SEO Statistics for 2024
(Well-Vetted & Verified)
Muiz Thomas
Founder & Creator
22 mins read
Published: 5th December 2023
SEO has changed significantly since 2018.
I’ve come across some SEO stats as old as 2014 trying to pass off as fresh 2023 data.
That’s a BIG Red flag—you shouldn’t base your SEO decisions on old data.
The good news? I’ve verified each stat here and included the source with the date, so you know it’s up-to-date.
Enjoy!
Top SEO Statistics
Let’s start off with some top SEO stats:
- Google’s Grip: Google dominates the search market with a 91.53% share, leaving Bing with just 4% even with early AI features (Statcounter, 2023)
- Mobile Searches: Nearly two-thirds of searches are done on mobile phones (Perficient, 2021)
- More Cash on SEO: Over 53% of businesses planned to spend more on SEO, and even more on pay-per-click ads (Searchmetrics, 2022)
- Organic Search Wins: Organic search results get 73% of all clicks (BrightEdge, 2022)
Keyword Search Statistics
With great keywords comes great content.
Here are some key stats for your SEO keyword research process:
- Longer Keywords: 10-15 word keywords get more clicks than single words (Backlinko, 2023)
URL Power: Having keywords in your post’s URL can boost clicks by 45% (Backlinko, 2023)
- Missing Clicks: Google Search Console doesn’t show almost half of the clicks (Ahrefs, 2022)
- Inflated Numbers: Over half of the search volumes in Google Keyword Planner are overestimated (Ahrefs, 2021)
Backlink Statistics
Link building is super important for SEO. Infact, backlinks are one of the top factors that help sites rank higher. Here are some key stats to consider:
- More Backlinks. More Traffic: Pages with lots of backlinks tend to get more visitors from Google (Ahrefs, 2020)
- Top Result Wins: The first Google result usually has almost four times more backlinks than the next nine (Backlinko, 2020)
- Smart Emailing: Sending friendly emails without asking for a link can boost your chances by 40% (Backlinko, 2023)
- Links Cost Cash: Buying a backlink costs about $361 on average. And many SEO pros spend thousands every month just on building links (Ahrefs, 2022)
- Backlinks Help You Rank: 92.3% of top-ranking sites have at least one backlink (Semrush, 2023)
- You Need at Least One: Over half the sites without any backlinks don’t make it to the first page (Semrush, 2023) Bummer!
Content Marketing Strategy Statistics
Content is everywhere, and it’s changing fast.
Stay in the know with these content marketing strategy stats.
- Quality Beats Quantity: 83% of marketers agree that quality content matters more than frequency (HubSpot, 2023)
- Organic Search Drives Blog: 85% of blog traffic comes from organic search (Animalz, 2021)
- Scanning Over Reading: Online, people scan for what they need instead of reading every word (Nielsen, 2020)
- Popular Content Types: ‘How-to’ articles are top (76%), followed by lists (55%), then news and trends (47%) (Orbit Media, 2023)
- Content for Leads: 73% of marketers say content marketing is great for generating and nurturing leads, but not as strong for customer loyalty (50%, down 13%) (CMI, 2023)
- Content Before Contact: 44% say they usually check out 3-5 content pieces before talking to a vendor (DemandGen, 2021)
- Learning Styles: 73% prefer learning through short videos, with articles (11%), and other formats less popular (Wyzowl, 2023)
- Content is Key: 81% of marketers believe content is a central strategy (CMI, 2021)
Mobile SEO Statistics
Google searches have gone mobile. Arm yourself with these key mobile SEO stats for 2024:
Mobile Traffic: A whopping 58.99% of all web traffic comes from mobile phones (Statista, 2023)
Mobile Shopping: 70% of people shop on their phones (Semrush, 2023)
Local Searches: 57% of local searches are on mobile device or tablet (ReviewTrackers, 2022).
- Trendy Products: In 2022, product trends appeared 17% more frequently for mobile users compared to the previous year (Semrush, 2023)
Visual Searches: People use Google Lens for 8 billion queries a month (Google, 2022)
Click Rates: Ranking #1 gets you 6.74% of clicks on mobile and 8.17% on desktop (SEOClarity, 2021)
No-Click Searches: 77.22% of mobile searches don’t lead to clicks (SparkToro, 2021)
Local SEO Statistics
If you’ve got a local business, you want the RIGHT people walking through that door.
These stats show why you need to invest in a top local SEO agency.
- Google’s Growing Influence: In 2022, 87% of consumers used Google to find local businesses (BrightLocal, 2023). That’s a 6% jump from 2021.
- Google Reviews: Google is the go-to for local business reviews (BrightLocal, 2023)
- Business Profiles: Customers are 2.7x more likely to consider your business “reputable” if you have a complete Google Business Profile (Google, 2023)
- Profile Benefits: You also get more visitors (70%) and potential sales (50%) (Google, 2023)
Map Searches: “Shopping near me” searches on Google Maps have doubled (Google, 2022)
- Reviews Matter: A whopping 98% reads online reviews for local businesses (BrightLocal, 2023)
Voice Search Statistics
Voice search is big thanks to its ease and tech. Here are stats showing its growing use:
Smart Speakers Everywhere: 36% of Americans own one (Edison Research, 2023), with Amazon leading the market (Statista, 2023).
Voice Search Habit: Half the US uses voice search daily (UpCity, 2022).
English Dominance: Around 90% of voice searches are in English (UpCity, 2022).
Video SEO Statistics
Think beyond text. Video is where it’s at for marketers. Here are the numbers to prove it:
- Video Watching: In 2022, people watched an average of 17 hours of video content weekly (Wyzowl, 2023)
- Marketers Love Video: It’s key for over 80% of marketers (Vidyard, 2022)
- Businesses Use Video: A record 91% of companies now market with videos (Wyzowl, 2023)
- Top Video Platforms: 90% of marketers pick YouTube (Wyzowl, 2023)
Ecommerce Search Statistics
For eCommerce, SEO is key for traffic and sales.
Here are some stats about shopping via search engines:
- Search Trends: More people are searching to buy or find products, but fewer are just looking for information or websites (Semrush, 2023)
- Search Habits: Almost 70% of shoppers start with the search bar on a store’s site (Nosto, 2023)
- Amazon’s Reign: Amazon.com gets the most visits (Semrush, 2023)
- Keyword Growth: On average, top ecommerce sites ranked for 20% more keywords per page in 2022 than in 2021 (BrightEdge, 2022)
- Stock Checks: 53% of US shoppers check stock online before going to a store (Google, 2022)
- Product Discovery: 38% of US shoppers used Google to find new items (Google, 2022)
- Frequent Shoppers: 58.2% of internet users aged 16 to 24 shop online weekly (Reportal, 2022)
AI Statistics for SEO
AI in SEO is buzzing, especially since ChatGPT came around. These stats show what people think about using AI for SEO.
AI Adoption: 50% of marketers think not using AI is a setback (Mailchimp, 2023)
AI’s SEO Impact: Searches have become 40% more effective with AI. Infact, AI powered automated SEO platforms has increased by 63% in one year (zipdo, 2023).
AI in Data Strategy: Nearly 31% of marketers think AI is key for SEO (zipdo, 2023).
AI for Content: Most marketers admit AI helps with topic ideas (51%), headlines/keywords (45%), and drafts (45%) (CMI, 2023).
- Performance Boost: 58% of US marketers said AI is upping their content creation game (eMarketer, 2023).
Generative AI: A strong 76% of marketers use AI for writing (eMarketer, 2023).
AI Trust: Surprisingly, 75% of consumers trust AI-written content (Capgemini, 2023)
- AI’s SEO Strategy Impact: 84% of bloggers say AI has changed their SEO game (HubSpot,2023)
- Marketers on AI’s Future: They’re divided; 44% foresee a positive impact, 51% no impact, and 5% a negative one (HubSpot, 2023)
Boost SEO Impact
Based on these SEO stats, you now need to know how your site measures up.
Our SEO audit can spot what needs work and give you clear steps to get more eyes on your site and keep them there.
Spread the Word:
About the Author
Muiz Thomas
Professionally, I’ve got over 6 years of SEO, copywriting, and design experience. My job in a nutshell? Make your customers sit up, pay attention, and click (in that order).
