Most SEO reports answer the wrong question. They tell you how busy someone was, or how many keywords moved, and leave you guessing whether any of it brought in work.
After four years in agency and now running ALC, I measure SEO with a simple model I call the ALC Outcome Ladder: five levels of success, from “is the site healthy” to “did this make money”, measured in order.
The ALC Outcome Ladder, in one paragraph
The ALC Outcome Ladder is a five-level model for measuring SEO success. It measures a campaign by outcomes rather than activity, from site health (Level 1) through visibility (Level 2), qualified traffic (Level 3) and enquiries (Level 4) to revenue (Level 5). The highest level a business can track is its headline measure; the levels below it are used to diagnose why results stall. Hours worked are not a level.
The five levels
| Level | Name | What it answers | Typical measures |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Foundation | Can Google and AI tools find, read and trust the site? | Indexed pages, crawl errors, Core Web Vitals, structured data, Google Business Profile completeness |
| 2 | Visibility | Does the business show up for searches that matter? | Rankings for target terms, Google Maps visibility, impressions in Search Console, mentions in AI answers |
| 3 | Qualified traffic | Are the right people arriving? | Clicks from target searches, engagement on service pages, Google Business Profile views and actions |
| 4 | Enquiries | Are visitors getting in touch? | Calls, form submissions, direction requests, tracked in GA4 and call tracking |
| 5 | Revenue | Did it turn into paid work? | Enquiries that became clients, the value of those jobs |
Level 1: Foundation
Nothing above this works if the basics don’t. This level covers whether pages are crawlable and indexed, the site loads properly on mobile, your Google Business Profile is complete, and your content is marked up so machines can read it. It’s the least exciting level and the one most often skipped.
Level 2: Visibility
This is where most reports stop. Rankings, Maps position and impressions show you’re appearing, but not that anyone cares. I also check whether the business is being mentioned in AI answers for its core questions, because customers now find businesses through Google’s AI features, ChatGPT and Gemini as well as normal results.
Level 3: Qualified traffic
Traffic only counts if it’s relevant. A hundred visits from people searching for a service you don’t offer is worse than ten from people ready to hire you. This level looks at which searches bring people in and what they do on arrival.
Level 4: Enquiries
This is the first level that matters to most business owners: the phone rings, the form is filled in. It needs call tracking, form tracking and GA4 conversions set up properly, which is why I set them up at the start.
Level 5: Revenue
The top rung is whether enquiries became paying clients, and what those clients were worth. It depends on the business telling me what happened to the leads, which isn’t always possible. Where I can’t see it, I say so rather than guess.
The one rule: diagnose downwards
Report from the highest level you can measure. Diagnose from the lowest level that’s broken.
If enquiries (Level 4) are flat, I don’t guess. I look down the ladder:
- Traffic is up but enquiries aren’t? The problem is probably the page or the offer, not the SEO.
- Visibility is up but traffic isn’t? The wrong searches, or weak titles and listings.
- Visibility is flat? Check the foundation, indexing and authority.
- Everything below looks fine but revenue is flat? The issue is likely sales follow-up, not search.
That’s why a single number like “rankings are up” can be true and useless at the same time.
What isn’t on the ladder
- Hours. Time spent isn’t a level, and I don’t track it. A task done well in an hour and a task done badly in ten look identical on a timesheet. (Why I think that: Why I’ll Never Track Time on Client Work.)
- Vanity metrics. Follower counts, total impressions with no context, and “keywords ranking” without saying which ones.
How this shows up in your ALC report
Every monthly report follows the same order. We record a baseline at the start (rankings, traffic, Google Business Profile performance and enquiries), then each month I show what moved at each level, what I think it means, and what I’m prioritising next. See how ALC works.
How to use the ladder on your own SEO
- Write down your Level 5. What does a good result look like in dollars or clients?
- Find the highest level you can currently measure. If it’s rankings, that’s your gap.
- Set up tracking one level up. Usually that’s calls and form submissions.
- When something stalls, check the level below it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the ALC Outcome Ladder?
A five-level framework for measuring SEO success, created by Annabelle Cochrane at ALC Consulting. It moves from site health to visibility, qualified traffic, enquiries and revenue, and uses the lower levels to diagnose why results stall.
What should I measure first for SEO?
Start with the highest level you can measure reliably, usually enquiries (calls and form submissions). Then use the lower levels to explain why it’s moving or stuck.
Are rankings still important?
Yes, as a Level 2 measure. They show you’re visible, but they don’t show you’re winning work.
How do I measure SEO success if I can’t track revenue?
Measure enquiries well and agree a simple way to record which ones became clients, even a monthly count. Be cautious of anyone claiming to prove revenue they can’t see.
How long before each level improves?
Foundation fixes can show up quickly. Visibility and traffic usually take months, and enquiries and revenue follow. Timelines depend on competition and the site’s starting point, and anyone guaranteeing specific results by a date is overpromising.
Book a free strategy session and I’ll show you where your site sits on the ladder.
