SEO Statistics 2021 – Data You Can Use

SEO statistical data is constantly changing. Every new update to algorithms changes user behavior. With each algorithm update comes ambiguity for digital marketers and business holders alike. SEO strategies depend on the latest and best optimization practices. Here are some SEO Statistics for 2021 you can use to your advantage.

According to OptinMonster are 10 Crucial SEO Ranking Factors You Need to Know

1. A Secure and Accessible Website
2. Page Speed (Including Mobile Page Speed)
3. Mobile Friendliness
4. Domain Age, URL, and Authority
5. Optimized Content
6. Technical SEO
7. User Experience (RankBrain)
8. Links
9. Social Signals
10. Real Business Information

10 factors above are the most influential producers of the 2021 statistical presented below.

SEO Statistics 2021

Before setting out to develop or adapt your SEO or Local SEO strategy, it is important to do SEO benchmarking to create practical goals based on averages in your target industries. You can see the following search engine statistics below to assist in doing that:

Top 10 industries with highest average time (First knowing page, 2021) – SEO Statistics 2021

1. Legal Services- 3:02
2. Sales & Marketing-3.31
3. Medical Devices-3:06
4. Pharmaceuticals – 3:06
5. College & Higher Education- 3:34
6. PCB Design & Manufacturing -3:10
7. Industrial Lot – 2:57
8. Oil & Gas – 2:55
9. Solar Energy -3:29
10. Addiction Treatment – 3:06

Top 10 Industries with highest Bounce Rates (SEO Statistics 2021)

• Legal Services – 44%
• HVAC Services- 43%
• Insurance-41%
• Real Estate-41%
• Addiction Treatment-40%
• Financial Services-39%
• Higher Education-51%
• Construction-47%
• It Staffing & Services-44%
• Solar Energy- 44%

Top 10 Industries with highest conversion rates ( SEO Statistics 2021)

1. Manufacturing – 3.0%
2. Real estate – 2.8%
3. Solar Energy – 2.7%
4. PCB Design & Manufacturing – 2.3%
5. Industrial Lot – 2.2%
6. E-Commerce – 2.0%
7. Legal Services- 7.5%
8. IT Staffing & Services – 3.5%
9. HVAC services – 3.3%
10. Medical Device – 3.1%

General Search Engine Optimization Statistics

A fundamental aspect of SEO is to understand user behavior and the dynamics occurring in search engines. Take a look at the following search engine optimization stats for general search insights to help improve your strategy.

Among all traffic sources, organic search delivers the most traffic to websites, accounting for 53 percent of all web traffic (BrightEdge, 2019).

According to the search stats published in the survey, search engines account for 68 percent of all web traffic, with 53 percent coming from organic search and the remaining 15 percent coming from paid search.

The average click-through rate (CTR) for the first entry on search engine results pages (SERPs) is 30.52 percent. The second entry gets 12.76 percent (Advanced Web Ranking, 2021).

The top entry on SERPs receives 30.52 percent of all clicks on the first page, while the second entry receives 12.76 percent – a discrepancy of 88.6 percent.

Google uses over 200 ranking factors in determining search rankings (Ahrefs, 2020).

Google uses a complicated algorithm that employs over 200 ranking factors to determine SERPs rankings, including technical SEO, backlinks SEO, and user experience. Among these ranking factors, the quality of your content and your backlinks are considered the two most important signals.

About half of respondents to a marketing survey believe that organic search has the best ROI of any marketing channel (Search Engine Journal, 2018).

In a survey conducted by Search Engine Journal, more than 49 percent of respondents agreed that organic search is still the best digital marketing channel as it provides the highest return on investment (ROI).

Local SEO Statistics

Local SEO works help capture traffic from customers looking for services in their area. Customer intent is everything, and when your business obeys a local customer base, understanding that intent can provide results at a higher rate than you anticipate.

• 40% of mobile searches are aimed locally. (google Think) – User intent is everything, so when doing SEO for local business, be sure to keep your mobile site in mind.
• Nearly 57% of consumers will only use a business if it has 4 or more stars on reviews (BrightLocal). To secure and maintain a good star rating marketers need to have a strong review management strategy in action.
•  88% of local businesses searches on mobile devices will either call or visit within 24 hours (Nectafy, 2019). If you want your rankings to convert to leads, you need to invest in local SEO efforts including a Google My Business profile, which helps in motivating users to call from search.
• “Local” and “Near me” keywords on Google saw 350 times more searchers in 2019 than in 2009 (Google). If you are operating a local business, these types of keywords are essential leads for you, as they contemplate a desire to convert.
• On mobile devices “Local” and “Near me” searches are common. Fastest growing search terms are “HVAC repair”, “Restaurants near me”, “Landscaping near me”, “Plumbers near me” and “Roofing companies” (Google).
• For local queries, 42% of searches click on the results of Google Maps Pack (Backlinko, 2020).
• 47% of consumers get in touch with a business after making a local voice search (BrightLocal). This provides users with local pack results.

28% of searches for something nearby result in a purchase (BrightLocal). Gaining insights in your area means gaining traffic from those customers that are likely to convert. When users are looking for local businesses they tend to be closer to the purchase stage in the sales channel.

eCommerce SEO Statistics 2021

Organic search is a key component of Lead generation strategy for eCommerce businesses. It helps in the automation of traffic generation while keeping costs to a minimum. Using the SEO stats below you can fuel your lead generation strategy on organic search.

1. About 60 % of shoppers say they research products in detail on a search engine before deciding on a purchase. Consumers always want to make the best decision. For that they spend plenty of time looking for information about the products and brands they want to do business with. This need for information presents a big opportunity for eCommerce SEO. You need to create content that fulfills their need for attention to bring traffic to your eCommerce website and helps in attracting leads to your business.     
2. An surprising 94% of people rely on explainer videos to learn more about a product which interests them (HubSpot, 2021). From the same study, 84% of those who viewed these explainer videos were persuaded to make a purchase. Including video content in your eCommerce SEO strategies can boost conversions while simultaneously helping in improving your eCommerce website’s performance on organic search.

Mobile & Technical SEO Statistics

Google’s highly anticipated Page Experience update, currently in process of rolling out, (UX) user experience is now considered as one of the most important ranking factors in SEO. So you need to make sure your website is optimized for UX to improve rankings on SERPs. Use the below stats as a guide

• Mobile devices generate about 55% of global site traffic (Statista, 2021). Across the globe currently, 7.1 billion mobile users are active, as the world is becoming more mobile. It is estimated that this number will grow to 7.41 billion by 2024.
• The first entry on SERPs on the mobile device receives 27.7% of clicks while receiving only 19.3% on the desktop (seoClarity, 2021).  Mobile search outperforms desktop search. The top search on mobile search results receives the highest number of clicks (27.7% share) compared to desktop search, whose top search only enjoys 19.3% of all clicks. This corresponds to a 43.5% increase in clicks. This shows why you need to optimize your website for mobile users.
•  Smartphone users are more likely to purchase from a business offering custom features for their location in two out of three searches (Google, 2017). Customization is the name of the big game. You must be thinking Why? Smartphone users are more willing to go with a business that adds custom features for their specific location. Sadly, these SEO stats are meaningless, as the features won’t matter if your website doesn’t load as fast as it should.

The probability of a bounce increases by 32 percent if page load speed increases from one second to three seconds. It goes up by 90 percent if load speed increases to five seconds (Google, 2018). Most consumers end up looking for a different website if your website takes more than three to five seconds to load. You should look at various optimization options, like finding a better host, compressing web elements, or using a content delivery network (CDN).

SEO Trends for 2021

Future-proof your business by researching the latest trends in SEO that could potentially impact your rankings.

Core Web Vitals Set to Impact Google Rankings

Core Web Vitals was announced by Google last year as a set of factors that can be used to measure a web page’s overall UX. Now, these metrics are a new Google ranking factor rolling out as of June 15. It is one of the most important SEO trends to come out in recent years, which is poised to impact rankings significantly.

Voice Search Is Impacting User Search Behavior

Search stats show that voice-enabled smart devices are starting to take over our homes. TechCrunch estimates that by 2022, 55 percent of households in the U.S. will own at least one of these devices. With this takeover, these devices are poised to change SEO. Earlier voice search statistics revealed that around 75 percent of voice search results will rank in the top three and will be answered by rich text snippets. But more than that, voice search statistics say that 62 percent of users use their voice assistants before making a purchase. Here are some tips on how to optimize for voice search:

1. Improve your website’s load speed.
2. Optimize your content with long-tail keywords using natural language.
3. Integrate content that could be featured in rich snippets.
4. Follow local SEO stats and optimize your website for local search.

Zero-Click Searches Are on the Rise

A zero-click search happens when a user doesn’t click through to any web page after a search. This occurs when the user acquires the answer to their query from meta descriptions or from featured snippets, which occupy “position zero” of SERPs.

According to SEO stats 2021, zero-click searches happen in more than 50 percent of queries. One reason for this is the rising popularity of voice search.

So, what’s the best way to prepare for the rise of zero-click searches? Integrating content that directly answers questions to increase the likelihood of capturing the featured snippet.

Conclusion

Whether you’re looking for guidance in local or enterprise SEO, we hope that our stats 2021 guide was able to provide you with insights to guide your strategy. This statistics compilation was created to give you helpful ideas which can help improve your rankings. Use these ideas to optimize your website and attract target consumers.

In recent times, many changes were introduced in SEO that is now starting to happen in 2021. Keeping track of these changes is essential while developing a data-driven SEO strategy. SEO is a very dynamic industry so one has to pay attention to the latest trends and search engine statistics to ensure that your optimization efforts lead to positive results.

Marketing Disty is a full-service SEO and development agency that offers enterprise and other SEO services to bring ultimate success to your brand. We will help you in utilizing the potential of this search engine optimization and help you to connect with your target audience and grow your brand stronger than ever. Get in touch with us to automate your lead generation activities through our SEO services.