Traffic Value Estimator
Add your keywords with volume, position, and CPC, and see what that organic traffic would cost you in Google Ads every month. It is the cleanest way to put a dollar figure on rankings.
CTR by position uses industry-average estimates. Override with your own GSC data when you have it.
What traffic value actually measures
Traffic value answers one question: if your organic rankings vanished tomorrow, what would it cost to buy the same clicks back through Google Ads? Each keyword's monthly searches are multiplied by the average click-through rate for your position, then by the keyword's cost per click. Sum it across the keyword set and you have the monthly ad budget your SEO replaces. This is the number tools like Ahrefs label "traffic value" on competitor domains, and it is the framing that lands best with finance teams because it compares SEO to a real market price.
The CTR-by-position table used here
Position 1 earns about 27 percent of clicks, position 2 about 15 percent, position 3 about 10 percent, then 7, 5, 4, 3, 2.5, 2, and 1.8 percent down through position 10. These are industry-average estimates across query types. Your real numbers depend on SERP features and intent, so when Google Search Console shows you an actual CTR for a query, trust it over the table.
Using the position-1 delta
Each row shows what the keyword would be worth at position 1 versus where you rank now. That delta is your prioritization signal: a keyword sitting at position 6 with a big gap to position-1 value is usually a better content and link investment than a new keyword you have not touched, because the page already ranks and only needs a push.
Frequently asked questions
Where do the CPC numbers come from?
Pull them from Google Keyword Planner (free with a Google Ads account), or from Ahrefs or Semrush if you have a subscription. Use the CPC for the keyword in your target country, and prefer the top-of-page bid range over the average if you want a conservative-to-aggressive band. The estimate is only as good as the CPC you feed it.
Is traffic value real money?
It is replacement cost: the budget you would have to hand Google Ads to buy the same clicks you currently earn organically. That makes it a defensible way to present SEO value to a CFO, because it benchmarks against a price the market actually charges. It is not revenue, conversion math handles that, but it is the honest answer to 'what would this traffic cost if we had to pay for it'.
Why do CTR-by-position tables vary so much between studies?
Because SERPs vary. Featured snippets, ads, shopping units, local packs, and AI answers all eat clicks before position 1 gets its share, so a query with four ads above the fold has a very different CTR curve than a clean ten-blue-links page. The table used here is an industry average across query types. When you have real click and impression data in Google Search Console, use your own CTR instead.
Should I include branded keywords?
Exclude them. People searching your brand name would click through to you regardless of SEO effort, so counting that traffic inflates the value of the program. Traffic value is most persuasive when it is built from non-branded commercial and informational terms you actually had to compete for.