Marketing Stats for 2025

When it comes to getting found online, organic search is the best medium. Since the creation of search engines, search engine optimization (SEO) has been a powerful strategy for ensuring that your brand gets noticed by your target audience at the right time. While the strategies used by the search industry have shifted over the years, one thing remains solid: SEO is essential for driving organic traffic to your website and for achieving online marketing success.

Like all ethical internet marketing strategies, SEO takes time and dedication. It’s more than just link building or content creation. Depending on the industry and the type of search you are trying to increase your visibility, you must use different strategies and tactics. Today’s search engines give users more options, making them more lucrative for site owners than ever before.

Below are statistics that prove the power of organic search engine optimization and search engine marketing.

Marketing Statistics That Prove the Power of Organic Search

Organic Search

1. In 2023, organic and paid search combinations made up 80% of all trackable website visits, an increase of 20% since 2019.
2. Ranking highly in organic search results is crucial. In 2024, only 2% of searchers clicked on the paid ad in position one, whereas 40% clicked the first organic link.
3. One study shows that more than 25% of SERPs now include an AI Overview.
4. 40.7% of all answers from voice search are pulled from a Featured Snippet.
5. In 2024, 59.7% of Google searches in the European Union and 58.5% of Google searches in the United States resulted in zero clicks.
6. 54% of searchers look through more search results than five years ago.
7. In 2024, Google held 82% of the desktop global market share, and Bing had 10.5%.
8. 91.5% of all mobile and tablet search traffic comes from Google.
9. In Jan 2024, search engines drove 94% more site traffic than social media.
10. In 2024, 96.2% of global users accessed the Internet via mobile phones. By comparison, internet access via laptop or desktop was almost 63%.
11. 69% of clicks go to the top five websites in search engine results and the results from 6 to 10 yield about 17% of the clicks.
12. Over one-third of search queries are four words or longer.
13. Searchers use Google’s autocomplete suggestions 23% of the time.
14. The first organic result in Google gets 27.6% of all clicks.
15. SEO nearly always converts at a higher rate than PPC.
16. 75% of users never click past the first page of search results.
17. Inbound leads, such as SEO, cost 61% less than outbound leads, such as direct mail or cold calling.
18. The SEO market is set to surpass $129 billion by 2030.
19. 73% of online experiences begin with a search engine.
20. 49% of B2B companies implement SEO strategies in their marketing.
21. 81% of people perform some type of online research before purchasing online or in-store.
22. Backlinko found that only less than one percent of Google searchers clicked on something from the second page.
23. Leads from search engines have a 14.6% close rate, while outbound leads (ex. cold-calling, direct mail, etc.) have a 1.7% close rate.
24. 97% of people ignore paid search results, choosing to only click on organic listings.
25. 47% of consumers expect a page to load in two seconds or less.
26. SEO delivers a higher conversion rate (2.4%) compared to PPC ads (1.3%)
27. It takes around 6-12 months for new content to start ranking on the first page of Google.
28. 65% of SEO experts say that Google’s search engine algorithm updates have actually helped their websites get more traffic and rank higher.
29. 15% of Google queries have never been searched before.
30. Google uses more than 200 ranking factors in its algorithm.
31. Approximately 63% of searches are on mobile, 35.5% are on desktop, and 2% are on a tablet.

Local Search

1. 88% of users who perform a local search on their smartphone visit a physical store within a week.
2. 41% of consumers use three or more sites when using local businesses.
3. 96% of consumers use the internet to find a local business, with 34% searching daily.
4. In 2024, consumers used Instagram and TikTok for business reviews more, with an increase of 2% and 3%, respectively.
5. 54% of all website traffic is generated from mobile phones.
6. 95% of customers read online reviews before buying a product.
7. 49% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.
8. Google Maps users contribute more than 20 million pieces of information daily–including business reviews!
9. Customers are 2.7 times more likely to consider a business reputable if they find a complete Business Profile on Google Search and Maps.
10. 7.2% of 2024 SERPs featured Local Pack results.
11. “Near me” searches have increased by 500% in recent years.

Content for SEO

1. 89% of marketers say they use generative AI tools.
2. 87% of B2B marketers say content marketing created brand awareness in the last 12 months.
3. Businesses with blogs get 126% higher lead growth.
4. Companies with blogs get twice as much traffic. That means more leads!
5. A 2024 global survey among marketing and media leaders found that approximately 59% included retaining and expanding existing customers among the most impactful content measures driving their organizations’ revenues.
6. Content optimization is key. 53% of marketers saw their engagement rates increase after updating old content, while 49% saw an increase in traffic.
7. Bloggers who spend more time are getting better results. 26% of bloggers who spend 6+ hours on each article report content is high-performing as opposed to 20% who spend less time writing.
8. In 2024, short articles and posts are at the forefront of B2B marketing, with a usage rate of 94%, an increase from the previous year.
9. 47% of consumers view 3-5 pieces of content created by a company before talking to a salesman from that company.
10. 19% of B2B marketers say AI is integrated into their daily processes and workflows.
11. Most businesses focusing on content strategies for organic growth see noticeable improvements within 3–6 months.
12. Nearly 50% of internet users look for videos related to a product or service before visiting a store.
13. PageSpeed appears to play a major role in voice search SEO. The average voice search result page loads in 4.6 seconds (52% faster than the average page).
14. A page ranking in the top 3 search results has a 75% chance of also ranking for the same query done via voice search.

Google

1. Google maintains a global search engine market share of 89.98% as of November 2024, dominating across desktop, mobile, and tablet platforms. Bing follows at 3.94%, while Yandex, Yahoo, and Baidu trail behind with shares of 2.4%, 1.24%, and 0.81%, respectively.​
2. Organic and paid search account for 80% of all trackable website visits, with 53% organic and 27% paid ads​.
3. Mobile optimization remains critical as mobile-first indexing grows. Only 11% of URLs maintain the same position on mobile as on desktop, emphasizing the need for adaptive SEO practices.
4. Google processes over 8.5 billion searches daily, maintaining its dominance as the world’s largest search engine.
5. Approximately 20% of searches on the Google app are made using voice commands.
6. Over 500 million people use Google Assistant monthly, which is expected to reach 88.7 million in the U.S. by the end of 2024.
7. Google Lens facilitates over 12 billion visual searches every month.
8. Google generated $79.9 billion in revenue in Q1 2024, marking significant growth from $69.4 billion in Q1 2023.
9. 71% of users rely on Google Search for information on big-ticket items like electronics and cars.
10. Organic search results in the 10th position have a comparable click-through rate (2.2%) to paid ads in the first position (2.1%).
11. YouTube remains the most searched term on Google, with 1.3 billion monthly queries.
12. 58% of consumers use Google Voice search to find local businesses.
13. 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 Marketing (SEM)

1. Mobile devices generate over 60% of all online searches, emphasizing the importance of mobile-optimized SEM campaigns.​
2. Paid search ads account for 45% of clicks on SERPs, and visitors from PPC ads are 50% more likely to convert compared to organic visitors.​
3. Total global spending on search ads is projected to reach $132 billion in 2024​.
4. Voice search continues to rise, with over 75% of U.S. households expected to own a smart speaker by 2025​.
5. On average, businesses earn $2 for every $1 spent on Google Ads​.
6. Organic search still drives 53% of all website traffic, highlighting the synergy between SEO and SEM​.
7. 85% of marketers report that videos increase website traffic, an essential tactic for enhancing SEM strategies​.
8. 63% of internet users are more likely to click on Google ads than on any other platform​.
   

Emerging Trends in Organic SEO

1. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) will further personalize search results, using user behavior patterns and preferences to improve accuracy and relevance. Google’s AI-powered features like Bard and conversational search are expected to grow significantly.​
2. Voice and visual search usage are increasing, driven by advancements in Google Assistant and Google Lens. By 2025, more than 50% of searches will involve voice or visual elements.​
3. Over 65% of Google searches may result in zero-click outcomes, where users get their answers directly on the results page, reducing the need to click on external links.​
4. Google is focusing on hyperlocal targeting, enabling businesses to connect with users at a neighborhood level. Granular location data will power more personalized search experiences.​
5. Video content is increasingly prioritized in search results, with platforms like YouTube being integral to Google’s strategy. Optimizing video SEO will be essential for visibility.​
6. Mobile-first indexing will remain a key ranking factor, emphasizing the importance of mobile-optimized websites. By 2025, the majority of traffic will be from mobile devices.​
7. Privacy-first initiatives, such as restrictions on third-party cookies and data anonymization, will influence search algorithms, making compliance and ethical data practices crucial.​

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in November 2017 and has been updated with new data.