Calculating SEO TAM SAM and SOM are easy to understand. Refinement done every 3 months is what makes the difference towards a great outcome.
SEO TAM visibility = How much traffic can you get in next 3-6 months
Broadly, there are 5 steps:
- Go to Ahrefs
- Open Keyword Explorer
- Input an important keyword
- Pick all sites ranking for that keyword
- Filter sites with DR < yours
These are sites you can beat with 3-6 months of effort.
And… done!
Their total traffic is your SEO TAM.
This is a good way to start especially if
- Your SEO traffic has been stagnant OR
- You want SEO results to be more reliable
High level, this is the road…
But here’s what it is in detail:
Context
Top VCs & Founders have a sharp eye for what their business TAM, SAM and SOM are for clarity of revenue opportunities and the growth roadmap…

I do the same with the teams I work with!
Detailed Steps
Step 1: Go to Ahrefs
Go to “Keyword Explorer” in Ahrefs and input an important keyword.

Step 2: Find Weak Competitors
Check the top sites ranking and filter those with DR < yours.
Find your DR within 30 seconds on this link.

Now you can see which websites you can likely beat in the next 3-6 months
Step 3: Estimate Opportunity
Check how much traffic weak competitor on top is getting

#1 is getting 7k visitors, but at DR = 50 you can realistically target Positions #2-4.
Step 4: Automate
Export all websites with DR < Yours into “Batch Analysis” of Ahrefs.

These are all your weak competitors.
Step 5: Calculating SEO TAM
Combined traffic of all your weak competitors is your opportunity.

Whether you can acquire all of it is another discussion => Calculating SEO SOM (Serviceable Obtainable Market).

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Surdeep Singh |
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