ICE
Impact × Confidence × Ease
The original three-factor triage method from Sean Ellis, popularized in growth hacking.
Use it for: Fast decisions where Confidence is honestly calibrated.
SEO prioritization, finally answered
SEO prioritization framework · by Magnify
Enter your site and your SEO question. Compass cross-references four frameworks: ICE, RICE, THRICE and TAM-first. One unambiguous recommendation.
Want to go deeper? Four frameworks worth knowing.
If you came here to laugh and you’re now curious about how SEOs actually score initiatives, these are the four frameworks to know — with links to the original source for each.
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RICE
(Reach × Impact × Confidence) / Effort
Intercom’s refinement that adds Reach and divides by Effort. The product-management standard.
Use it for: Product-led orgs where Reach is measurable.
THRICE
Time + Headcount + Reach + Impact + Confidence + Effort (sum, max 60)
Eli Schwartz’s SEO-native adaptation. Adds Time and Headcount, which RICE ignores.
Use it for: Serious SEO prioritization in 2026.
TAM-first
Is the prize big enough?
Not a scoring model. A precondition. Before any framework, estimate the total market. If it’s small, the answer was always no.
Use it for: Always. At the start.
How we prioritize at Magnify.
We default to THRICE, but we never start there. We start with TAM. If the market doesn’t justify the effort, no framework saves the initiative. If it does, THRICE orders what to attack first.
ICE and RICE are good for teams just starting with structured prioritization. For SEO in 2026, THRICE is the best tool we have for deciding what gets built and what gets parked.
The rest is judgment.
Which is why the answer is always “it depends.”
A brief history of “it depends”
On May 14, 2020, Rob Delory asked John Mueller on Twitter how many SEOs it takes to screw in a lightbulb. Mueller answered “it depends”. The meme was born because a site: search on Search Engine Roundtable for the phrase returned hundreds of hits.
In April 2022, Danny Richman built MuellerBot, a GPT-3 script that responded like Mueller. He called it a joke. The answers turned out accurate enough that Mueller himself approved it.
Mueller has been photographed wearing a Google t-shirt that says “It Depends.”
The meme became a meme because it’s true. Compass honours that.
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