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The changing reality of the SEO landscape is equal parts fascinating and intimidating. As marketers, we know staying on top of the hundreds of Google algorithm updates and SEO best practices is key to positioning our digital content and increasing organic search results.

According to Hubspot, about 64% of digital marketers invest time in SEO. The following stats will give you insight into the influence of SEO and how your digital marketing efforts can impact your business:

1. Globally, Bing accounts for 6.7% of the desktop search market, while Google took 86.6%. (Statista, 2021)
2. 85% of Google users find an answer to their query with their initial search term. (Backlinko, 2020)
3. Title tags that contain a question have a 14.1% higher CTR vs. pages that don’t have a question in their title. (Backlinko, 2019) – Searchers are looking for answers to their questions, so keep this in mind when writing content!
4. Mobile searches containing “not working” have grown by over 65% in the past two years (Google, 2018) – These searches can include valuable keywords like “ac not working” that have a high indication someone needs repair.
5. The average top-ranking page also ranks in the top 10 search results for nearly 1,000 other relevant keywords. (Ahrefs)
6. The #1 organic result is 10x more likely to receive a click compared to a page in the #10 spot. (Backlinko, 2019) – Where you rank on search matters! The closer you are to the number one organic position, the more likely you are to gather clicks.
7. Only 0.78% of Google searchers will click on the second page. (Backlinko, 2019) – It’s no surprise many users don’t navigate to the second page, but this number tends to surprise people. Those top 10 spots tend to be very competitive, but they can make a huge difference when it comes to your traffic.
8. On the first page alone, the first five organic results account for 67.6% of all the clicks. (Impact, 2020)
9. 50% of people are more likely to click on a particular brand name if that brand name shows up more than once on the search results. (Omnicore, 2020) – SEO is not just to strengthen your appearance for non-branded keywords. Your branded keywords depend on high-quality SEO too!
10. 29% of search queries have featured snippets in their search results. (Ahrefs) – These helpful blocks of information pull from pages within Google’s index automatically. Featured snippets are often found for queries that contain questions.
11. In the majority of home services verticals, over 55% of consumers run a search before scheduling an appointment (Source: LSA) – Consumers researching services like moving, locksmiths, lawn care, and pest control are the most likely to use search engines.
12. Callers convert 30% faster than web leads. (Source: Forrester) – When a user needs emergency service or wants an immediate response, they tend to call. This is increasingly important to remember for home service brands where emergency and same-day service are a significant part of their business.
13. On average, ranking in position #1 on mobile gets you 27.7% of the clicks. Ranking in position #1 on desktop gets you an average of 19.3% of the clicks. (SEOClarity) – Where you rank matters, and it matters even more on mobile!
14. Nearly 70% of consumers admit that page speed impacts their willingness to buy from an online retailer. (Unbounce, 2019) – If you want to keep customers, fast page speed is a major factor.
15. The average Google first page result contains 1,447 words. (Backlinko, 2020) – Word count does not have a direct influence over where on page one you rank, but what we can tell from this average is that Google and users alike love comprehensive content that matches user intent.
16. 40% of mobile searches have local intent. (Think with Google) – User intent is everything, so when performing SEO for local businesses, be sure to keep your mobile site in mind.
17. 28% of searches for something nearby result in a purchase. (BrightLocal) – When users are looking for local businesses, they tend to be closer to the purchase stage in the sales funnel. Gaining visibility in your area means gaining traffic from those customers that are likely to convert.
18. The most important ranking factor is direct website visits. This is according to the SEMrush ranking factors study 2.0. Other factors that topped the list were time on site, pages per session, bounce rate, and referring domains.
19. For local queries, 42% of searchers click on results inside of the Google Maps Pack. (Backlinko, 2020)
20. 88% of searches for local businesses on a mobile device either call or visit the business within 24 hours. (Nectafy, 2019)