Must Know SEO Statistics to Shape Your SEO Strategy

From link farming and keyword stuffing to focusing on the page experience and content quality, the SEO landscape has come a long way in the past decade.

And guess what? It’s still evolving as we speak, with Google rolling out several updates to its ranking algorithm each year.

Sure, the basics of SEO — backlinks, keywords, and content — still play a key role in determining a website’s performance on Google SERP. But as new SEO trends generative AI, semantic search, video, etc. play an increasingly bigger role in SEO success, it helps to know the latest facts and figures to stay on top of your SEO game.

So, in this blog-post, let’s look at some important SEO statistics for 2025.

Segmented SEO Statistics for 2025

After some careful digging, we’ve compiled and categorized a list of the top SEO statistics you must know to better understand the SEO landscape and strategize for 2025. Let’s dive in.

SEO Industry Statistics

To kick-off, check out these important and interesting statistics about Google SEO and the search industry in general:

• Google has 81.95% of the search engine market share.
• According to Backlinko, the first organic result in Google SERPs has an average click-through rate (CTR) of 31.7%.
• 57% of B2B marketers report that SEO has the highest ROI compared to other marketing initiatives.
• 49% of marketers say that organic search has the highest ROI, surpassing all marketing channels.
• 92.96% of global web traffic is generated from Google search, Google Images, and Google Maps.
• According to SEMrush, on average, people visit 3-3.5 pages every time they visit a website from organic search.
• Just 0.78% of Google searchers click the second-page results.
• Leads generated from SEO have a 14.6% close rate.
• 61% of marketers say improving SEO and organic presence is a top inbound marketing priority.

AI and SEO Statistics

The integration of AI in SEO is showing significant impact and benefits according to the latest statistics for 2024:

• AI adoption in SEO is still in the early stages, with 72.6% of businesses not yet integrating it into their SEO strategies.
• The majority of marketers (67%) have observed improvements in content quality when using AI.
• AI-created headlines have been shown to increase click-through rates by up to 59%.
• About 40% of marketers have reported a 6-10% increase in revenue after incorporating AI into their SEO practices.
• eCommerce businesses have seen up to a 45% increase in organic traffic and a 38% rise in conversion rates through AI-enhanced SEO efforts​.
• A significant 68% of businesses have reported higher ROI on content marketing and SEO due to the use of AI.

Search Engine Usage Statistics

Let’s take a look at how people are currently using search engines like Google to get answers to their questions and engage with businesses.

• A significant 93% of online experiences begin with a search engine.
• According to Backlinko, the first organic result in Google SERPs has an average click-through rate (CTR) of 27.6%.
• As of 2024, Google processes approximately 8.5 billion searches each day. This impressive volume translates to about 99,000 searches every second.
• About 70-80% of users focus only on organic results, bypassing paid ads.
• The first five organic search results capture 67.60% of all clicks, which highlights the importance of ranking high in search results.
• On average, when people visit a website from an organic search, they browse through about 2.53 pages per session on mobile devices. This number increases to 3.55 pages per session for desktop users.
• Just 0.63% of Google searchers click the second-page results.

Backlinks Statistics

Backlinks continue to play a dominant role in effective SEO. Here’s what the latest data says:

• A significant 74.3% of SEO professionals pay for links as part of their strategy.
• Top-ranking pages receive backlinks from new sites at a rate of 5% to 14.5% per month.
• 65.2% of SEOs still believe that links will have the same or even higher impact on rankings in the next five years​.
• Approximately 85% of SEOs believe that link building significantly impacts brand authority, highlighting the ongoing importance of strategic link building in enhancing a brand's presence and credibility online.
• About 65% of all website pages have zero backlinks.
• Link building prices range from $100 to $1,500 or more per link. Lower-authority links may cost around $300 each, while high-authority, contextual backlinks can cost between $700 to $2,000 or more.
• 43.7% of pages that rank at the top of Google have at least some reciprocal backlinks.

Local SEO statistics

Local SEO is all about improving your local search visibility for a geo-targeted audience. If you serve customers locally — as a brick-and-mortar store or as a service provider — you must focus on improving your local search presence so more customers can reach you online and off.

Check out these numbers that ascertain the importance of local SEO.

• 46% of all Google searches have local intent.
• Local searches alone account for 22.6% of website traffic.
• A substantial 88% of people use Google Maps to find local businesses.
• Businesses appearing in the Google 3-Pack receive 126% more traffic and 93% more actions (like calls and website clicks) compared to those ranked between 4-10​.
• A large majority of local searches, about 57%, are performed on mobile devices, and 78% of these searches result in purchases, highlighting the importance of optimising for mobile.
• 76% of consumers who perform a local search visit a store within a day if it's within five miles of their location.
• Reviews play a crucial role in local SEO, influencing 67% of consumers.
• Negative reviews, particularly four or more, can deter up to 70% of potential customers​.
• 62% of consumers will avoid a local business if they find incorrect information online.

Mobile SEO statistics

Tied closely to local SEO success is mobile SEO. Google’s mobile-first indexing means the mobile (and not the desktop) version of your website is the benchmark for how Google indexes your website and determines your rankings. As the bulk of Google searches now happen on mobile devices, mobile SEO is something you can’t ignore.

Here are some stats on mobile SEO and its importance:

• Mobile devices generate 59% of all web traffic, emphasising the importance of mobile-friendly websites.
• Over half (51%) of smartphone users discover a new company or product when searching on their smartphones.
• A significant 87% of smartphone owners use a search engine daily.
• By 2025, it is estimated that almost three-quarters (72.6%) of internet users will access the internet solely via their smartphones, which translates to nearly 3.7 billion people.

Voice Search Statistics

Voice search is increasingly popular. Here are some of the latest statistics on voice search as of 2024:

• 27% of the global online population now use voice search on mobile devices.
• The use of voice search is particularly prevalent among younger age groups, with 77% of individuals aged 18 to 34 using it on their smartphones.
• Voice search is playing a substantial role in commerce, with 56% of users employing voice search to gather information about brands or businesses.
• Approximately 58% of voice search answers are sourced from Google's Featured Snippets.
• The typical reading level of a voice search result is of 9th grade.
• The average Google voice search result landing page contains about 2,312 words.
• Around 75% of voice search results appear in the top three organic results for that query.
• The average voice search result has a length of roughly 29 words.

Video SEO statistics

Today, for many search queries, you’ll likely find a bunch of videos ranking at the top of the SERP. Google introduced video carousels in 2018 and since then, many marketers have started investing efforts in video creation and video SEO.

As YouTube (owned by Google) is the world’s second-largest search engine and second most visited website after Google, video SEO ties closely with YouTube performance. Here are some stats on the same:

• Video content is now a significant factor in SEO, being 50 times more likely to secure a top spot on Google's first page compared to text-only pages.
• Blog posts with videos attract three times the inbound links of text-only posts, and featuring a video on a landing page can increase the likelihood of ranking on Google's first page by 53%.
• Approximately 82% of people report that watching a video has convinced them to purchase a product or service.
• A vast majority of marketers recognise the value of video, with 91% reporting that video content has helped them increase web traffic, 90% stating it has generated new leads, and 87% noting an increase in sales revenue due to video.
• YouTube has 2 billion+ monthly active users, with 500+ hours of content uploaded each minute.
• In 26% of cases, Google search results include videos.
• Roughly 92% of brands agree that video content positively impacts website traffic.
• Approximately 95% of brands report that video content has led to an increase in brand awareness.

Content Marketing in SEO Statistics

The latest content marketing in SEO statistics for 2024 highlights several key trends and effective strategies:

• 78% of B2B marketers use keyword research to guide their content creation.
• Content marketing continues to be a powerful tool for lead generation, with 72% of businesses reporting it boosts their lead generation significantly.
• A notable 53% of B2B marketers find case studies to be the most effective content format.
• About half of the marketers report plans to increase their content marketing investment, underscoring the growing emphasis on content-driven strategies​.
• 76% of marketers report that content marketing boosts demand and leads from organic search.

eCommerce SEO statistics

As eCommerce and competition in the online shopping space continue to skyrocket, so does the need for eCommerce SEO.

Here are some top eCommerce SEO stats you need to know for 2025:

• Organic search remains a primary driver of traffic to eCommerce sites, accounting for 53.3% of all traffic.
• Websites with structured data markup see a 30% increase in click-through rates, highlighting the importance of well-organised site information for SEO performance​.
• Ecommerce sites that load quickly (in 2 seconds or less) have significantly lower bounce rates (around 9%) and higher conversion rates.
• Mobile commerce is now responsible for 34.5% of total eCommerce sales, indicating the critical need for mobile-optimised websites.
• Approximately 55% of all product searches start on Amazon, not Google.
• In a recent analysis, 30,172 out of 35,305 keywords (85.6%) resulted in product listings that were free product carousels.
• In February 2024, product listings occupied the first position in 39% of queries and the third position in 15%. By July 2024, these figures increased to 43% and 13.6%, respectively, indicating a shift towards higher visibility in search results.
• The prevalence of the "Popular Products" SERP feature has grown substantially, with a 65% annual increase in visibility. It tends to appear more often in desktop searches than mobile. Business & Industrial and Home & Garden niches see the most benefit from this feature due to its high engagement and visibility potential.
• Google has expanded its Shopping platform, allowing users to compare products, read reviews, use filters, see pricing, and make purchases directly through the search interface.
• Retailers are increasingly utilising local inventory ads to display real-time product availability in nearby stores directly within search results.

SEO ROI Statistics

Recent data underscores the substantial return on investment (ROI) that businesses can achieve through effective Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) strategies:

• Approximately 49% of marketers identify organic search as delivering the best ROI among various marketing strategies.
• Thought leadership SEO campaigns can yield an average ROI of 748%, indicating that for every dollar invested, businesses may see a return of $7.48.
• Certain sectors experience even higher returns. For instance, the real estate industry reports an average ROI of 1,389% from SEO efforts, while the medical device sector sees approximately 1,183%.
• Leads generated through SEO have a close rate of 14.6%, significantly higher than the 1.7% close rate for outbound leads.
• Businesses typically begin to see positive ROI from SEO campaigns within 6 to 12 months, with peak results often occurring in the second or third year of sustained efforts.

Image SEO statistics

Image SEO is about optimizing your website’s images so they are easy for search engines to find and index, thus improving your content’s visibility and rankings. Image SEO includes optimizing elements like image type and load time, along with usage and optimization of alt text and keywords in image file names.

Here are a few stats highlighting the importance of image SEO:

• 32.9% of Google search queries return image results.
• Images receive approximately 3% of all Google search clicks.
• Updating and republishing old blog posts with fresh content and images can boost organic traffic by 106%.
• 62% of Millennial and Gen Z users want the ability to search by image over any other emerging technology.

Wrapping up

As people become increasingly immune to paid ads, SEO and other inbound marketing channels continue to become more effective in driving traffic, leads, and sales. These stats help paint an objective picture of what’s what in the modern SEO canvas.

Here are the three key takeaways to guide your 2025 SEO strategy:

• Prioritising your website and content structure for mobile usability is a must.
• If you’re a local business or serve specific geographic areas, then your core focus must be to nail your local SEO.
• Besides blogging, investing in a video marketing strategy can help you stand out in search and improve overall brand awareness.

And that’s about it. Found this post interesting? Be sure to share it with your social network!