If you rely on Google traffic to attract new customers to your business, you have most likely experienced the positive and negative consequences of SEO’s ever-changing nature.
As algorithms evolve, certain SEO strategies become more powerful than others. This means that businesses must be aware of what works in SEO and what does not in order to avoid Google penalties.
But, what are some of the most important SEO statistics you should be aware of? To make it easier to understand what’s going on, we’ve not only compiled various SEO statistics but also divided them into the various types of SEO.
By the end, you should not only have a better understanding of many of SEO’s main principles, but also be able to apply them to your own online strategy. Finally, it should result in a higher ranking for your website in search engine results pages. But keep in mind that SEO is ever-changing, so don’t rest on your laurels.
That being said, allow us to lead you through our statistics and facts about the world of SEO.
- “Growing SEO” has been identified as the top priority for 61 percent of businesses in 2021.
Other key findings of this research include the fact that generating website traffic has been identified as the most difficult marketing challenge, and paid advertising has been identified as the “most over-rated” marketing tactic.
2. Do you know what the SEO industry is worth? $80 billion is an estimate.
Search engine optimization cost $65.26 billion in 2016. This figure increased to $72.02 billion in 2018 and is expected to increase to $79.27 billion by 2020. Only one-third of this is spent by larger corporations, with the remainder spent by startups and small local businesses.
3. SEO has a 14.6 percent conversion rate, which is significantly higher than the 1.7 percent conversion rate for traditional outbound methods.
Other methods simply cannot compete with the conversion rate that results from good SEO practices. This conversion rate, however, can occur only when the proper strategy is used.
4. 75% of SEO is done off-page, while only 25% is done on-page.
Most people believe that what’s on your website is the most important factor in SEO. Instead, SEO statistics show that backlinks, social signals, social media, directories, and a variety of other “off-page” practices will be far more valuable than you ever imagined.
5. According to 72 percent of marketers, relevancy is the most important factor in improving SEO.
The concept of relevancy is more important than you may realize—it also plays a role in Google’s algorithm. They actively promote websites that are thought to be the most relevant for keywords, so incorporating that into your SEO strategy appears to be a simple idea.
6. Search engines account for 93% of all website traffic.
If you’ve been wondering, “Is SEO important in 2019?” here’s your answer. The fact that so many people use search engines to find your website demonstrates the importance of ranking high on those results pages and being as relevant as possible.
7. According to search engine usage statistics, by 2020, at least half of all searches will be voice and image-based.
With voice search, the importance of selecting the right search terms and keywords for your SEO campaign will increase even more. Including image alt tags with the correct keywords for each image on your website will also help elevate your position on the results pages.
8. Half of all search queries are four words or longer.
According to the most recent keyword statistics, people are more likely to search by asking a question or making a statement rather than using individual keywords. This method employs what are known as long-tail keywords, and failing to include them in your SEO strategy means you are missing out on half of all searches.
9. Have you ever wondered what percentage of web traffic comes from search engines? Organic search accounted for more than 51% of content consumption in 2018.
Organic search is when people use terms or words to find what they’re looking for. SEO is intended to make your website more visible to people searching for those terms. This statistic alone demonstrates the significance of SEO and what you may be missing out on if you do not implement the proper strategy.
10. According to 2018 organic SEO statistics, video content is 50 times more likely than plain text to drive them.
It has long been accepted that visual content elicits a stronger response than written content alone. It catches the eye more quickly than plain text, and people can quickly determine whether or not video content is relevant to them. It is therefore critical to ensure that video content is properly optimized from an SEO standpoint.
11. Republishing old blog posts with new content and images can boost organic traffic by up to 111.37 percent.
Blogging SEO has already proven to be a successful strategy. Furthermore, this approach has the added benefit of leveraging previous links and SEO work done on the old blog post while also utilizing newer methods to push the content higher. Because of the importance of visual content in attracting people, including images should draw even more attention.
12. Marketers who use a combination of organic SEO techniques and PPC ads generate 25% more clicks and 27% more profits than those who only use one technique.
SEO facts and figures show that relying on a single approach will not suffice. Combining these techniques with PPC ads, on the other hand, will almost certainly increase interaction because the ads will be shown to those who will find it the most useful or helpful.
13. However, organic SEO outperforms paid search ads by about 5.66 times.
Have you ever thought about how effective SEO is? You now have the solution. Individuals conducting searches regard organic SEO as more trustworthy than paid advertisements. There is a perception that companies can buy their way into a position without providing the best option for a consumer, which causes people to pay more attention to organic results rather than paid ads.
14. Seventy percent of the links clicked on after a search are organic.
Companies that emphasize paid advertising as the way to go are leading marketers astray. While they have a place in online marketing, the majority of a marketing budget should be spent on improving organic results through effective SEO practices.
15. Have you ever wondered how many searches begin with Google? The tech behemoth receives 96% of all smartphone search traffic and 94% of total organic traffic.
This demonstrates why SEO practices and techniques should be centered on Google’s algorithm. Because of Google’s market dominance, your budget should be spent here, even though it also has the most competition. Furthermore, with Google emphasizing the importance of websites being mobile-ready, and with 96 percent of smartphone traffic passing through their website, ignoring this will be disastrous for your campaigns.
Mobile SEO Statistics
Since 2009, mobile web browsing has steadily increased, eventually surpassing desktop in late 2015. According to the most recent studies, the importance of mobile devices in search has grown in the last year. These statistics will help you understand why you need a mobile-friendly web presence.
