A Study on the Impact of Search Engine Optimization (SEO)on Website Traffic and Lead Generation

ABSTRACT
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has become a cornerstone of
digital marketing strategy in the contemporary business environment.
This study investigates the impact of SEO on website traffic and lead
generation, drawing on primary data collected from 200 digital
marketing professionals in India. The research evaluates five key
dimensions: SEO impact on website traffic, effectiveness of SEO
techniques, role of content quality and keyword strategy, SEO
contribution to lead generation and conversion, and the influence of
backlinks and domain authority. Employing quantitative research
methods including descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis,
multiple linear regression, independent samples t-test, and one-way
ANOVA, the study reveals strong and statistically significant
relationships among all SEO dimensions. Regression analysis
demonstrates that content strategy is the most influential predictor of
overall SEO performance (β = 0.359), followed by backlink authority
and SEO effectiveness. The model explains 80.3% of the variance in
overall SEO performance (R² = 0.803). Demographic variables such
as gender and experience level do not significantly influence SEO
perceptions, indicating consensus across respondent groups. The
findings confirm that SEO is a highly effective, cost-efficient, and
long-term strategy for driving organic traffic and generating quality
leads. Practical recommendations for businesses and digital
marketers are discussed.