An effective SEO strategy has the power to improve brand visibility with increased traffic and more lead conversions.

This is why content marketing teams use SEO software to identify ways to improve their organic search rankings. But even with SEO software, SEO experts find it difficult to pinpoint the most effective SEO tactics. This is because each year Google changes its search algorithm anywhere from 500–600 times.

From meta description length to backlink authorities, Google is always changing the ways its search engine ranks on-page and off-page content. The good news is that much of what Google deems important for its SEO is being analyzed in real time to deliver concrete ways on how to improve your company’s SEO.

40+ SEO statistics for 2019

To clarify some of the more challenging aspects of SEO, we’ve outlined some of the most important SEO statistics and how you can use this information to improve your SEO strategy in 2019.

Keyword statistics

SEO keywords are an integral factor that go into determining a page’s SERP ranking. Prior to writing content, marketing teams should conduct keyword research in order to discover what online users are searching for the most often. Once marketing teams discover which keywords they should focus on, they can develop a list of keywords or questions that they can answer on their webpage in order to bring valuable content to the user. Users can take advantage of SEO software that will provide them with great keyword research tools and help boost your webpage’s organic traffic.

• 48% of marketers say that keyword and phrase research is the most effective SEO tactic. (HubSpot)
• 96% of survey respondents use keyword research and topic importance as the two deciding factors in their SEO strategy. (Medium)
• Businesses with a strong keyword in their company name rank 1.5 spots higher in search engine results. (Bridge)
• Long tail keywords with lower search volume convert 70% better than major keywords. (Moz)
• 25% of all search volume happens outside the top 100 million keywords. (SEJ)
• 50% of search queries are four words or longer. (Hubspot)
• 66% of buyer intent keywords are paid clicks. (Clever Clicks, 2018)

On-page SEO statistics

With all of the different ways that marketing teams try to game SEO, they sometimes forget that quality content is still one of the most crucial factors in determining a page’s SERP ranking. You can have all the keywords in the world, but it won’t matter if no one finds your written content to be informative and useful. On-page SEO refers to the practice of optimizing individual web pages, which includes both the content quality of the page as well as HTML optimization. Users who want to increase their on-page SEO should focus on making their content unique and the page layout readable. By maximizing the quality of on-page SEO this gives your content a higher chance of being read as well as shared.

• Video is 50 times more likely to get organic page ranks in Google than plain text results. (BrainShark)
• Quality on-page content is known to increase blog traffic by as much as 2,000%. (Marketing Sherpa)
• 72% of marketers say that relevant content creation is the single most effective SEO tactic. (Marketing Profs)
• 43% of people click on a given result, solely based on the meta description. (Neil Patel)
• 78% of CMOs consider custom content to be the future of digital marketing. (Jeff Bullas)
• Content that lands on the first page of a Google search has an average of 1,890 words. (Backlinko)
• Blogs with images receive 94% more views than blogs without images. (Forbes)

Mobile SEO statistics

People today have double the amount of interactions with brands on mobile than anywhere else. Mobile has taken over as the preferred tool for online searches as users prefer the efficiency that mobile search brings. Google even stated that if your pages aren’t optimized for smartphones, they won’t rank in mobile search at all. With this in mind, mobile optimization must remain a top priority for marketing and web development teams.

• 40% of mobile website visitors will leave your site if it takes more than three seconds to load. (Google)
• 51% of searchers are more likely to purchase from a website that’s been optimized for mobile. (Blue Corona)
• 61% of mobile users are more likely to contact a local business with a mobile site. (BrightLocal)
• 65% of survey respondents stated that they look for the most relevant content regardless of the company that provides the information. (Salesforce)
• Three in four smartphone owners turn to mobile search first to address their immediate needs. (Google)
• The average U.S. adult spent 3 hours and 35 minutes on their phones every day in 2018. (Emarketer)

Backlink statistics

A backlink occurs when another website links to your web page. According to Andrey Lipattsev, a search quality senior strategist at Google, links are the most important factor that contributes to a web page ranking. This means that to increase your domain authority, and website traffic, a major part of your SEO strategy must be centered around ways to get more backlinks.

• Companies that have blogs receive 97% more links to their website. (HubSpot)
• Content over 1,000 words receives more backlinks than shorter-form content. (Moz)
• 65% of marketers say link building is the most difficult SEO strategy. (Smart Insights)
• 85% of survey respondents said they are maintaining or increasing their link-building budgets this year. (Medium)
• Infographics generate 37.5% more backlinks than a typical blog post. (QuickSprout)

Technical SEO statistics

Technical SEO refers to all the factors that affect SEO aside from the actual content. This includes aspects such as page speed, mobile optimization and site architecture. Technical SEO is the foundation that allows your on-page and off-page SEO to run smoothly and affects the overall bounce rate of visitors. Google has even stated that its search engine expects pages to load within two seconds or less, and that page speed does have an impact on SEO.

• As page load time goes from one second to 10 seconds, the probability of the user bouncing is increased by 123%. (Neil Patel)
• 47% of polled consumers expect a page to load within two seconds. (Quicksprout)
• Conversion rates fall by 12% for every extra second that it takes your website to load. (Compass)
• 44% of Fortune 500 company websites are not mobile-friendly. (Techcrunch)
• Enterprise brands named technical SEO as its most successful strategy. (SEO clarity)
• 59% of SEO specialists state that technical on-site optimization is the most effective SEO strategy used. (Medium)
• Page speed and indexation are the top technical concerns for SEO teams. (Medium)
• Usability experts claim that it should only take three clicks to find any given page. (SEJ)

Local SEO statistics

Local SEO refers to searches that relate to businesses that serve clients face-to-face. This includes restaurants, retailers, doctors and any business that owns a physical store. According to Google, 46% of searches now have a “local intent” which means that more and more people are turning to search engines to find immediate services in their area. For businesses in the service industry, you are going to want to optimize your business with address, store hours, phone number, website link and also customer reviews. Once you have all your company information you can then claim your business on Google which will allow you to show in Google Maps results. This is the best way to improve your local SEO and ensure that your business is showing up in relevant searches.

• Local searches lead to more purchases than non-local searches. 18% of local searches on smartphones lead to a purchase within a day vs. 7% of non-local searches. (Google)
• 76% of people who conduct a local mobile search visit a business within 24 hours. (Google)
• Four in five consumers use search engines to find local information. (Google)
• 29% of consumers search for local businesses at least once every seven days. (BrightLocal)
• 78% of location-based mobile searches result in an offline purchase. (Search Engine Land)

General SEO statistics   

• 57% of B2B marketers stated that SEO generates more leads than any other marketing initiative. (HubSpot)
• Google has an 85.8% market share on search and 94.5% on mobile. (HubSpot)
• Google is responsible for 94% of total organic traffic. (Medium)
• Google changes its search algorithm around 500–600 times a year. (Moz)
• 45% of enterprises are investing more than $20,000 on SEO each month. (Medium)

SEO is the cornerstone of content marketing

Website visibility is one of the most important factors that leads to brand awareness. Without an active approach to your content marketing strategy, your website will not be optimized to its full potential.

While there are many technical aspects behind mastering SEO, it’s important to keep in mind that quality, relevant content should be the number one priority. With all the written content on the web, the best way to stand out is to make something unique and useful so readers are more likely to share your article.

Wanna learn more? Check out our article answering the question how does SEO work or learn what keyword cannibalization is and why it's important.