99 Search Marketing Statistics You Can’t Ignore: 2024 Data Analysis & Market Share

Time and dedication—these two things prepare you to get started with search marketing. Adopting it takes you on two robust approaches: SEO and SEM. Having them work together and support each other can provide you with the best outcomes. Suffice to say, reviewing your SEO and SEM is the first rational step before kicking off your search marketing strategy. Generally, search marketing is a huge pursuit for anyone. The best brands know that success does not happen overnight, especially when it comes to the online space. They explore even the least known categories to have a fighting chance against the others.

Organic Search Statistics

The internet is practically a limitless resource with millions of queries, guiding users to various places. In 2019, organic and paid search prevailed as website traffic sources.

• The click-through rate on organic searches in the first quarter of 2019 was 47.4% (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• 85.4% of users look for information online at least once a month (Marketing Evolution, 2021).
• 68% of all traceable website traffic comes from organic and paid searches (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• Between October 2019 and October 2021, DuckDuckGo discloses that traffic grew by 107% (Marketing Evolution, 2021).
• Every month, Bing processes 12 billion queries (Marketing Evolution, 2021).
• 38% of American Bing users generate more than $100,000 in household income (Marketing Evolution, 2021).
• Long-tail keyword searches gain a 3% to 5% higher click-through rate than organic searches (IMPACT).
• Users who totally ignore paid advertisements are between 70% and 80% (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• 66% of unique search queries lead to one or more clicks (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• 21% of users browse more than one result (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• About 73% of all searches take place on Google (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• 94% of all tablet and mobile searches take place on Google (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• Compared to social media, search engines generate 300% more traffic to websites (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• 87% of smartphone users use a search engine at least once every day (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• In search engine results, the top five websites come from 67% of clicks (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• 50% of searches are four words or more (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• Less than one minute long is the average time spent on a search query (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• If a brand appears several times in search engine results, 50% of users are more likely to click a result (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• Compared to 1.7% for outbound leads, SEO leads have a 14.6% close rate (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• 75% of users do not click beyond the first page of search results (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• Compared to outbound leads, inbound leads cost 61% less (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• Companies using both pay-per-click ads and organic SEO strategies notice an average of 25% more clicks and 27% more revenue (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• 93% of virtual experiences start with a search engine (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• SEO drives more leads than any other marketing efforts, according to 57% of B2B marketers (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• Prior to purchasing a product in a physical store or online, 88% of consumers conduct some type of online research (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• 55% of users do not know which links in the results pages are PPC ads. Up to 50% of them also could not classify paid ads (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• 40% of users leave a website that takes three seconds or more to load (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• A page response with a one-second delay can lead to a 7% cut in conversions (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• Businesses perceive SEO as becoming more helpful. 82% of them say that effectiveness is moving up, while 42% of them say that effectiveness is growing exceptionally (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• 15% of Google questions have never been asked before (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• 200% ranking factors are being used by Google in its algorithm (SMA Marketing, 2021).

Local Search Statistics

Thanks to Google’s Pigeon update in 2014, smaller local businesses are provided with opportunities to target local audiences in a space that has been catering to huge businesses. When done right, local SEO can drive high-converting leads and local organic traffic (Safari Digital, n.d.).

• 88% of consumers who conduct a local search on their device check out a physical store in a week (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• 72% of users who conduct a local search check out a store within 5 miles of their present residence (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• 61% of mobile users are more likely to reach out to a local business if they have a mobile-friendly website (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• 88% of users count on online reviews as they count on personal recommendations (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• 86% of users search for the address of a business on Google Maps (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• 78% of location-dependent mobile searches lead to offline purchases (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• Companies that have a powerful keyword in the business name place 1.5 spots higher than if the name has no keyword (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• 46% of Google searches are done with local targets in mind (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• In the past years, “near me” searches have grown 500% (SMA Marketing, 2021).

Mobile Search Statistics

Any business now knows that mobile marketing is the future. Whether you are at home or in public, you will see a lot of people browsing their smartphones. In this Internet era that we live in, it is apparent that tablets and mobile devices are dominating the market (Warden, n.d.).

• Since 2008, voice searches have grown by 3,400% (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• 87% of users with smartphones look for something on a search engine at least once daily (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• 40% of mobile website users will abandon the website if the loading time takes more than three seconds (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• Mobile devices drove 54.8% of worldwide website traffic in the first quarter of 2021, constantly hanging around 50% since 2017 (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• From 18% in 2017, smartphones will make up 44% of total IP traffic this year (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• 60% of smartphone owners have reached out to a business directly through search results (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• In the last two years, “near me” and “where to buy” mobile searches have increased by about 200% (IMPACT).
• In the last two years, “best” and “right now” mobile searches have increased by about 125% (IMPACT).
• More than 60% of Google queries come from mobile devices (Marketing Evolution, 2021).
• Almost 73% of internet users will surf the internet via mobile devices by 2025 (IMPACT).

Voice Search Statistics

Smartphones and smart speakers are the most commonly used devices among voice search users these days. TVs, watches and wearables, and home appliances are also starting to adopt voice search functionalities (Lin, 2022).

• Since 2008, voice search have grown by 3,400% (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• Voice search presently makes up 10% of total searches (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• 72% of voice-activated speaker users indicate that voice search has become their daily activity (Marketing Evolution, 2021).
• A voice search result page has a typical word count of 2,312 words (IMPACT).
• 40.7% of all voice search results came from a snippet (IMPACT).
• 27% of the worldwide online population relies on mobile voice search (Marketing Evolution, 2021).
• This 2022, experts predict that at least 50% of users will use voice search (Marketing Evolution, 2021).
• This 2022, 55% of households are projected to own a smart speaker (IMPACT).

Online Shopping Statistics

Current search marketing statistics reveal that physical stores still generate more sales than online stores. But it is only a matter of time before online stores take shoppers by storm.

• 49% of product searches start on Amazon, while 36% start on Google (Marketing Evolution, 2021).
• Google Shopping ads make up 76% of retail search ad spend (Marketing Evolution, 2021).
• Online shoppers are 80% more likely to check out a physical store if they can view their inventory online (Marketing Evolution, 2021).
• 88% of users who look for a store on Google Maps check out a similar store in a week (Marketing Evolution, 2021).

Most Popular Search Marketing Software

1. Semrush. Semrush makes online marketing solutions fast and simple to use. Learn more about how this software can provide vigorous SEO for your team in our Semrush review.
2. SE Ranking. SE Ranking offers a range of SEO tools to help you launch websites that are optimized with SEO. Know how it can make the most out of your digital marketing campaigns in our SE Ranking review.
3. Raven Tools. Raven Tools manage SEO, online advertising efforts, and social media conversations well. Discover more about its other search marketing functionalities in our Raven Tools review.
4. Moz. Moz optimizes your SEO by using both basic and advanced research tools. Check out our Moz review to find out its other options, features, and central tools.
5. UpCity. UpCity links businesses with established digital marketing service companies and agencies. Read how you can use its Agency Growth Engine to promote your profit in a scalable way in our UpCity review.

Content for SEO Statistics

SEO is a major component of search marketing statistics. When it comes to SEO and marketing, the objective is to establish your business as the leading brand in the industry. But this will only work if you can publish content that are visible online (Barrell, n.d.).

• Repurposing old blog posts can grow traffic by more than 100% (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• 36% of SEO professionals think that title tag is the most necessary SEO factor (IMPACT).
• Relevant content creation is the most effective SEO strategy, says 72% of marketers (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• 47% of users browse three to five pieces of content made by a company before contacting a sales representative from that company (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• 62% of B2B firms and 51% of B2C marketers have improved their blogs to optimize SEO (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• Google is inclined to gather voice search answers from long-form content, which are usually over 2,000 words (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• A page that is placed on the top 3 search results has a 75% chance of placing for the same question asked via voice search (SMA Marketing, 2021).

Google Statistics

Search engines are here to satisfy our consistently curious minds. With Google’s ability to provide easy access to an unfathomable amount of information, it has become synonymous with the Internet (Mohsin, 2022).

• Google receives 3.5 billion searches every day and 40,000 searches every second (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• The first five organic results make up 67.60% of all the clicks on the first page only (IMPACT).
• Google has 92% of the total search engine market share for mobile devices and 78% of the laptop/desktop search market share (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• Google Search Quality Senior Strategist Andrey Lipattsev reveals that the two most fundamental signals used by Google in ranking websites for search are outstanding content and link building (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• Google alters its search engine algorithm approximately 500 to 600 times annually (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• 18% of organic Google clicks go to the first search result, 10% to the second, and 7% to the third (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• 49% of Google searches do not end up in a click (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• Only 0.78% of Google users click on the second page of the results (IMPACT).
• On Google, images are returned for 27.9% of searches (IMPACT).
• Of the billions of searches that take place every day, 15% of them are new to Google (IMPACT).
• Top results on Google’s search engine results page gain 3.8 times more backlinks than those with fewer backlinks (IMPACT).
• 55.24% of pages do not have even one backlink (IMPACT).
• 91% of all pages never receive any organic Google traffic, mostly because they do not have backlinks (IMPACT).
• Direct website visits, time spent on the website, pages per session, and bounce rate are the top four ranking elements (IMPACT).
• More than 1.3 billion companies, website publishers, and nonprofit organizations all over the world took advantage of Google’s advertising services (IMPACT).

SEM Statistics

Users are heavily dependent on search engines. And although Google is hailed as the king of the internet, other search engines should not be ignored.

• From 935.8 million visitors in February 2021, Bing.com had concluded at 1.08 billion unique worldwide visitors in June 2021 (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• Every month, Bing processes 12 billion queries (Marketing Evolution, 2021).
• 75% of users claim that paid search ads help them easily find the information they need on a search engine (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• 26% of users click on a paid search ad because the brand is familiar to them (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• 45.5% of users could not differentiate ads from organic results if there were no ads shown in the right column (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• 49% of companies gain more than 1,000 average Search views of their Google My Business listing monthly, and 33% gain 1,000+ Maps views (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• The average return on ad spend for Google Ads is $2 for each $1 spent (SMA Marketing, 2021).
• The US web search engine of Google directed 7.2% of all search clicks to paid results in the first quarter of 2019 (SMA Marketing, 2021).