SEO statistics for 2023 that really matter

We all want as much traffic as possible on our website, which is why search engine optimization (SEO) plays such an important role. Not only does the searcher already have a need that they want to satisfy, but there are also significant cost savings compared to paid advertising.

I have compiled some of the most important SEO statistics for 2023, which will show you the importance of search engine optimization and also help you prepare your website for more and better traffic right from the programming and design stage.

SEO statistics

Backlink statistics

Link building is an important off-page SEO tactic. Google uses backlinks to understand how other websites talk about you and to determine how much of an expert you are in your field. Backlinks not only serve as a recommendation or endorsement, but also bring more visitors to your website.

1. A study published on Backlinko showed that the number of unique referring domains linking to a page has the highest correlation with rankings in Google (Backlinko, 2020). 
2. The top result in Google has an average of 3.8 times more backlinks and 3.2 times more referring domains than the results in positions 2-10 (Backlinko, 2020). 
3. In general, the more backlinks a page has, the more organic traffic it receives from Google (Ahrefs, 2020).
4. More than 66% of pages have no backlinks (Ahrefs, 2020).
5. An Ahrefs study found that 43.7% of pages that rank at the top of Google contain reciprocal links (Ahrefs, 2020).

Core Web Vitals statistics

The speed of a website is essential to providing your visitors with a great experience. For this reason, website performance is also factored into Google's ranking algorithm.

However, the following SEO statistics are interesting in this context.

Only 33% of the websites tested meet the Core Web Vitals (Ahrefs, 2022).

Ahrefs examined data points from two points in time: January 1, 2021, and September 1, 2021, to show the improvement in Core Web Vitals and the differences between desktop Core Web Vitals and mobile Core Web Vitals. They found that the websites they measured improved by about 10% on both desktop and mobile (2021). 

However, it is interesting to note that more websites meet the Core Web Vitals thresholds on desktop than on mobile devices. In January, this was the case for 30% of websites on desktop and only 19% on smartphones. In September, 41% of websites on desktop and 29% on mobile devices met the requirements (2021).

So it may well be that your competitors have slower websites, which could give you an SEO bonus.

However, keep in mind that while page experience and Core Web Vitals are an important Google ranking factor, they are not the most important one. Continue to focus on the fundamentals of search engine optimization and improve your page experience and content to achieve better results.

Keyword search statistics

Keywords are the foundation of a good SEO strategy. Finding the right keywords is both an art and a science. These four keyword statistics may lead you to believe it's magic.

1. 15% of all Google searches have never been performed before (Google, Feb 2022). 
2. 94.74% of search terms are searched 10 times or less per month (Ahrefs, 2021).
3. Are you looking for keywords with high search volume? Only 0.0008% of keywords receive more than 100,000 monthly searches (Ahrefs, 2021). Of course, to find the perfect keywords, you don't just have to focus on search volume.
4. Google Search Console is an invaluable tool for monitoring SEO performance. However, Google Search Console does not display 46.08% of clicks, making it difficult to assess which keywords are driving traffic (Ahrefs, 2022).

SERP statistics

SEO aims to improve a website's performance in search engine results pages (SERPs). If your website is more visible in search results, your target audience is more likely to find you and click through to your website. The following statistics illustrate why SEO and visibility in search engines are so important.

1. In 2022, there were 5.9 million Google searches per minute (Domo, via Statista, 2022).
2. In a 2020 study, Ahrefs reported that 90.63% of websites receive no traffic from Google searches (Ahrefs, 2020). 
3. In 2020, 64.82% of Google searches were so-called "zero-click searches." This means that searchers entered their search query and then did not click on any of the results. Either because the SERP answered the question with a SERP feature such as a handy featured snippet, or because the results were not what the searcher was looking for. (SparkToro, 2021). Of the remaining 35.18%, 33.59% led to clicks on organic search results and 1.59% to paid search results (SparkToro, 2021). 

Crazy, right? Fortunately, SparkToro dug a little deeper and looked at mobile and desktop searches:

4. Searches performed on desktop computers are more likely to result in a click. 50.75% of these searches result in an organic click; 2.78% of these result in a paid click. 46.48% of desktop searches end without a click (SparkToro, 2021).

5. 77.22% of mobile searches are zero-click searches. 21.99% of mobile searches result in an organic click and 0.79% result in a paid click (SparkToro, 2021).

Title tag statistics

Google and other search engines use the page title, which is programmed in a title tag, to display it to searchers. A descriptive page title that includes the keyword can increase the click-through rate and highlight the relevance of your content.

1. 7.4% of pages ranking in the top ten have no title tags (Ahrefs, 2021). 
2. While Google claims that only 13% of title tags are rewritten, Ahrefs estimates that Google rewrites about 33% of title tags for pages in the top 10 (Ahrefs, 2021). 
3. When Google rewrites a title tag, it uses the H1 tag in 51% of cases (Ahrefs, 2021).
4. The optimal length of a title tag is between 40 and 60 characters. Not only will a long title tag be truncated in the SERPs, but Google is 57% more likely to rewrite tags that exceed the character limit (Ahrefs, 2021). It's best to create a title tag that contains your main keyword and has 60 characters or less. 

Meta descriptions Statistics

Although meta descriptions are not a ranking factor, they can increase click-through rates. That's why we recommend that our customers create a separate meta description for each page. Think of these descriptions as a 30-second elevator pitch. They should be as compelling as possible to encourage searchers to click on your page.

1. Almost 41% of the top ten pages have meta descriptions that are too long (Ahrefs, 2020). Google truncates these in the SERPs.
2. 25% of the top ten pages have not provided a meta description (Ahrefs, 2020).
3. It is estimated that Google rewrites meta descriptions in almost 63% of cases (Ahrefs, 2020).

So if Google is likely to change your meta description, should you bother writing one? Of course you should!

SERP features

SERP features such as images, featured snippets, and related questions are prominently displayed for many search terms. 

1. More than half of search queries trigger a SERP feature for related questions or related searches (Similarweb, 2022). Many search queries are also associated with other SERP features. 
2. Semrush tracks the occurrence of SERP features with the Semrush Sensor. Find out which SERP features appear in the top 20 positions for the keywords you are checking. At the time of writing this report (April 2023), nearly 72% of SERPs had sitelinks, 63% had "People Also Ask" boxes, half had reviews, 45% had an image pack, and nearly 26% had videos. Only 2.68% of searches had no SERP features.

Click-through rate SEO statistics

Appearing in SERPs is important, but it's useless if people don't actually click on your pages. Here's what you need to know about this important SEO metric:

1. The top result on Google has an average click-through rate of 27.6% (Backlinko, 2022).
2. The first three Google results account for 54.4% of organic SERP clicks (Backlinko, 2022).
3. Less than 1% of Google searchers click on a link on page two (Backlinko, Oct. 2022).
4. Improving your SERP position can increase your click-through rate, with the biggest improvements found in the top three positions (Backlinko, Oct. 2022). Moving from the second position on page one to the first position can result in a 74.5% increase in clicks.

Digital marketing statistics

Many marketers still don't recognize the value of SEO as a standalone marketing channel. The following digital marketing statistics show why it's such a valuable channel for connecting with customers.

1. 31.1% of internet users between the ages of 16 and 64 discover new brands, products, and services via search engines (Reportal, 2022).
2. More than half of internet users research a brand or product online before making a purchase (Reportal, 2022).
3. 48.5% of internet users worldwide use search engines to find out about products before making a purchase (Reportal, 2022).
4. 34.4% of US internet users between the ages of 16 and 64 use ad blockers (Reportal, 2022). In Switzerland, this figure is around a quarter of Swiss internet users aged 15 and above (Statista, 2019).
5. 42.6% of US internet users between the ages of 16 and 64 reject cookies at least sometimes (Reportal, 2022).

E-commerce statistics

Search plays a paramount role in e-commerce. The better you integrate SEO, the more you can raise awareness of your brand or products among your target audience.

1. No one wants to walk into a store, get excited about the perfect product, and then find out it's out of stock. In 2021, 53% of US Christmas shoppers checked online to see if the item they wanted was in stock before heading to the store (Google, 2022).
2. 38% of US shoppers said they use Google to find out about new items (Google, 2022).
3. 58.2% of internet users between the ages of 16 and 24 shop online every week (Reportal, 2022).
4. 28.9% of internet users between the ages of 16 and 24 order groceries online every week (Reportal, 2022).
5. Free shipping is the most important selling point on the internet, followed by discounts. 49.3% of internet users between the ages of 16 and 64 say that free shipping is the factor that most influences their decision to complete an order (Reportal, 2022).

Using the search engine

When SEOs talk about optimization, they often talk about Google. Here's why.

1. According to Statcounter, which tracks global search usage, Google's market share is 92.57%. Bing is a distant second with 3.04%, followed by Yahoo with 1.24% (Jan. 2023). These statistics change monthly, so be sure to check their website.
2. Google also has the largest browser market share. Chrome is the most popular web browser in the world, with a market share of 61%. Safari ranks second with almost 25% (Similarweb, 2022). 

Does that mean you should focus on Yahoo's ranking factors or run Bing ads? That depends on where your target audience is, but in most cases, it's still safest to focus on Google.

search statistics

Mobile search statistics

Google crawls and indexes the mobile version of a website via the smartphone agent. Why is that? Because the majority of search queries are made from mobile devices. 

1. Nearly 66% of global internet traffic comes from mobile devices. In the US, about 60% of internet traffic comes from a mobile device (SimilarWeb, 2022). This means not only that a mobile-friendly website is a must, but also that we need to think about how people find us through mobile search.

So what should companies focus their attention on? Google, of course.

2. Google dominates mobile search. In November 2022, 92.93% of mobile searches were conducted via Google. Yahoo!, DuckDuckGo, and Bing accounted for 2.32%, 2.28%, and 2.16% respectively (Statcounter, 2022).

Local search statistics

We often think that the internet connects the world, but it also makes it easier to find our way around our communities. Features such as Google Business Profiles and reviews have made "local SEO" a necessity for businesses.

1. Search queries for "shopping near me" in Google Maps have more than doubled year on year (Google, 2022).
2. Last year, 99% of Americans searched online for information about a local business (Brightlocal, 2022).
3. An estimated 78% of US consumers search for information about local businesses on a weekly basis, with 21% doing so daily. 35% search for local businesses several times a week. Only 1% of respondents do not search for local businesses online (Brightlocal, 2022).
4. Buyers are increasingly turning to Google reviews. 81% of respondents read Google reviews, up from 63% in 2020 (Brightlocal 2022).
5. The use of Yelp has also increased: 53% of consumers check it in 2021, compared to only 32% in 2020 (Brightlocal 2022).
6. Facebook usage declined during the same period: in 2020, 54% of respondents said they read Facebook reviews. This figure fell to 48% in 2021 (Brightlocal 2022).

Voice search statistics

A few years ago, voice search and smart speakers were hailed as the next stage of search. Have these predictions come true? 

Here are the current figures:

1. In August 2021, 48% of households will have a smart speaker (ComScore, 2021). That is 140% more households than in August 2019.
2. Most of these smart speakers—94.3 million—are from Amazon, while 56.7 million are Google Smart Speakers (ComScore, 2021).
3. Insider Intelligence (2022) estimates that 142 million people in the US will use a voice assistant in 2022. That is 42.1% of the population. They assume that 125.2 million people will also use voice assistants on their smartphones in 2022.
4. 88.1% of people who use a voice assistant do so via their smartphone (Insider Intelligence, 2022). 

So what do people do with these smart devices? 

The 2021 study by ComScore lists the five most important activities performed with smart devices:

• 31.4% of users ask general questions
• 26.7% search for weather, traffic, travel, or sports news
• 24.5% stream music
• 21.8% use alarm or timer functions
• 19.1% use home automation features

Visual search statistics

Alt text is an important part of on-page SEO. Not only does it enable screen readers and search crawlers to "read" your images, it also increases your chances of appearing in visual search results.

1. 30% of US internet users aged 30 or younger have used visual search to find a product they wanted to buy or learn more about (Insider Intelligence, 2022).

2. 21.3% of US internet users aged 16 to 64 use image recognition software on their smartphones every month (Reportal, 2022).

Online usage times

Why should you focus on search engine optimization rather than billboard or television advertising? Because that's where most brands find their target audience.

The onset of the pandemic in 2020 led to people spending more and more time online.

1. According to the 2021 Warc study, users spent:

• About 28% more time spent on online shopping.
• 30% more time on social media.
• Almost 40% more time spent streaming videos.
• Almost 80% more time spent gaming.

2. Now, at the start of 2023, 63.5% of the world's population is online (Data Reportal, 2022), and the average adult user spends 6 hours and 37 minutes online every day. 
3. Younger internet users spend more time online (Data Reportal, 2022). 
4. 55.7% of time spent online is spent on a mobile device (Data Reportal, 2022).

The top 10 reasons why Internet users between the ages of 16 and 64 use the Internet are:

• Finding information
• Communicate with friends and family
• Staying up to date
• Stream shows and movies
• Research how to do something
• Seeking inspiration and ideas
• Research brands
• Listen to music
• Fill your free time
• Learning

6. The top 10 websites and apps for internet users aged 16 to 64 are:
   • Chat & Messaging
   • Social networks
   • search engines 
   • Shopping or auctions
   • Maps and location-based services
   • Email
   • Music
   • News
   • weather
   • entertainment

Source: Data Reportal, 2022