes undeniable.
