The world of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is competitive. Unless you bring your A game, your website and online performance may not give rewards.
Want to dominate it?
Then, prepare to apply common SEO tactics, acknowledge surprising SEO facts, and outperform your competitors. Perform an intensive competitor analysis to know how you can shine brighter.
And another way to be at the top is to immerse yourself in the world of SEO. Learn the essential SEO statistics, facts, market trends, current events, and more.
This article will help you. It covers the latest SEO statistics that will help you rise to the #1 spot of Google.
General SEO statistics
1. 93% of online experiences start with search engines.
While every internet user may have ideas about where they want to go, they could use the direction of search engines. If they want to visit a specific website but are clueless as to that website’s name, they can rely on Google for help.
Source: SEO Tribunal
2. 49% of digital marketers report that organic search brings the highest (ROI) Return on Investment.
On its Twitter account, Search Engine Journal conducted a poll asking digital marketers what they think brings in the highest ROI, and organic search won — a landslide victory. Compared to paid search, email, and social media, digital marketing professionals believe embedding an SEO strategy in their marketing plan could help maximize their investment.
Source: Search Engine Journal
3. Google is the king of search engines and has an 83% search engine market share (as of July 2022).
Although it seems like everybody uses Google nowadays, the search engine market also welcomes other search engines. Bing (almost 9%) and Yahoo (2.55%) are top players, too. Google, though, is feature-rich and can return the most relevant results.
Source: Statista
4. 9% of Google searchers make it to the bottom of the first page of search results.
Google searchers click on the first result right away. If this page does not contain the information they need, they will move on to the second result, the third result, and so on. Fortunately, most searchers get satisfactory search answers before they could reach the bottom of the first page.
Source: Backlinko
5. 0.44% of Google searchers make it to page 2.
There are times when searchers reach the bottom of the first page because they did not find what they were after on page one. Then, they also reach the second page to look for answers. Luckily, the percentage of those people who need to do is small.
Source: Backlinko
6. 65% of search users get organic search results.
Nowadays, the first page of search results is heavy with paid ads. But, while there are users that see search results with ads, there are also users who get to click on one of the “10 blue links” or organic results.
Source: Backlinko
7. When ranking websites, Google uses up more than 200 ranking factors.
Google takes into account lots of factors when deciding what should be the top-ranking pages. You can categorize the Google rankings factors into domain factors, page-level factors, site-level factors, and more.
Source: Backlinko
8. Moving up in Google search results increases relative clicks by 32%.
If your website is in the fifth position and you uplevel to the fourth position, you can experience a 32.6% better (CTR) click-through rate. But, this change has to do with your existing position on the results page. If you’re in the second position and you uplevel to the first position, you can experience a 74.5% CTR change.
Source: Backlinko
9. Pages on the #1 spot on Google are almost 3 years old.
While the effectiveness of SEO is unquestionable, it requires time to work. The average pages on the first 10 results are two years old. And only 22% of these “top 10” pages are a year old.
Source: Ahrefs
10. 9 seconds is all it takes for 50% of Google users to click a search result.
Google users click on results right away. If they entered the correct search term, they are confident that the first search engine results they see contain the information they’re looking for. On average, it takes each person 14.6 seconds.
Source: Backlinko
11. The number of Google searches is more than 7 billion.
People use Google and other search engines daily — it’s no secret. People perform billions of searches every day. The number of blog posts and emails sent every day is also as overwhelming.
Source: Worldometers
Local SEO statistics
12. 46% of Google search queries are about finding local businesses or services.
Many searches want to learn more about a local business or service provider when cooking up a plan to be customers of these entities. In response, a business would streamline its local SEO strategy, conduct a comprehensive local SEO audit, and more.
Source: Search Engine Round Table
13. 92% of search users select businesses featured on the first page of search engines.
If searchers are intent on finding a local business, they want the best that Google and other search engines can recommend. Because they already know the products or services that they want, they will choose the #1 local business.
Source: SEO Tribunal
14. Yelp is one of the top results for more than 90% of Google searches that specify local identifiers — the name of the city and business category.
Yelp is the most popular local SEO directory. When people want local information, they prioritize the information Yelp gives. The other popular local directories are Home Advisor and Angie’s List.
Source: Fresh Chalk
15. 76% of local search queries resulted in a visit to a physical location within 24 hours.
Searchers with local intent perform due diligence before they decide to become customers of a local business or service provider. This is why SEO professionals encourage (SMBs) Small-Mid-Sized Business Owners to observe website management best practices. They also recommend it’s ideal to ensure the consistency of names, addresses, and phone numbers on their online listings.
Source: Cision PR Newswire
16. Local SEO queries for “where to buy” + [name of product] + “near me” grew by more than 200% within two years.
An example is “where to buy cake near me”. You can also see an even more impressive growth for other relevant mobile queries like “store open near me” and “on sale” + “near me” — 250% growth. This is the result because, over the years, the details that local SEO queries return are trustworthy.
Source: Think with Google
17. 42% of searchers use Google Maps.
If your business features informative details about location, search engine users are likely to click on it. Tips are to embed a Google into a core web page and use descriptive location terms After, you can count on them to visit your physical location.
Source: Backlinko
18. Only 3% of searchers interact with Google’s “People Also Ask” section.
But, of course, this statistic is subjective. Other searchers may also learn from it to phrase their next search term. It could also mean that they already got the information they needed from a summarized section of PPA.
Source: Backlinko
Mobile SEO statistics
19. 59% of shoppers say that being able to shop via mobile is important.
They want to know if they can get a good deal quickly, and as many as 87% of shoppers consider it an essential factor in their buying decision. If these shoppers think they are not getting a good (and reasonable) deal, they will look at products and services from competitors and compare them with yours.
Source: Think with Google
20. Mobile users are less likely to click on top results compared to desktop users.
Smartphone users have discovered that they want access to relevant information fast. While internet users like to shop on mobile, not many of them prioritize the top result. They may click on the results that look more appealing to them.
Source: SEO Clarity
21. Mobile shopping has a market share of 60%.
One of the primary reasons people shop on mobile is convenience. Sometimes, shoppers look at products during their 10-minute break at work, and others do it during the last moments of bedtime. Regardless, the typical reason they do it is to pass time.
Source: Datareportal
22. Only 17% of websites retained the same positions across mobile and desktop search results.
Some websites have better quality when viewed on desktop computers. Meanwhile, other websites are better and have unique features on mobile. A closer look at the subject will tell you that 37% of URLs when searches were from smartphone users.
Source: Semrush
23. 8% of pages belong to m-dot domains.
M-dot domains are sites designed for mobile. They exist on separate subdomains. If search engine users can completely access a page, it indicates that this page is mobile-friendly.
Source: Semrush
24. Mobiles searches resulted in a 3% higher bounce rate.
This rate went on from 2018 up until 2020. It indicates that a small percentage of mobile searches lead to Google's search algorithm bringing them irrelevant content pieces.
Source: Semrush
25. The organic CTR on mobile is 50% lesser than the CTR on desktop.
Increasing CTRs on mobile is challenging. On mobile, Google designs the platform to be an “answer engine” and not a typical search engine with a list containing relevant search results.
Source: SparkToro
26. Mobile results earn 85.8% impressions.
Increasing CTRs and getting clicks on mobile may be challenging. But, matters are different with impressions. Getting impressions is easier on mobile than on desktop.
Source: SEO Clarity
Voice Search SEO statistics
Image source: Pixabay
27. 48% of searchers were already voice search users in 2019.
There’s no truth to the rumor about voice search making up for 50% of all search traffic in 2020. But, while many people find the voice search feature helpful, it still has a way to go before making up half of all searches.
Source: Search Engine Land
28. 65% use voice search to ask for directions while driving.
People primarily use voice search to search for a quick fact and navigate the streets. Not only is it more convenient, but it also increases their safety. This is the reason they also use voice search to call, text, and play music.
Source: Search Engine Land
29. 58% use voice search to find local business information.
People also conduct voice searches to look for local business information. For them, it’s convenient that way. All they need to do is speak to their devices, and their devices will dig for the information they want.
Source: Search Engine Land
30. 70.4% of Google Home voice search answers are HTTPS.
Because websites with HTTPS are more secure, voice search users prefer them over HTTP. There may be no difference between the two (concerning content). But, with web security being a priority for most Google Home users, their choice is not surprising.
Source: Backlinko
31. Mobile voice search results are 3x more likely to be for a local product.
When voice search users tap into their mobile devices for help, they want voice search answers that have to do with a local product. They want to know more about it. Specifically, they want their voice assistants to read the product details to them.
Source: Search Engine Watch
32. In 2020, 87.7 million adults use smart speakers and other voice search assistants.
An increasing number of people use voice search assistants. In 2018, there were 47.3 million users and in 2019, this number grew to 66.4 million. In 2020, the adoption exceeded 1 third of the entire consumer population — a 34.4% adoption rate.
Source: Voicebot
Keywords
33. “Coronavirus” was the #1 keyword in 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic also affected the search engine world. In addition to “coronavirus” being the most popular keyword, there were many COVID-related searches worldwide. Other trending search engine terms also include “Election results” and “Kobe Bryant”.
Source: Google Trends
34. 14.1% of Google searches were question keywords.
The most common question keyword is “how”. And searches that begin with “how” became article titles. Following this question keyword are other question keywords: “what”, “who”, and “where”.
Source: Backlinko
35. 500 keywords accounted for 8.4% of the search volume.
High-volume search engine keywords make up a percentage of search demand. And the top 2,000 search engine keywords are responsible for 12.2% of Google searches.
Source: Backlinko
36. The average keyword goes through 989 searches every month.
People want to trigger a search engine result using the same keywords. This is despite the median search volume average of 10 searches every month.
Source: Backlinko
37. 91.8% of search engine queries use long-tail keywords.
It shows that long-tail keywords are prevalent in Google. But, if you take into account the total search volume, long-tails only constitute a small percentage. For a concrete detail, long-tail keywords only make up 3.3% of the total search volume.
Source: Backlinko
38. The most popular keywords fall under the Internet & Telecom category.
Other popular categories include Retailers, Arts & Entertainment, and News. Meanwhile, keywords related to Vehicles, Real Estate, and Occasions & Gifts get fewer searches.
Source: Backlinko
39. The average keyword length is 8.5 characters and 1.9 words.
Extremely long keywords get used less. When people use search engines, they want access to a search result fast. The fewer relevant character and words it takes, the better.
Source: Backlinko
40. Short keywords get 10x more searches.
Short keywords or those between 1-3 words get more searches because they are easier to enter on a search engine. This is in comparison to long keywords that contain 5+ words.
Source: Backlinko
41. The most common search topics were translation-related.
Translation-related topics accounted for 13% of worldwide Google searches. Next are topics about social networks, shopping, and entertainment.
Source: Statista
42. 23% of search users use autocomplete.
People searching for local information and general details appreciate one or two auto suggestions more than those people with commercial intent.
Source: Backlinko
43. The most expensive keyword (Google Ads) is “business services”.
The keyword “business services” has an average (CPC) cost per click of $58.64. The next three keywords on the list are “bail bonds” ($58.48), “casino” ($55.48), and "lawyer" ($54.86).
Source: Marwick Marketing
44. Only 15% of search users modify their search terms.
Google searchers choose keywords with caution on their first attempt to run a search. It implies that they already know the keyword to use. It also implies Google serves relevant search results using their search terms as the basis.
Source: Backlinko
45. More than 15% of marketers measure the success of their SEO strategy through keyword rankings.
If marketers rank high on a search engine for a specific keyword, they consider their SEO efforts successful. The other ways they measure success are through organic traffic, time spent on a page, and bounce rates.
Source: Not Another State of Marketing Report
Content
Image source: Pixabay
46. 97% of page one results in search engines contain at least one image.
More search engine users prefer to consume visually appealing content. They like content with lots of charts, Google images, and other enticing visual aids. This SEO statistic implies that the more image that a piece of content features, the more clickable and enjoyable it is.
Source: SEO Tribunal
47. The average content on the first page of search results contains 1,447 words.
The top 10 search results have different word counts. Some pieces of the content contain more than 3,000 words, and others have fewer words and more concise information.
Source: Backlinko
48. More than 90% of content gets no traffic from Google.
A sea of content pieces is out in circulation. But, Google did not index most of them or 847,833,932 web pages. As a result, most people have no idea of the existence of these content pieces.
Source: Ahrefs
49. 83% of Google searchers don’t bounce to the search results page after clicking on a result.
Because Google gives them accurate search results, most users are happy with the website (and its content) they got. There may be 17% who are unhappy with the search result they clicked. But, they are likely to find what they are searching for when they’re back on the search results page.
Source: Backlinko
50. TikToks, Instagram Reels, and other short-form video content are the most effective social media content.
Video is one of the most promising types of content. And digital marketing professionals notice the use of a video SEO strategy to create short-form (and less time-consuming) video content. After all, it’s the way to the hearts of social media users.
Source: State of Inbound Marketing Trends - HubSpot
51. 70% of marketers actively invest in content marketing.
Digital marketers believe in the power of content. For them, content is king. And when asked how important content is in their digital marketing strategy, 60% of them said “very important” and “extremely important”.
Source: Not Another State of Marketing Report
52. 95% of people aged 18 and 29 watch video content daily.
People of all ages appreciate video content. 91% of those in the 30-349 age bracket also watch video content daily. You can say the same about the 49% of the 65-year-olds (at least) who consume video content.
Source: Omnicore Agency
Backlinks
53. 66.3% of pages in the Google search results have zero backlinks.
While link building is important, not a lot of existing pages contain backlinks. 26.29% of pages may have backlinks. But, these are backlinks from three websites or fewer.
Source: Ahrefs
54. 35% of marketers will spend $1,000 every month for link building.
Because they may be among those webmasters with web pages that have zero backlinks, they want to step up. They know how important backlinks are, and they want to allocate a part of their budget to them.
Source: SEO Tribunal
55. Backlinks that use exact match anchor text are as effective as non-exact match anchor text at improving content rankings.
A study involving 384,614 pages supports the statement that links are crucial in SEO. And marketers are free to use exact match and non-exact match anchor texts. Both are effective if the content they link back to is of quality.
Source: Ahrefs
56. 67.5% of SEO professionals believe that backlinks have a big impact on search engine rankings.
85% also say that link building has a significant impact on brand authority. It follows that the public perceives brands with lots of quality backlinks to be more authoritative. But, 56.2% believe that this impact has more to do with link quality than link quality.
Source: State of Link Building - uSERP
57. The #1 Google result from organic search queries has an average of 3.8x more backlinks.
While link quality is essential, link quantity also plays a role in rankings. Pages with more backlinks reel in more organic traffic and rank higher than pages with zero backlinks.
Source: Backlinko
58. A website with an above-average “time on site” may rank higher on Google.
Increasing website speed matters. The slower your website is, the more likely Google will give you a lower rank. Specifically, increasing it by 3 seconds correlates to a higher ranking.
Source: Backlinko
SEO Services
59. Google Analytics is the #1 most used SEO tool.
Nearly 30% of marketers use Google Analytics to assess the response to their websites. The other most used SEO tools are Google Search Console, Keyword Planner, and MozBar.
Source: Not Another State of Marketing Report
60. 53% of marketing professionals are actively ranking for Google Featured Snippets.
Google Featured Snippets are boxes containing a reversed format of a search engine result. But, while marketers are ranking for featured snippets, Google gets the last say. The automated systems of the search engine determine if a web page makes a good featured snippet.
Source: Not Another State of Marketing Report
61. 80% of search users dislike paid ads.
Search users who see irrelevant paid ads ignore these advertising attempts. But, they agree that paid ads are effective in reaching a target audience.
Source: SEO Tribunal
62. 65% of SEO marketers say link building is the most difficult SEO tactic.
Marketing professionals agree that link building is important. But, a big percentage of them find it challenging.
Source: SEO Tribunal
63. SEO can lower customer acquisition costs by 87.41%.
Customers are vital to businesses. And regardless of business models, acquiring customers can be expensive. With SEO, though, businesses can significantly reduce customer acquisition costs.
Source: Terakeet
64. 74% of marketers invest in service providers of social media marketing.
They put money into finetuning their social media marketing strategy because they believe in the effectiveness of social media. And when asked about the social media platforms they invest in most, Facebook emerged as the top answer. Trailing close were Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
Source: Not Another State of Marketing Report
65. Social listening is the #1 social media marketing tactic.
More than 20% of marketers use social listening as their preferred social media marketing tactic. They take time to hear the positive and negative comments of the public about them. And to supplement their efforts, they also turn to direct messaging, live video marketing, and augmented reality.
Source: Not Another State of Marketing Report
66. 77.1% of titles for SEO jobs include non-technical descriptions.
It included non-technical descriptions like “marketing”, “strategist”, and “manager”. And only 22.9% included “technical”, “analytics”, and other technical terms. The objective of this is to emphasize that most SEO positions involve non-technical skills.
Source: Backlinko
67. Tools for Google search and advertising helped create more than $610 billion of economic activity within one year.
Google Play, Google Search, and YouTube are three of the many tools that fuel economic growth. And in 2021, Google helped in driving more than 2.4 billion direct connections.
Source: Google Economic Impact
Frequently Asked Questions about Search Engine Optimization
Is SEO still relevant in 2022?
Yes, SEO is still relevant in 2022. But, some SEO tactics that worked years ago may not be effective anymore. It is ideal to refer to current SEO statistics and always update SEO to match the latest events.
How SEO will change in 2022?
The whole industry of Search Engine Optimization will be more competitive in 2022. Its focus is on upping the standards of quality content. Consequently, any piece of content with subpar quality will be less effective.
Will SEO exist in 5 years?
Yes, SEO will still exist in five years. Based on its history, Search Engine Optimization is an ever-evolving industry. Besides, with next-level technological advancements, the world of SEO will keep getting better and better.
Why is SEO important?
SEO is crucial in many ways because it makes your website visible. It also enhances your online presence and amplifies the positive effects of a well-established online presence. With its benefits, you can elevate your business and brand.
How effective is SEO?
SEO is highly effective. Not only does it make your brand more visible, but it also targets people who are already looking at relevant products and services. With honest and consistent SEO efforts, you can be more visible and reach the #1 search engine spot in time.
Why are SEO statistics important?
SEO statistics are important because they allow you to know about current market events. They also give you a head’s up of your current search engine ranking. If these SEO statistics indicate that you have outdated SEO practices, you may want to take measures for improvements.
Is SEO worth it for ecommerce?
Yes, SEO will significantly help search queries about your products and services and increase your sales. Many marketers outsource ecommerce SEO services to experts because it requires a lot of hard work. Regardless, it drives organic traffic to your store and improves its long-term discoverability.
Is SEO effective for B2B?
Yes, SEO is an essential customer acquisition channel for Business-to-Business (B2B) marketers. It builds and solidifies organic growth in every stage of the buying journey.
Is 65 a good Search Engine Optimization score?
Yes, getting an SEO score of 65 means your SEO efforts are decent. It also means you have a good chance of landing on the first page of Google search results. But, striving for a higher score is best.
What to Do with These Search Engine Optimization Statistics
Despite its competitive nature, the SEO industry is rewarding. If you stay in line with these SEO statistics, you can have a head start. From then, apply the latest SEO tactics, and you can reap the rewards later.
If not, you and your business may fall behind each year. Without applying the latest SEO tactics, you can lose your relevance. It also may not be long until you become outdated.
Just be sure to measure the success of your SEO tactics. Like the SEO statistics reveal, you can follow what many marketers do. Like them, you can also gauge the success of your strategy using keyword rankings.
You can do the test yourself — an A/B split test process. You can also hire a freelancer to test it on your behalf.
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