If you own a business in the 21st century and you don\u2019t have an online presence, you\u2019re doomed to fail. This might sound harsh, but it\u2019s reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you want to increase your number of leads, get more customers, promote your work, or sell any type of service, you need to show up in online search results, preferably at the top. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
To help you tackle this task, we\u2019ve compiled a list of the most relevant SEO statistics for growing businesses. Keep reading to get the inside scoop on what works and what doesn\u2019t in the ever-changing game of search engine optimization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(BrightEdge)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Want to buy a new phone? You search its specs online. Hungry? You search for restaurants near you. Going on vacation? Chances are you\u2019ll book your next trip online rather than going to a travel agent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We have become highly reliant on the internet to meet almost all our daily needs for information. So it comes as no surprise that practically all online activity begins with a good old search engine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Pew Research)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Pew Research\u2019s SEO data, surfing the web after doing a browser search and checking emails are the two most common activities for internet users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Internet Live Stats)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On average, people all over the world conduct 13 billion searches per day. According to Google search statistics provided by Internet Live Stats, this amounts to 4.75 trillion searches per year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Statista)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
OK, so 68% of all internet activity begins with a search engine. But how many people actually use search engines in the US? While the newest statistics are not currently available, Statista informs us that this number was projected to reach 239.1 million in 2020, a substantial increase from 213.6 million back in 2015 when the data was first collected. According to these search engine statistics, nearly every adult in America uses internet browsers nowadays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Business Insider)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even though social media is wildly popular, search engines like Google, Yahoo!, and Bing are responsible for driving 10% more traffic to sites than social networks. As social media and SEO statistics show, creating engaging content that will rank well has the power to bring in a lot more business than social media posts. Don\u2019t get us wrong, though – you shouldn\u2019t forsake social media marketing for website content or vice versa. The best game plan is to have a balance between the two, posting regularly on both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Statista)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bearing in mind the previous search engine facts, it makes perfect sense that the industry is worth billions in the US alone. In 2010, American marketers spent $22.1 billion on professional SEO services to optimize their websites so their companies would rank on the first page of Google. The importance of ranking among the top results has since only increased, as has total spending on SEO. In fact, total internet advertising spending is projected to reach $129.59 billion in 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(The Daily Egg)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SEO statistics point to the amazing conversion power of search engine marketing. As many as 14.6% of website visitors who discover websites thanks to successful search engine optimization end up becoming customers. This is huge compared to the 1.7% conversion rate of traditional outbound strategies like emails and print advertising. In other words, the leads you get from SEO are eight times more likely to become paying customers than the ones you generate through traditional ad campaigns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(HubSpot)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Inbound marketing is all about creating meaningful connections with your clients. And what better way to do just that than delivering the content your clients want to see? HubSpot\u2019s SEO stats show most marketers are on the same page when it comes to ranking SEO on their list of inbound marketing priorities. As a matter of fact, six in 10 marketers consider it priority number one, with only 5% of them viewing SEO as an overrated marketing tactic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Ahrefs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Internet search statistics highlight the fact that people tend to search for longer terms, including three or more words in nearly a third of searches for keywords with a volume of 10,000 or more. This revealing bit of data goes against conventional wisdom that short keywords are king.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Search Engine Journal)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just as people like entering long search terms into their browsers, they also enjoy getting lengthy, comprehensive answers to their queries. SEO website statistics published by Search Engine Journal after thoroughly analyzing 1 million Google search results indicate that longer content delivers better results. Posts about 2,000-words-long tend to rank higher than their shorter counterparts on the same subject.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Uberall)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When asked how likely they were to click on the first two to three search results after conducting a \u201cnear me\u201d search, 60% of respondents said they were \u201cvery likely\u201d to do so, and another 33% said they were \u201clikely\u201d to click on the top results. These mobile SEO statistics also reveal that only 5% responded they \u201cweren\u2019t sure what they would click,\u201d and 2% said they \u201cwouldn\u2019t click on the top results.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Moz)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to search engine traffic statistics, only a fifth of all Google searches result in more than a single click. This stat only emphasizes the importance of ranking highly on Google, since most people clicks only on the top results and nothing else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Search Engine Land)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When looking to bring people to your website, regardless of whether you\u2019re in the B2B or B2C niche, nothing beats organic traffic. Judging by SEL\u2019s search engine traffic stats, it\u2019s by far the most successful method as it generates more than half of all website traffic on its own. Paid searches are responsible for a lean 10% of website traffic, social networks attract only 5% of visitors, and the remaining 34% come from all other sources combined (including emails, displays, and referrals). To improve your website traffic rankings, you need to work on methods that bring in organic visits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Search Engine Land)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While content is king, responsible for the better part of website traffic and lead conversion, paid advertisements deter most users. According to SEO vs. PPC statistics, a Google result that shows at the top of the search results page marked with a tiny \u201cAd\u201d sign will be overlooked by up to 80% of people hunting for information. Hence, a good SEO strategy greatly outperforms pay-per-click marketing campaigns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Moz)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Google is the preferred search engine in the world for a reason. It requires just under a minute from when you enter your query to when you get the result you\u2019re after.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Forbes)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Search engine stats published by SMA Marketing confirm what most of us know from first-hand experience: The majority of people never check the second page of Google results. Three quarters of internet users focus on the results listed on the first page, mostly at the top of it. Only a quarter of searchers peek around the corner to see what\u2019s on the second page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Moz)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Google keywords stats tell us that even though many people are used to looking up terms by entering keywords only, some 8% still enter full questions into the search bar. There\u2019s nothing wrong with this method of browsing, and you should actually keep it in mind when forming your SEO plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Forbes)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Considering its number of users, daily searches, and the time people spend on the website, it\u2019s no surprise that SEO industry statistics indicate that YouTube is the world\u2019s second-largest search engine. This video giant is owned by the same company as Google – Alphabet Inc. – so it\u2019s safe to say these two platforms dominate the top spots, leaving their competition far behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When talking about SEO, most people think of Google. After all, it\u2019s the world\u2019s most used search engine, responsible for driving the most traffic to websites. It holds the dominant portion of the search engine market and delivers search results in a matter of seconds. That\u2019s why, for most marketers, achieving good SEO results means achieving not just a high search engine ranking but a high ranking on Google.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Statista)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Google has practically wiped out all of its competitors, grabbing a giant portion of the search engine market share – 86.6% of it, to be precise. Leaving YouTube out for the fact that it\u2019s a video-streaming platform, Bing is a distant second, holding only 6.7% of the global market. Statistics on search engines also show that Baidu, the largest Chinese search engine, takes third place with its 0.54% share, while Yahoo! holds 2.71%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Internet Live Stats)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Google now processes almost 92,000 search queries every second on average. This means over 13 billion Google searches per day and 4.75 trillion searches per year are conducted worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(StatCounter)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When it comes to getting info on the go, internet users the world over rely on Google. According to StatCounter\u2019s statistics for search engine usage, as much as 96% of mobile search traffic comes from this search engine alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Wired)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During a five-minute glitch that occurred in 2013, internet traffic dropped by 40%, according to Google stats published by Wired. This paints a vivid picture of just how much internet users depend on the world\u2019s largest search engine to lead them to other websites. Nobody needs to bother remembering the exact URL of the websites they visit when Google serves as the perfect intermediary in the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Search Engine Land)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most people doing business in the 21st century are aware of the importance of SEO. Rank well on Google, and you\u2019ll have more website traffic, which will, in turn, generate more leads who will later become customers. Simple enough, right? But how can you accomplish this goal with Google constantly changing its algorithm for ranking search results? That\u2019s the key question. Luckily, SEO facts and figures show that only a few of the hundreds of yearly algorithm adjustments are considered major game-changers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Internet Live Stats)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Keyword search statistics reveal that up to a fifth of Google searches performed on a daily basis are composed of entirely new keywords or questions. Talk about human ingenuity. And Google\u2019s resourcefulness, for that matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Search Engine Land)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The search engine giant goes out of its way to provide the most relevant information in its top results. And it seems to be on the right path, given that the first-page-of-Google statistics tell us that 65% of all Google searches in 2020 ended without any clicks. Typing \u201cMiami weather\u201d or \u201cshoe stores near me\u201d tends to give users all the information they need. This came after a fall in zero-click searches in 2019, with their resurgence possibly being a result of COVID prompting people to make more search queries in general.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Moz)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What percentage of clicks on Google search results go to images? Statistics about SEO published by Moz after extensive research have revealed that just 3% of clicks on Google search results are for images.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Internet Live Stats)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the first years following the launch of Google, the company\u2019s growth rate was extraordinary with a 17,000% year-to-year increase in search volume between 1998 and 1999, 1,000% between 1999 and 2000, and 200% between 2000 and 2001. Google searches continued to increase at rates of between 40% and 60% by the end of the first decade of the 21st century. After 2010 it started to slow down, stabilizing at a rate of 10-15% rate in recent years, according to Google search numbers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Moz)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even though Google\u2019s growth has been steady in the last few years and despite the fact it receives nearly 92,000 searches per second, it still has a lot of room to expand. According to Moz, only 15% of active American web users perform daily searches on this browser, 45% perform at least one query in a week, and 68% make one or more queries monthly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Blue Corona)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Multiple studies have shown a slight correlation between Hypertext Transport Protocol Security and SEO. Search engine optimization stats tell us that websites that use HTTPS are more secure and they load faster. HTTPS has been a signal in Google\u2019s ranking algorithm since 2014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
AI has been around for years and is more readily used than we might realize. Indeed, this technology has the power to transform nearly all aspects of our lives. Is the way we search the web one of them? Absolutely. Search engine optimization facts show the change is well underway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(HubSpot)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Search engine optimization statistics point to the growing popularity of voice search. From Google Home and OK Google to Siri, Cortana, and Amazon Alexa, voice search technology is undergoing a period of enormous proliferation as people get used to talking to AI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(eMarketer)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People are feeling more and more comfortable with this type of tech. A recently published eMarketer report on voice search statistics predicts that just over 40% of the US population will be relying on voice search by 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(OC&C Strategy Consultants)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is quite an increase from December 2017, when some 13% of homes in the US and 10% in the UK owned one of these devices. In just a five-year period, smart speakers are expected to be a part of 55% of households, which will significantly affect SEO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Statista)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Google keywords in search statistics are bound to change as more mobile phone users get accustomed to voice search. Instead of short keywords that are easy to type, the proliferation of voice search will bring full questions back to search engines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Think with Google)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The latest available website search statistics from Google inform us that one fifth of all Google mobile app searches were done by voice in 2016. Remember, these figures reflect the state of affairs from five years ago; we can only assume this number has gone considerably up since then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When entering Google search words, most users want to see local results. Google has taken note of this and is delivering search results based on users\u2019 locations. Business owners need to be aware of this when creating their SEO strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(GO-Globe)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nearly half of all Google searches are looking for local information. People often want to know the working hours of a local establishment, the availability of certain goods in local stores, or the weather for the area. This is so often the case that local searches now make up 46% of all Google queries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(HubSpot)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Search engine optimization stats remind us how important it is to make your website mobile-friendly. People are highly dependent on their mobile devices these days. Failing to optimize your website to provide for a smooth browsing experience across devices can cost you. As many as six in 10 internet users say they would be more inclined to get in touch with a local business if it had a mobile-optimized site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Think with Google)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Focusing your SEO efforts on ranking high in Google local searches is a smart move. Why? Because most people who seek local information end up going to brick-and-mortar businesses within a five-mile radius. Even better, local SEO search statistics indicate that 28% of those searches actually result in a purchase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(GO-Globe)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People want to get useful information quickly when conducting local searches. Finding a place or learning when it closes is the intent behind half of all local queries. So, if you want to increase foot traffic to your business, be sure to make this info available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(GO-Globe)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
GO-Globe\u2019s local search statistics suggest that, even though the internet has become the first place where people look for information, they still love getting in touch via phone. Some 76% of local searches lead to a phone conversation with a local business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Think with Google)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Local SEO can make or break a small business. Local search stats tell us that if you fail to optimize your website to provide searchers with relevant information about your establishment, they will simply go to a business that made their working hours and location easy to find.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Think with Google)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What\u2019s the point of having a wonderful little restaurant if no one can find it? Or offering great yoga classes that only a handful of yogis know how to get to? Internet users need to be able to find your business online if you want it to flourish. Keyword statistics tell us that you need to provide your address and a map for the best results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(GO-Globe)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Local SEO stats point to the amazing popularity of Google Maps. Almost nine in 10 consumers look for local businesses and directions to them using this app. Conclusion? Get your business on Google Maps, ASAP!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Search Engine Watch)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s face it – no one likes being bombarded by ads while browsing. But even worse than that is seeing ads for items that are not even available in your area. This is why approximately 70% of internet users, regardless of the device they\u2019re on, say they want to see ads customized to their location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Search Engine Watch)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Better yet, people want to see ads that show them products in their close vicinity. According to SEO statistics, 70% of internet users surfing the net from a computer or tablet say they would like to be shown ads for products close by. The percentage is somewhat lower among smartphone users: 61%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(jeffbullas.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Local SEO experts take advantage of this fact. Organic shares from consumers who are so delighted by a service or an establishment that they want to share their location are incredibly powerful in boosting traffic. But this is unlikely to happen without prior investment in search engine optimization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We do everything on the go; it\u2019s just a fact of modern life. Average website traffic statistics confirm this – more than half of all internet traffic now comes from mobile devices. If you want your website to show up in the top results, mobile optimization is a must.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Search Engine Land)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Until 2015, internet users accessed the web from their PCs. But as smartphones got more sophisticated and free WiFi became more available, the number of mobile searches exceeded the number of desktop searches. When the shift happened, Google changed its algorithm. The so-called \u2018Mobilegeddon\u2019 prioritizes websites that display well on smartphones and other mobile devices, forcing businesses to adapt or perish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Search Engine Land)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mobile search statistics published by SMA Marketing tell a tale of how frequently internet users whip out their phones to run a quick search. Just 13% of mobile phone owners don\u2019t run daily searches on their mobile devices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Uberall)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Convenience is key to modern consumers, no doubt about it. Amid an endless offer of products and services, they\u2019ll always choose the best option that\u2019s close by. According to Uberall\u2019s statistics on SEO keyword analysis, users most commonly look for food in such searches (84%), followed by entertainment options (56%) and banking (50%). Apparel (41%) and personal care products (38%) get a fair share of local searches, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Statista)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In accordance with shoppers\u2019 preferences, location-targeted advertising presents consumers with ads that are relevant to their current location. Spending on this form of mobile advertising is set to increase to $32.7 billion by 2023 in the US.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Search Engine Watch)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No wonder such big bucks are expected to be spent on location-targeted advertisements by 2023. They are effective, according to local search stats. Nearly a fifth of consumers report having made a spontaneous purchase because they saw a timely ad for a locally available product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Think with Google)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No matter how addicted we are to our smartphones, we still enjoy exploring the internet from other devices. Bearing this in mind, SEO sales statistics such as this clearly show that experts in the SEO business need to take the necessary steps to enhance the browsing experience across all devices with the aim of delivering effective search engine optimization to their clients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Think with Google)<\/p>\n\n\n\n