Search Engine Marketing Statistics - [Traffic Booster]

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Search Engine Marketing Statistics:

This blog post is all about search engine marketing statistics that have been collectively shared here. It also includes related SEO facts, quotes, and expert opinions that I think are quite important.

In fact, I have personally come across these while reading email newsletters, case studies, market research papers, blogs, industry publications, and reports. When I feel they are relevant, I also utilize them in my blog posts.

Search Engine Marketing Statistics:

By the way, this post may be saved, shared, or bookmarked as it goes through timely revisions or updates depending on fresh information.

“Of all the tactics for driving traffic on the web, search engine optimization (SEO) is perhaps the most powerful, given that 53% of a website’s traffic can typically be attributed to organic search, according to a BrightEdge study” – Search Engine Land

“The average click-through rate in Google Ads in 2023 is 6.11%” – WordStream

“80% of brands use some form of paid advertisement. Google Ads are perfect if you know that your target audience is searching the web for your product or solution. If they aren’t, you might consider social media ads instead” – HubSpot

“Organic traffic (42% votes), followed by conversions (37% votes) and rankings (14% votes) are the top 3 metrics that are most effective in measuring SEO performance” – The State of Technical SEO Report 2023 from Aira & Women in Tech SEO

“Quarterly goals might be appropriate for paid advertising, but 6-12 months is a more realistic timeline for SEO” – Search Engine Land

“According to research from Moz, 99.2% of the top 50 search results had at least one external link pointing to the website, highlighting off-page optimization's critical role in achieving higher search engine rankings and driving organic traffic” - Ross Simmonds Newsletter

“Over 90% of the pages Ahrefs tracks receive no organic search traffic, emphasizing the importance of proper optimization to increase the likelihood of search engines indexing and ranking your pages, to drive more organic traffic to your website” - Ross Simmonds Newsletter

“The average cost per click in Google Ads in 2023 is $4.22” – WordStream

“According to Google, 53% of mobile users abandon a site if it takes longer than 3 seconds to load. Ensuring your website loads quickly and is optimized for mobile devices can significantly boost user engagement, reduce bounce rates, and improve search engine performance” - Ross Simmonds Newsletter

“According to Google, a one-second delay in page load time can result in a 20% decrease in conversions” - Ross Simmonds Newsletter

“The average conversion rate in Google Ads in 2023 is 7.04%” – WordStream

“SEO is essential to digital marketing because it enables businesses to reach their target audience effectively. According to BrightEdge, organic search accounts for 53% of all website traffic, highlighting the importance of optimizing your online presence” - Ross Simmonds Newsletter

Search Advertising Benchmarks 2023 [Google Ads and Microsoft Ads]:

Image Source - WordStream

“A staggering 93% of all web traffic originates from search engines, making it crucial for businesses to optimize their online presence to stay ahead of the competition” – Ross Simmonds Newsletter

“Having the keywords in your landing pages can help you gain up to 40% or more conversions from the same traffic you get from your ads” – Search Engine Journal

“Having the keywords users type into search in your ads helps you to gain around 2x or more clickthroughs and 300%+ more profits for the same opportunities. Write unique ads for every one of your buyer’s keywords” – Search Engine Journal

“It’s no secret that one of the most effective ways to promote your business online is through search ads. In fact, when correctly optimized, pay-per-click (PPC) advertising returns $2 for every $1 spent—a 200% ROI—on average” – WordStream

Here's related information that you may find helpful – How To Find The Best SEO Agency? [Simplify your efforts]

“A study by Backlinko revealed that the top 3 search results on Google receive over half of all clicks, underscoring the significance of ranking higher on SERPs through effective keyword research” - Ross Simmonds Newsletter

“83% of marketers say focusing on quality rather than quantity of content is better, even if it means posting less often” – Search Engine Journal

“54% of consumers say they trust websites more that appear at the top of the search engine results pages (SERPs)” – Conductor

“HubSpot reported that using brackets in titles increases click-through rates by 38%” – Search Engine Journal

“A Conductor study revealed that headlines featuring numbers (exact numbers of points such as 47 Content Writing Tips) get 36% more clicks” – Search Engine Journal

“According to HubSpot, the best practice is for large organizations looking to drive organic traffic to publish at least four or fives times per week. You can significantly improve your search engine rankings by incorporating targeted keywords and providing value to readers” - Ross Simmonds Newsletter

“Target 80% Evergreen Keywords; 20% Trending Keywords. Take the time to truly understand the evergreen content needs of your market and audience, and target evergreen keywords for that content. The goal is to have that content add value and solve the reader’s problems for many years into the future” – Search Engine Journal

“According to SparkToro, Google Images is the world’s second-largest search engine. Your images can rank and send traffic your way too” – Ahrefs

“On-page SEO involves optimizing the content and structure of your website to improve its visibility in search engine results. On-page factors like title tags and meta descriptions account for 15% of search engine ranking” – FoundationInc

“68% of online experiences begin with a search engine (BrightEdge)” – Ahrefs

An Ahrefs study showed that results ranking in the first position had a 30.9% chance of receiving a featured snippet. Positions 2 and 3 had a 23.5% and 15.9% chance, respectively” – Search Engine Land

“The average cost per lead in Google Ads in 2023 is $53.52” – WordStream

“Unleashing the power of niche keywords, particularly those long-tail variations, is a game-changer for any successful SEO strategy” – Search Engine Land

“Research shows that 26.4% of SaaS website traffic comes from organic searches. Naturally, it becomes essential for any SaaS company to optimize its website” – Outgrow

Paid search (66%) and YouTube ads (40%) follow in second and third places which are the best bet for promoting content” - The State of Content Marketing 2023 Global Report by Semrush

“After email, top marketing channels for ROI include paid search (cited by 69.74% of brands as a top-3 ROI-generating channel), paid social (69.46%), broadcast (64.81%), and SEO (58.97%)” – Klaviyo

“With organic and paid search making up over 75% of all traffic in the B2B sector alone, it’s clear SEO is far from dead” – Ahrefs

“Search intent is a central key to SEO. Understanding what and why someone is searching and aligning your brand, content, and engagement opportunities with it is central to SEO” – Search Engine Land

Here's related information that you may find helpful - How long does SEO take to show results? [Dive into the waiting game]

“The most important thing to remember is this – anchor text is a powerful ranking signal, even for internal links. Carefully choosing your anchor text—while avoiding over-optimization—can make a difference in winning SEO” – Zyppy

“Internal links within the text itself are vital for strong SEO. They send strong signals to search engines about the relevance of another page on your website and how you place value on that page” - Search Engine Journal

“For tools that measure search visibility, SEMrush was the most popular tool, with 64% of SEOs using it. This was followed by Ahrefs at 56% and Sistrix at 19%” - The State of Technical SEO Report 2023 from Aira & Women in Tech SEOv

“KPIs are quantifiable metrics used to evaluate the success of your SEO strategy. Common SEO KPIs include organic search traffic, keyword rankings, and conversions” - Ross Simmonds Newsletter

“Content quality and technical SEO go hand in hand. Optimize website performance on desktop and mobile to improve the experience for visitors and make it easy for Google to index your pages” – HubSpot

7 Tips to Optimize CPC for PPC Ads:

“In the AI Age of search, merely matching your keyword to a search query is no longer enough. Google is now able to understand your site and the content of your pages in deeper ways that allow it to do much more sophisticated matching or content to a user’s intent, search journey, and more” – seoClarity

“Many do not understand the need or importance of keyword research, and this is part of the reason why studies show that 90.63% of pages on the internet get no traffic from Google” – Ahrefs

“According to our study, the average #1 ranking page will also rank in the top 10 for nearly 1,000 other relevant keywords” – Ahrefs

“Voice search-friendly keyword lists are crucial for mobile SEO. In fact, 65% of consumers between ages 25 and 49 use voice-enabled devices often” - Semrush

“A person searching with a long-tail keyword that then lands on your website converts at a rate more than 2.5x higher than visitors who searched on head terms” – Conductor

“Your advertising campaigns aren’t set and forget tasks. You’ll need to continue to monitor and make changes based on the results you find. Use Google Analytics to check the performance of not just your website, but also your promotions. What is resonating with customers? What can be changed?” – HubSpot

“Twenty-nine percent [29%] of marketers use a search-optimized website and blog to attract and convert leads” – HubSpot’s 2023 State of Marketing Report

“Before you dive into PPC, you’ll want to make sure your landing page is as optimized as possible. If you are paying by the click and those who click on the page don’t convert, you will lose advertising dollars” – HubSpot

“Successful SEO today is an amalgamation of content relevance, technical prowess, and a deep understanding of user intent and behavior” – Search Engine Land

“A highly optimized inbound marketing strategy blends content marketing, organic social, and SEO while helping fuel the demand generation funnel” – Conductor

Here's related information that you may find helpful – Is Google Ads Hard to Learn?

“Prioritizing authentic, helpful content continues to be the focus of Google algorithm updates and the best approach to attracting a loyal following. To supplement your optimized content, develop a strong distribution plan across channels” – Conductor

“No matter how amazing your content and how good your products are, if your website is not optimized enough for the search bots to find it, your target audience will never be able to discover you. Improve your on-page SEO by adding title tags and meta descriptions” – Outgrow

“If you’re working hard on SEO, but are still looking for an extra boost, consider PPC advertising” – HubSpot

“PPC is a useful channel because it is a predictable source of traffic and provides immediate, short-term wins, as long as the price you pay per click is less than the ultimate conversion value of that traffic” – Conductor

“Search results differ drastically between mobile and desktop. Invest in PPC for mobile and SEO for desktop” – Conductor

“Optimizing your title tags and meta descriptions can improve the CTR (click-through rate) of your page. To optimize your title tags for mobile search, keep your title tag between 50 and 60 characters” - Semrush

“For many brands, SEO is synonymous with Google. This makes sense, as Google accounts for over 90% of searches worldwide” – Conductor

“41% of survey respondents cited videos as a tactic that made their content strategies more successful. From social media to websites, videos help increase time on page, engagement, reach, click-through rate, rankings, and audience growth” - Semrush

“Focus on people and their needs when creating high-quality content. Get it right and you’ll see more website visitors, click-throughs, and conversions” – Margarita Loktionova, Content Marketing Lead at Semrush

“46% of technical SEOs set the expectation that it can take up to three months to see an impact on traffic from Technical SEO work. Next up was up to six months with 30%” - The State of Technical SEO Report 2023 from Aira & Women in Tech SEO

“SEO isn’t prohibitively expensive. You can manage much of it yourself with basic knowledge and free tools” – Search Engine Land

“The most popular tool that Technical SEOs use for crawling, at 90%, is Screaming Frog. This was followed by SEMrush at 32% and closely behind was Ahrefs at 31%” - The State of Technical SEO Report 2023 from Aira & Women in Tech SEO

“According to internal analysis, we estimate that an effective link building campaign can represent up to 40% of the positive result of an SEO cycle” – CONVERSION Email

Image Content Source - Generated through ChatGPT

“Technical SEO was the clear winner when respondents were asked to rank a list of 14 SEO technology capabilities based on which they value most” – SEO Trends & Predictions for 2023 Report by Conductor

“2023 is the year when organizations will be investing heavily in CX + UX improvements and optimizing website technical SEO—both ranked as the top two SEO priorities by marketing leaders and SEOs” – SEO Trends & Predictions for 2023 Report by Conductor

“For SEOs, Quora can be a goldmine for finding potential customers and promoting their products or services” – Search Engine Land

“SEO is a long-term game. Unlike paid search, organic results take time to show results. It’s usually a culmination of small efforts” – HubSpot

Here's related information that you may find helpful – Why is my domain authority so low?

“Without the strong foundations of on-page SEO (creating quality content), your off-page SEO efforts, especially intentionally building backlinks, won’t gain much traction” - ReferralRock

“55% more backlinks were generated by blog posts with 7+ images compared to those without” – The State of Content Marketing 2023 Global Report by Semrush

“According to exclusive research developed by Conversion, 82% of marketers who invest in link building see positive results in their SEO” - CONVERSION

“SEO conferences such as Mozcon, Pubcon, BrightonSEO, SMX and WTSFest are fantastic opportunities to level up your skills and meet people” - #SEOForLunch Newsletter

“Google says deleting old content just because it's old isn't beneficial for SEO. However, pruning content can be helpful – when done right” – SEOFOMO Newsletter

“SGE is still in its experimental stage, and many web and SEO marketers are still figuring out how generative AI can impact marketers and users in the future” – HubSpot

“The most common SEO budget range is $1,000-$5,000 USD, with 28.6% of responses” – The State of SEO 2024 by Search Engine Journal

“An update typically requires the least amount of time investment. At most, about 20-25% of the content needs to be changed” – Search Engine Land

“User experience (UX) focuses on your site’s usability and how visitors interact and experience it. UX is important for SEO because if your website is not pleasant to use, visitors will leave your website” – Ahrefs

“In a survey of 496 business owners and marketing pros on the use of Google Ads and SEO, 90% of respondents said Google Ads is effective. 87% highlighted SEO’s effectiveness” – Semrush

“Paid Guest Posts with links are advertisements as far as Google is concerned” – Search Engine Journal

“Google's guidelines emphasize the importance of E-A-T (experience, expertise, authoritativeness, trustworthiness) for SEO content strategy. Focus on user needs and consensus” – The Traffic Talk Newsletter

“Choose a keyword difficulty that isn’t more than 10-15% points higher than your current domain authority” – Search Engine Land

“Google advises businesses to be wary of SEO specialists who claim to offer services that deliver guaranteed SEO results. It also warns of severe repercussions if your website violates their policies—possibly even permanently removing your site from search results” – Semrush

“According to our survey, most (81.5%) SEO professionals report that generative AI has already had some effect on their SEO strategy” – Search Engine Journal

“Google's John Mueller was asked if it matters SEO-wise or search ranking-wise if you place /services/ before /location/ in your URL structure or the other way. John said when it comes to SEO, it really does not matter” – Search Engine Roundtable

“a good SEO conversion rate for pages ranking for bottom of funnel keywords is between 1% – 5%. Anything above that is great” – Grow and Convert

“Social media also offers opportunities for backlinks and referral traffic. Sharing high-quality content may lead to mentions and shares by other influential users or websites, resulting in valuable backlinks to your site. These backlinks signal to search engines that your website is credible and potentially deserves higher rankings” – SEOTesting

“Nearly 60% of B2B marketers say that SEO generates more leads than any other marketing initiative” – Conductor

“A business averages a $2 revenue for every $1 spent on Google Ads” – Semrush

“SEO is, of course, valuable. After all, more than 75% of B2B traffic comes from organic and paid searches. Organic traffic also converts higher and drives the most traffic (53% of it)” – MarketingProfs

“SEO done effectively might, and usually is, the most profitable marketing channel; however, it takes a fair amount of time, work, and budget to unlock that treasure” – Eli’s Newsletter

“Link building is one of the main factors that boost your website’s visibility. A striking 55.7% of respondents underscore its potency, attesting to the profound results it delivers in the realm of SEO” – Search Engine Land

“Press releases help your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts indirectly by promoting content marketing discovery, building citations for local SEO, and protecting your online reputation” – Semrush

Here's related information that you may find helpful – Content SEO vs Technical SEO [See the SEO Elements Showdown]

“Nailing down niche keyword research is crucial to your SEO strategy. It’s about pinpointing those potential keywords that are super relevant, yet not always top of mind, that will connect you straight to a buyer” – Search Engine Land

“Guest blogging boosts SEO with quality backlinks, but beware of spammy tactics. For success, find good prospects, do strategic outreach, produce great content, and uphold a strong brand” – The Traffic Talk Newsletter

“The ultimate goal of a PPC audit is to save money—both by maximizing returns and eliminating wasted spend” – Semrush

“One of the best indirect benefits a successful PPC campaign can have on your SEO (including your off-page SEO) is that some of the profits generated from PPC campaigns can be reinvested into your SEO. You can use this budget for additional content creation, SEO testing, or even link acquisition campaigns” – SEOTesting

“Using HARO is “one of the best ways to build high-quality backlinks at scale,” according to Brian Dean at Backlinko” – Semrush

“Topical authority also helps you acquire more backlinks without actually doing link-building (which can be a tedious and time-consuming process). And we all know that the more quality backlinks you get, the better your SEO rankings” – InLinks

“Linkable content drives backlinks that drive more traffic, which results in even more backlinks. And such a virtuous cycle is the essence of content-led link-building” – Animalz

“From an off-page SEO perspective, reviews and testimonials are crucial in improving your search engine rankings” – SEOTesting

“There is no rule of thumb regarding the number of monthly backlinks. Still, most pages with high rankings get +5%-14.5% dofollow backlinks from new websites” – Search Engine Land

“Investment in paid search has no impact on your organic search ranking. Google maintains a strict separation between our search business and our advertising business” – Google

“When you have a high Quality Score, Google rewards you with a lower CPC. This is because Google wants to encourage advertisers to create high-quality, relevant ads that enhance the user experience (UX)” – Semrush

“Google is still the 800-pound gorilla that continues to dominate the global search engine market share, with over 90%. Bing comes in a distant second with only a small percentage of the search engine market share” – Search Engine Journal

“Google accounts for 91.54% of the global search engine market” – Semrush

“Google claims 82.74% of the desktop search engine market and a staggering 95.16% market share on mobile” – Semrush

“93% reported SEO positively impacted website performance and marketing goals in 2023” – The 2024 State of SEO Report by Conductor

“Organic search as we know it is changing with Google’s launch of SGE in 2024. Digital marketers and SEOs remain optimistic, with 83% of surveyed respondents predicting an overall positive impact of AI on SEO” – The 2024 State of SEO Report by Conductor

“83% of respondents believe AI as a whole will have a positive impact on SEO in 2024” – The 2024 State of SEO Report by Conductor

“HubSpot surveyed 400+ web traffic analysts to identify top SEO challenges. The leading challenge — experienced by 50% of marketers — is staying on top of search engine algorithm changes” – HubSpot

“The trend is clear — optimizing for mobile is key for traffic growth, SEO, and great user experience. It’s no surprise that almost 25% of companies invest in mobile as a top SEO tactic” – HubSpot

“Google's John Mueller said in the last Google SEO office-hours from December 2023 that there is no such thing as perfect SEO. He said, "in fact no SEO is perfect."” – Search Engine Roundtable

“SEO is a vast landscape in the realm of digital marketing. Every marketer, whether they admit it or not, is on a continual journey and navigating constantly changing terrain. We all have to adapt to algorithms that evolve, changing digital trends, and strategies that shape the digital world daily” – Level343

“Understanding your audience’s search behavior is crucial for a successful SEO strategy. It’s not just about optimizing what you think makes sense; you need to ensure it aligns with user intent” – Search Engine Land

“Video SERP content covers about 23% of the SERPs across all categories” – STOLBER

“We found that $75–$100 per hour is the most popular hourly rate for SEOs, with 24% of respondents charging this rate” – Ahrefs

“The most common monthly retainer range for SEO agencies is $500–$1,000/month. For consultants, it’s $2,501–$5,000” – Ahrefs

“83% of companies that claim to be highly effective in SEO use AI content tools” – Semrush’s 2024 AI Content Report

“While there's no guarantee that any particular site will be added to Google's index, sites that follow the Search Essentials are more likely to show up in Google's search results. SEO is about taking the next step and working on improving your site's presence in Search” – Google’s SEO Starter Guide

“To succeed as "SEOs", we'll need to adapt and think of ourselves more as "Search Experience Optimisers" (SXO) rather than "Search Engine Optimisers"” – Advanced Web Ranking

“Organic CTR for position one (on desktop search results) ranges from 47-19%, depending on the presence of rich results and other SERP features (such as images, featured snippets, etc)” – Wix SEO Hub

“Overall, the average CPC in Google Ads across industries is $2.69 for Search and $0.63 for Display” – Semrush

Here's related information that you may find helpful – Google Ads Leads vs Website Traffic [See the Showdown]

“When you create a campaign in Google Ads, you set an average daily budget. This is what you’re comfortable spending for each campaign. Google recommends starting with a spend of $10-$50/day” – Semrush

Image Content Source - Search Engine Land

“Google Ads have an ROI of $8 for every $1 you spend” – Semrush

“Google Ads Have an Average Conversion Rate of 7.04% Across All Industries [WordStream, 2023]” – Semrush

“Did you know that global ad spending in the search advertising market is projected to reach €373.60bn by 2027? With Google accounting for an estimated 58% of the market?” – Channable

“Advertising spend on Google search ads in the U.S. rose by 17% year-on-year in the final quarter of 2023. Meanwhile, Google click growth remained steady at 8% year-on-year, while cost-per-click accelerated to 9% during the same period” – Search Engine Land

“Google Search ad spend is booming, with a 17% year-on-year increase in Q4 2023. Winterberry Group predicts a 10.4% surge in US ad and marketing spend, pushing the total to $570 billion” – GrowthHackers

Image Source - The 2024 State of SEO Report by Conductor

Stay ahead of the competition by regularly revisiting this blog post on search engine marketing statistics for future updates.

Here's related information that you may also find helpful – Personalized Marketing Statistics [This is today’s need].

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