SEO Impact Audit · $997 · 7–10 Business Days

Your report says it worked.
Let's find out if it actually did.

Impressions going up doesn't mean your SEO worked. This audit applies holdout analysis to your GSC data — comparing pages that received SEO work against pages that didn't — and produces a written verdict on what actually moved the needle and what was coincidence, seasonality, or algorithm noise.

$997
Flat fee, no retainerWritten report · GSC analysis · 60-min walkthrough call
Get Started → Read the methodology →
Who this is for

The audit is the right fit when:

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You've paid for SEO for 6+ months and aren't sure it produced real results
Your monthly reports show metrics improving but your phone isn't ringing more and your leads haven't increased proportionally. You suspect the reports look better than reality — and you want an honest answer before renewing or terminating.
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You're considering hiring a new SEO consultant and want a clean baseline first
Before you bring someone new in and give them credit for whatever happens next, you want to document where you actually stand — what's working now, what isn't, and what a new engagement should be measured against.
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Your SEO metrics improved but the core update hurt you anyway
You were told your SEO was strong, then a core update hit and rankings dropped. Understanding whether the update exposed genuine gaps or reversed coincidental gains helps you prioritize the right response rather than chasing the wrong fix.
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You want to know which of your pages are genuinely earning traffic vs. riding trends
Not all traffic gains are equal. Some pages rank because of good optimization work. Others rank because market growth, algorithm shifts, or brand searches lifted them regardless of SEO. Knowing which is which determines where to invest next.
What's included

A verdict, not a dashboard.

Most audits tell you what to fix going forward. This one tells you whether what you've already done actually worked — and proves it with data, not correlation.

01
GSC click analysis — treated vs. holdout
Every page on your site is categorized: did it receive SEO work or not? Click growth is compared between treated pages and untouched pages for the same period. The difference is the estimated SEO contribution — stripped of external factors that moved all pages equally.
02
Seasonal and year-over-year controls
Organic traffic has natural seasonality. A landscaping company always gets more traffic in spring. An accountant always spikes in March. The analysis controls for these patterns using year-over-year comparisons so seasonal movement doesn't get credited to SEO work.
03
Algorithm update timeline review
Google's core updates, helpful content updates, and spam updates all move rankings independently of optimization work. Your ranking timeline is cross-referenced against confirmed update windows — so movement caused by algorithm changes isn't attributed to your consultant.
04
Confounder identification
Did you launch new pages, change your site structure, acquire backlinks from press coverage, or lose a major competitor during the analysis period? These events affect rankings independently. The audit identifies and accounts for them before drawing conclusions.
05
Written verdict and findings
A plain-English written report covering: what the data shows, what specifically moved (and what didn't), the estimated SEO contribution vs. external factors, and a verdict on whether the investment produced real results — with specific evidence for each conclusion.
06
Action recommendations and 60-min walkthrough
The audit doesn't just tell you what happened — it tells you what to do next. If the SEO is working, where to double down. If it isn't, what specifically to change. Delivered with a 60-minute walkthrough call to review findings and answer questions.
How this differs from a standard SEO audit
A standard SEO audit evaluates your site's current technical health and optimization — crawl issues, title tags, schema, page speed. It answers "what should we fix going forward?" The SEO Impact Audit answers a different question: "did what we already did actually cause the results we're seeing?" That requires a different methodology — holdout comparison, seasonal controls, algorithm timeline review — not a site crawl. Both are useful. They answer different questions.
How it works

From GSC access to written verdict in 7–10 business days.

01
Intake — what was done and when
You provide read-only GSC access and a summary of when SEO work started, what was done (content, technical, link building), and which pages were targeted. You don't need to have records of every change — a rough timeline is enough to establish the before/after and treated/untouched structure.
02
Data pull and categorization
Every page on your site is pulled from GSC with click data across the analysis period. Pages are categorized as treated or holdout based on your intake information. Seasonal baselines are established using year-over-year data where available.
03
Holdout comparison and confounder review
Click growth is compared between treated and holdout pages. Algorithm update windows are cross-referenced with your timeline. Confounders — site changes, major backlinks, competitor shifts — are identified and flagged in the analysis.
04
Written report delivered
A written report covering all findings — the holdout comparison, seasonal adjustment, confounder list, and the verdict. Delivered within 7–10 business days of receiving GSC access and intake information.
05
60-minute walkthrough call
We review every finding together. You can challenge any conclusion, ask about specific pages, and get clarity on what the data means for your next steps — whether that's continuing with your current consultant, making changes, or starting fresh with a documented baseline.
Common questions

FAQ

What access do you need to run the audit? +

Read-only access to your Google Search Console property. That's it. No GA4 credentials required for the core analysis, though GA4 data on organic conversions strengthens the verdict if you have it set up. No CMS access, no server access, no credentials to anything that could affect your site.

What if I don't have records of exactly what SEO work was done? +

A rough timeline is enough — "we hired an agency in March 2025 and they worked on our blog and service pages." The holdout structure is built from your site's page inventory against that timeline. Precise change logs help but aren't required. If you have old reports from your agency, those are useful context but not required inputs.

What if the verdict is that my SEO didn't work? +

That's a valid and useful outcome. Knowing the SEO didn't produce causal results tells you specifically what to change — either the approach, the targeting, or the consultant. It also gives you a documented baseline for measuring any future engagement. An honest "this didn't work, here's why, here's what to do differently" is more valuable than continuing to pay for something that isn't moving the needle.

Can I use this to evaluate my current consultant? +

Yes — that's one of the primary use cases. The audit produces an independent, data-driven verdict that doesn't depend on your consultant's reporting. If the holdout analysis shows their work is producing results, that's validation worth having. If it doesn't, you have specific, documented evidence to bring to that conversation.

What happens after the audit if I want ongoing SEO? +

The audit establishes a documented baseline — treated vs. holdout performance, seasonal patterns, current ranking positions. If you move to an SEO retainer after the audit, that baseline is the measurement framework for the new engagement. The $997 audit fee is not credited toward a retainer, but the baseline it establishes makes every subsequent month of SEO more accountable and easier to evaluate.

SEO Impact Audit · $997 Flat

Get an honest answer about whether your SEO investment is working.

Written report, holdout analysis, seasonal controls, and a 60-minute walkthrough. Delivered in 7–10 business days. No retainer required.

Get Started →