20 Search Statistics for 2020

Search Engine Optimization is taking the marketing world by storm. As boring as that sounds, we can assure you that it isn’t.

Search engines are tremendously powerful, incomprehensibly complicated, and incalculably valuable tools that parse through, well, all of the information that has ever existed.

We might even go so far as to say that Search is the motor that runs the world. But don’t take our word for it– we’ll let the data speak for itself.

Here’s a list of 20 undeniably riveting search statistics to ring in the New Year and impress even your most tech-averse friends.

1. In 2019, Google processed 1.2 trillion searches worldwide. That’s right, trillion.

2. 75% of people never scroll past the first page of search engines. So basically, in 75% of cases, “if you ain’t first– you’re last.”

3. According to HubSpot, companies who engage in blogging receive 97% more backlinks to their site.

4. 93% of people start their internet surfing session with a search engine query.

5. 70-80% of people are “ad blind” — meaning they ignore paid search results (AKA search engine advertisements). That means they choose to only click on organic search results— AKA the kinds that SEO makes possible.

6. 87% of smartphone users use search engines at least once a day . All the more reason to make sure your website is optimized for mobile.

7. In case you need another reason to invest in mobile optimization, 40% of mobile website visitors will leave if a page takes more than 3 seconds to load. As they say, “you only get one chance to make a first impression.” Just make sure it’s 3 seconds or less.

8. According to Amy Bishop of Clix Marketing, 72% of consumers who entered a local search query visited a storefront within 5 miles of their location. If you’re a business with a storefront, local SEO and geotags are your friends.

9. 67% of all clicks go to the first 5 organic search results. Because it’s not quite enough to just show up on the front page. The real #SEOgoals is being in the top half of the front page.

10. More searches are done every day on mobile devices than desktops. This trend continues as we enter 2020, although voice searches are becoming increasingly prevalent since the advent of home droids like Alexa, Siri, and Home Assistant.

11. Nearly 60% of the pages ranking in the top 10 Google results are 3 or more years old. The longer your site is around, the more time it has to gain a robust following, build a network of reputable links and backlinks, and compile an archive of useful content.

12. Based on data gathered by SEM Rush, the average word count of a first-page ranking site has 1890 words. Gone are the days of slim content stuffed with keywords– nowadays, informative, well-written and long-form content prevails. That’s not to say that short posts aren’t post-worthy. Just don’t be afraid to surpass the standard 350-500 word length imposed by outdated blog dogma of the 2010’s.

13. On that note, long-form content receives 77.2% more backlinks than short articles.

14. 81% of people do research online before making a large purchase. If you’re an e-commerce site, that means it’s of utmost importance that you provide valuable information to people who are still on the fence about buying a product.

15. This one is straight from Google itself: after searching on a smartphone for something nearby, 76% of people end up visiting a local business within 1 day. Of those, 28% of people make a purchase.

16. More than 55% of pages do not have a single backlink pointing to them.

17. According to Hosting Tribunal, there are about 2 billion websites on the internet. Of those, only about 400 million are active.

18. Video content can boost search engine traffic by as much as 157%.

19. As of 2019, over 3.5 billion queries are typed into Google Search every single day.

20. 15% of Google searches have never been searched before. That means every single day, millions and millions of wholly new queries are thought about and searched for. All the more reason to keep your content evergreen.