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Over the last few years, the importance of search engine optimization has become a hotly contested issue. Some believe that the SEO statistics point to it becoming increasingly outdated. They have a pretty compelling argument for this.

Voice search is making it harder to predict the exact keywords to target. Meanwhile, artificial intelligence is making search engine algorithms a lot harder to manipulate. SEO hasn't been an exact science for a long time now, but this makes things harder.

On the other hand, there are a lot of benefits you won't see listed among most SEO statistics. The web is a big place, and your site could easily go completely unnoticed without it.

Our research has led us to believe that the truth is somewhere in the middle. SEO is changing, but it's far from obsolete. We've summarized the results of our research here in bite-sized pieces. Why not have a look through and see whether you think SEO is on its last legs? Or do you think that the stats we have will show a different picture?

SEO Stats: Editor's Choice

• Around 50% of all searches were voice-activated in 2020.
• More than 9 out of 10 times, people prefer organic results.
• Google handled 88.14% of all desktop searches by October 2020.
• Baidu handles 68.53% of all searches in China.
• 63% of buyers in the US start their product research on Amazon.
• 6 out of 10 people won't read more than a piece's headline.
• Google processes over 40,000 searches per second.
• Google's web index comes in at over 100,000,000 gigabytes.
• Posts with images every 100 words or so receive double the number of shares.
• Content marketing generates three times more leads than conventional marketing.

How Many People Use Search Engines?

1. Around 59% of people use the internet globally.

(Source: Statista)

Think of a world without email, social media, Skype, and so on. The internet makes it more convenient for us to perform a large percentage of tasks.

2. 1 out of 6 Americans currently own smart speakers.

(Source: Forbes)

This is going to make a huge difference in SEO statistics, Forbes says. It's becoming more imperative than ever before to ensure that your site is optimized for voice search. Simple keywords are becoming obsolete—you need to incorporate natural questions throughout your content.

3. Around 50% of all internet traffic comes from mobile devices.

(Source: Statista)

According to the latest SEO statistics, if your site isn't responsive or takes too long to load, the users will leave it fast. Namely, 43% of users do not return to a website after experiencing issues with access. This, in turn, lowers your site's ranking on search engines.

4. CarGuru.com lost 30% of its traffic apparently through using black hat linking tactics in 2019.

(Source: Engine Land)

Take this as a cautionary tale. According to the SEO statistics on front-page positioning, a massive 66% of all links to CarGuru.com came from black hat sources in 2019. As a result, when a recent Google update went through, they lost a significant amount of traffic. Using black hat tactics will always come back to bite you in the end. With that in mind, if you plan on launching a successful SEO campaign, by all means, follow Google's guidelines, and steer clear of shady optimization techniques.

5. Google handled 9/10 searches in 2023.

(Source: GalacticFed)

Google dominates the market when it comes to search, plain and simple. About 87% of desktop and 95% of mobile search traffic goes through Google.

6. According to search engine traffic stats, Bing processed 6.18% of all search queries in 2020.

(Source: Statista)

You'd be wise to spend some time improving your results on Bing. It might not handle as much bulk as Google, but it's still a force to be considered. Also, Bing performs relatively well in the United States.

7. 93% of online experiences begin with a search engine.

(Source: Forbes)

When you're looking for information online, where do you start? A search engine is a logical place to look for something new. Now, it's true that people doing product research are also likely to start their search on a site like Amazon. A search engine provides the perfect tool to kick off some research.

Conclusion

There's still a lot of value in search engine optimization. It's a dynamic field, and if we want to keep getting it right, we need to stay current on the latest developments.

Does My Business Need SEO?

Most businesses need SEO to thrive. Because many purchasing journeys involve search. Without SEO, it's likely that your competitors will outrank you for relevant keywords. And you miss out on valuable exposure and traffic.

How Does SEO Work?

SEO works by aligning your website with what search engines and their users are looking for. And how they look for it.

Google uses website crawlers to explore the web. As part of your SEO strategy, ensure that these crawlers can access your content properly. Meanwhile, Google's search algorithm determines the intent behind each query (i.e., what searchers want). And looks at various ranking factors to choose the best results.