We compiled a list of 50 SEO stats and online search facts to remind you of something important: To attract online attention for your business, you can’t just set up a website and social media profile and expect the traffic to roll in. You need to position your brand to show up in online search by utilizing search engine optimization.
When you follow good SEO practices, your brand will appear more frequently in online search results and increase your online visibility, customer base and sales.
These SEO statistics prove it.
Related: Beginner’s guide to search engine optimization for small business websites
General SEO stats
The opportunity to connect with interested customers through online search is high for brands in all industries because search engagement is incredibly high.
1. On average, there are more than 40,000 Google searches performed every second (Internet Live Stats).
2. Each day, there are 3.5 billion Google searches (Internet Live Stats).
3. That adds up to 1.2 trillion Google searches per year (Internet Live Stats).
Every day millions of people use online search. While there are other search engine options, such as Bing, Yahoo! and DuckDuckGo, Google still holds the largest share of searches.
4. About 88% of worldwide searches are conducted on Google (StatCounter).
People use search engines to look for information related to news, trends and most importantly, products, services and businesses.
Customers search before they buy products online and before they visit a physical storefront.
Here are some SEO stats to back up that statement:
5. 88% of consumers research online before making a purchase either online or in-store (United States B2C Ecommerce Country Report).
6. 27% of customers search for a local business daily (BrightLocal).
7. 69% of customers search for a local business monthly (BrightLocal).
Customers use online search to inform and guide their purchasing decisions. So if you aren’t engaging in SEO practices, you might be missing opportunities to drive new customers to your products, services and business.
And, you might be falling behind brands who are already using SEO to build and grow their business.
8. 61% of marketers say improving SEO and growing their organic presence is their top inbound marketing priority (HubSpot).
Related: How Google Trends can help you find your next customer
Online search trends
If you aren’t convinced that SEO is a worthwhile marketing tactic for your brand, here are a few more surprising SEO stats to show just how powerful online search is.
To keep up in search, you need to know what trends and changes are happening with both search engines and users.
Search engines change through algorithm updates. An algorithm is a formula of search factors that search engines use to determine which pages should rank on search engine results pages (SERPs).
9. Since 2003, there have been up to 70 known Google algorithm updates (Search Engine Journal).
Each time an algorithm updates, it changes the list and value of ranking factors.
10. It’s estimated there are 200 ranking factors used in Google’s search algorithm (Backlinko).
To build, grow and maintain ranking potential for your website, you need to optimize your site to appeal to ranking factors that are more important to search engines. You also need to know how to appeal to the engagement factors that are more important to users.
For example, users are still sticking to the first page of search results. If you don’t appear there, you won’t drive much traffic to your site through organic search.
11. 75% of searchers never move on to the second page of search results (Hubspot).
Another interesting SEO stat refers to how people are always finding new things to search for.
12. 15% of Google searches have never been searched for (Search Engine Land).
Keeping up with trends and search habits will help you know what terms and tactics are most likely to attract search crawlers and users.
Related: 10 ways to improve Google keyword ranking
SEO and voice search
A recent search trend to follow is the growth of voice search and keyword length. At one time, most searches were for short, concise keyword phrases. But now, long-tail keywords are becoming more and more important.
13. 70% to 80% of online searches are for long-tail keywords that consist of three or more words (Search Engine Land).
Part of this trend is due to online search using more natural language.
The rise of voice-activated search devices like Sir, Amazon Echo and Google Home have driven this trend. More and more people are speaking their searches instead of typing them in.
14. It’s predicted that by 2020, 30% of web browsing will be done without a screen (Gartner).
15. The number of voice queries increased 3,400% between 2008 and 2017 (HubSpot).
16. By 2020, it’s forecast that 50% of all searchers will be voice searches (ComScore).
Related: Voice search and SEO — What’s the big deal?
Search and mobile
The shift toward voice search started when search trends moved from desktops to mobile devices. As smart devices because more available and readily used, mobile search became more popular than desktop searches.
17. Since 2015, users perform more searches on mobile devices than desktop computers (Search Engine Land).
People have their phones with them all of the time, and they frequently use them to search.
18. 87% of smartphone owners perform a search on it at least once a day (Search Engine Journal).
To get noticed, your website needs to be optimized to appeal to mobile searchers. It needs a mobile-friendly, responsive design as this is a ranking factor and something that users demand.
19. Nearly 8 in 10 consumers will stop engaging with digital content that doesn’t display well on their device (Adobe).
Your site also needs to be fast to appeal to mobile searchers.
20. 53% of mobile site visitors leave a page that takes longer than three seconds to load (Google).
21. As page load goes from 1 to 3 seconds, the probability of a bounce increases 32% (Google).
22. As page load goes from 1 to 6 seconds, the probability of a bounce increases 106% (Google).
Related: Site speed and the small business website
Local SEO
![Map on Tablet Illustrates Local SEO Stats]()
Search engines are sophisticated, and they optimize their results pages — especially their mobile search results pages — to display businesses that are located near the searcher. This is a good thing for local businesses because local online searches lead to visitors and purchases.
23. 97% of search engine users have searched for a local business (GO-Gulf).
24. 46% of all searches on Google were for local information (GO-Gulf).
When people do an online search for a local business, they are often ready to call, visit or buy something — especially if the search is on a mobile device.
25. 88% of searches for local businesses on a mobile device either call or visit the business within 24 hours (Nectafy via Hubspot).
26. 50% of consumers who conducted a local search on their smartphone visited a store within a day (Google).
27. 18% of local mobile searches lead to a sale within one day (Google).
28. Between 2015 and 2017, there was a 500% increase in the number of mobile searches that include the phrase “near me” and a variant of “can I buy” or “to buy” (Google).
With strong local SEO, you can effectively reach nearby searchers and drive more customers to your local business. Having good SEO leads to business opportunities in more ways than one.
Related: 7 mobile SEO practices to increase Google search ranking
SEO, conversions and ROI
As these SEO stats show, SEO is connected to strong sales funnels and often shows a high return on investment (ROI).
29. 57% of B2B marketers say SEO has the biggest impact on lead generation (NewsCred).
30. 71% marketers use broad keywords to capture leads at the top of the purchase funnel (Regalix).
31. 81% of B2B purchase cycles start with web search (Earnest Agency via Freely).
32. On average, organic search leads have a 14.6% close rate, compared to 1.7% for outbound marketing leads (NewsCred, via HubSpot).
The high ROI on search has led some brands to invest heavily in their SEO strategy.
33. 45% of enterprises are investing more than $20,000 on SEO each month (B2BMarketingZone).
You can generate sales through a search engine marketing, but to really succeed, you also need to know how to maximize your efforts by using SEO strategies in the right places and accurately measuring your results.
34. On smartphones, conversion rates are 15 times higher from search than social (Marin Software).
35. On average, conversion rates are 10 times higher from search than from social on desktops (Marin Software).
36. Only 44% of companies say they can measure paid search ROI effectively (Digital Marketing).
Related: What’s the difference between SEO and CRO?
SEO, content and backlinks
As you develop an SEO plan, you must acknowledge the role that content plays in search engine optimization.
37. 60% of companies report that their SEO and content strategy are integrated (Social Media Examiner).
38. 53% of marketers rank content creation as the single most effective SEO tactic (NewsCred).
Looking at SEO stats, you’ll see the use of content on a website is powerful because it forms relationships with audiences while impacting search engine results.
When your website has a large quantity of high-quality content, it will be more likely to rank.
39. Companies that blog have 434% more indexed pages than those which don’t (Search Engine Land).
Having a variety of high-quality, long-form pages that use on-site keyword optimization boosts SEO even more.
40. Improvements in content have been known to increase blog traffic by as much as 2,000% (Marketing Sherpa).
41. The average first-page result on Google contains 1,890 words (Backlinko).
42. Content with at least one image outperforms content with no graphics (Backlinko).
One of the best things about building SEO through content is that the value of your content strategy can grow over time.
43. 10% of blog posts are compounding, which means organic search increases their traffic over time (Hubspot).
44. Companies that published over 16 blog posts per month received almost 250% more traffic than companies that published up to four monthly posts (Hubspot).
Another upside of content is that websites that have a blog are more likely to acquire links back to their site.
45. Companies who blog receive 97% more links to their website (Hubspot).
Gaining links back to your site is an important part of SEO.
Content on a page tells search engines what the page is about. Links tell search engines how trustworthy and well-known the site is.
46. The average page in position No. 1 on Google has 35,000+ external backlinks (Backlinko).
Related: How to get backlinks to a small business website
Paid search
SEO can be divided into two categories: organic and paid. Organic SEO works to appeal to ranking factors so that a site shows up naturally in search. Paid SEO uses pay-per-click advertising to pay for search visibility.
Spending money on paid search isn’t a requirement for SEO, but it can be an effective way for giving your website and business a boost online.
Many marketers report that paid search has a high ROI and is a good investment.
47. 61% of CMOs say search engines are an effective marketing channel (AdWeek).
48. U.S. spending on paid search and organic optimization will top $45 billion by 2019 (MediaPost).
49. Businesses make $2 in revenue for every $1 they spend (Google).
Many marketers turn to paid search while they are building their organic SEO. Whereas organic SEO can take months to years to build (depending on your industry and competition), PPC ads can put your brand on the front page of Google in one day.
Plus, PPC ads can boost conversions — making it an online search strategy worth exploring even after building up strong organic rankings.
50. 50% of people arriving at a retailers site from paid ads are more likely to buy than those who came from an organic link (Unbounce).
Related: What’s the difference between Amazon advertising and paid ads on Google and Facebook?
Use SEO stats to inspire your online search strategy
As these SEO statistics show, online search is a powerful way for your business to connect with new audiences, grow your local customer base, fill your sales funnels, and boost your online presence.
So if you aren’t taking full advantage of online search to grow your business, what are you waiting for?
Need some help? Let the experts at GoDaddy SEO Services guide your SEO strategy and optimize your site so it gets the attention it deserves. Contact GoDaddy today to see how you can work less and rank higher.
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