Content ROI calculator
See what your organic traffic would cost as paid ads, compare it against your content spend, and find the month your content programme turns profitable.
Content ROI calculator
Results
Monthly traffic value
$6,000
+$4,500 above cost
Current monthly ROI
+300%
Break-even month
Month 1
Traffic value already exceeds monthly cost
Over 12 months
How traffic value is calculated
Traffic value = monthly sessions × average CPC. This is the amount you would have paid Google Ads to generate the same number of clicks. Monthly session growth is compounded — if you're growing at 5%/month, month 12 has 79% more sessions than month 1, which is why the cumulative return grows faster than a simple linear projection.
Break-even is the first month where cumulative traffic value exceeds cumulative production spend. Content programmes that are already generating more value than they cost (ROI > 0%) show "Month 1" — meaning the investment has already paid back in the current period.
About this tool
Enter your monthly organic sessions, the average CPC for keywords your content targets, and your all-in monthly production cost. The tool shows the paid media equivalent value of your traffic, your current monthly ROI, and projects net return over 12–36 months factoring in compounding traffic growth. A growing content programme is often the cheapest traffic you'll ever buy — this tool makes that visible in dollar terms.
Frequently asked questions
What CPC should I use?
Use the average CPC for the search terms your content actually ranks for. Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, and Semrush all show this. If your content covers many topics, take a blended average across your top 10–20 ranking pages. The niche presets use representative averages — finance and legal keywords cost $3–5 per click; lifestyle content is typically under $1.
Why measure traffic value in CPC terms?
CPC is what an advertiser pays Google for a single click on a paid ad. Organic traffic delivers the same click for free, so sessions × CPC is the equivalent paid cost you're avoiding each month. It's not revenue — it's opportunity cost savings and an apples-to-apples comparison with the paid alternative.
What should I include in monthly production cost?
Everything: freelance writer and editor fees, your own time priced at opportunity cost (what you could bill instead), SEO tool subscriptions, image licensing, design, and any content management overhead. Underestimating cost is the most common mistake in content ROI analysis.
Is this the same as my actual revenue from content?
No. Traffic value is what you'd pay to buy those clicks as ads. Your actual monetisation depends on how you convert the traffic — display ads, affiliate links, product sales, or email sign-ups. Pair this tool with the Ad revenue RPM calculator or Organic traffic value calculator to estimate real revenue from the sessions.