Free tool
Organic Growth Rate Calculator
Measure how fast your organic search is really growing. Compare two periods of traffic, clicks, conversions or revenue and see where that pace takes you over the next 12 months.
Your two periods
Where this pace takes you
If the compound monthly rate holds. A projection, not a forecast: seasonality, algorithm updates and AI Overviews will move the real line.
What is organic growth rate?
Organic growth rate is the percentage change in a metric that comes from unpaid channels, mainly organic search, between two periods. In marketing it usually means organic users, sessions, clicks or the conversions and revenue they produce. In finance the same term means revenue growth without acquisitions; the formula is identical.
The formulas
Total growth over the period:
growth % = (current − previous) ÷ previous × 100
Compound monthly growth rate (CMGR), the steady monthly rate that turns the previous figure into the current one:
CMGR = (current ÷ previous)^(1 ÷ months) − 1
Annualised growth applies that monthly rate across 12 months:
annualised = (1 + CMGR)^12 − 1
Why compound and not simple division?
Dividing total growth by the number of months overstates the monthly rate, because each month grows from a larger base than the last. Growth of 60% over 12 months is 5% a month by simple division but 4.0% a month compounded. The compound figure is the one that reproduces your real result.
Worked example
A site had 18,000 organic users in Q3 last year and 24,500 in Q3 this year, 12 months apart. Total growth is (24,500 − 18,000) ÷ 18,000 = 36.1%. The compound monthly rate is (24,500 ÷ 18,000)^(1/12) − 1 = 2.6%. If that pace holds, the site reaches about 33,300 organic users a quarter in another 12 months.
Getting a figure you can trust
Compare like with like. The most reliable basis is the same quarter year on year, which cancels out seasonality. Month on month comparisons over short windows can show strong growth that is simply a seasonal peak.
Use the source that matches the question. Search Console clicks measure search visibility. GA4 organic users and conversions measure what that visibility delivers on site. If the two disagree, the gap is usually tracking or consent loss, not a ranking change.
Growth in traffic is not growth in business. AI Overviews and AI assistants now answer many informational queries without a click, so organic sessions can fall while enquiries hold steady or rise. Track organic conversions alongside traffic before drawing conclusions.
FAQs
What is a good organic growth rate?
It depends on the starting point. A new site can double in a year from a small base, while an established site holding steady in a market where search clicks are falling may be outperforming its competitors. Compare your rate with your own history and with the visibility of competitors in the same results, not with a generic industry figure.
Can the growth rate be negative?
Yes. A negative rate means the metric fell. Check whether the fall is in impressions (lost visibility), in click-through rate (often AI Overviews or new SERP features), or in on-site tracking before deciding what to fix.
Should I use users, sessions or clicks?
Clicks from Search Console are the cleanest measure of organic search performance. Users and sessions from GA4 include tracking gaps and consent loss but connect to conversions. Use clicks to judge SEO work, and conversions or revenue to judge its commercial value.
Can I use this for revenue?
Yes. Select organic revenue and enter the revenue attributed to organic search in each period. The maths is the same.