SEO Statistics | The Key Numbers Driving SEO Success

In this SEO statistics report, we’ve compiled all the stats and facts you need to know in order to understand the SEO industry and drive SEO success. The report includes data on things like SEO salary statistics (such as how SEO salaries are influenced by factors like age, location and job title), as well as statistics exploring the value offered by technical and local SEO.

Top SEO Statistics for 2025

Close to half (49%) of business owners felt that SEO offered the best return-on-investment (ROI) of all channels.

Almost three-fifths (58.7%) feel that the return-on-investment (ROI) offered by SEO is increasing.

On average, it takes just six months to break-even after investing into technical SEO.

The median salary of a SEO Director in the US is $97,468.

The average SEO manager earns 31% more than a social media analyst.

The average SEO manager in Wales earns 18% more than one in London.

Two-thirds (66%) of B2B buyers discover new products via internet search results.

Almost half (49%) of B2B marketers use SEO as a marketing tactic.

Only 1 in 20 (6%) webpages have 1 or more backlinks, highlighting the need for brands to invest in link building to drive SEO growth.

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Between Q1 2021 and Q1 2024, Google’s revenue increased by more than half (52%), from $55.2 billion to $85.2 billion.

What is the average cost of SEO services?

The latest SEO statistics show that the price of different SEO services can vary quite dramatically, depending on what type of SEO work is being invested in.

For example, a fixed SEO contract can cost anything from $1,500 to $25,000 per year, depending on the scope of work being agreed. Ongoing SEO support, on the other hand, which is less fixed in terms of deliverables and broader in scope given the SEO professional is working on a monthly retainer, can range from $1,500 to $5,000 per month (on average).

Pricing of SEO services broken down by package

Package	SEO Pricing
Ongoing monthly SEO	$1,500 to $5,000 per month
One-time SEO project	$5,000 to $30,000 per project
Fixed contract	$1,500 to $25,000 per year
Hourly SEO consulting	$100 to $300 per hour
SEO copywriting	$0.15 to $0.50 per word
Link profile audit	$500 to $7,500 per audit
SEO content audit	$500 to $7,500 per audit

(Source: Nutshell)

Data from Nutshell suggests that a 1,000 word post will cost brands somewhere between $150 to $500, making basic content creation one of the cheapest SEO services that you can invest in.

At the other end of the spectrum, a one-time SEO project can cost as much as $30,000, depending on the size and scope of the project. This is 300 times more expensive than projects with a more specific focus, like link profile audits or SEO content audits, which will cost on average between $500 and $7,500 per audit.

SEO costs broken down by business size

Business Size	SEO Pricing
Startup	$750 to $1,500 per month
Small business	$1,500 to $3,000 per month
Medium-sized business	$1,500 to $5,000 per month
Enterprise	$5,000+ per month

(Source: Nutshell)

When it comes to how much is invested into SEO broken down by business size, a startup business in the US will typically pay between $750 to $1,500 ($9,000 to $18,000 per year) a month for their SEO services. Limited resources at the startup stage and, in many cases, little-to-none product-market-fit likely means that many startups are apprehensive to invest significantly into the SEO channel, at least until they’ve got a proven business model and are themselves generating revenue.

Small businesses tend to pay up to $3,000 per month for their SEO. At this level, you’re likely to see more local businesses who have lower marketing budgets all round, and also where levels of SEO competition might be lower (meaning that even relatively small SEO budgets can have a meaningful impact).

Once you reach medium-sized businesses, they will pay on average between $1,500 and $5,000 per month, 233% more than the upper amount invested into SEO on average by a startup. At this level, SEO professionals can start rolling out larger scale strategies, like Digital PR, and the aim for the business should be to generate a good ROI from SEO which can then be re-invested into driving accelerated growth in the organic channel.

Finally, enterprise businesses tend to be the brands that will invest anything over $5,000 per month into SEO. At this size the business will have significant revenue and be looking at multiple channels to drive growth. Even significant investment into SEO will off-set the much higher costs associated with acquiring new customers in other channels, which can be in the hundreds of thousands (or even millions) per month when you account for agency fees and ad spend.

Average SEO Monthly Costs in the UK by Business Model

The lowest SEO monthly cost, for hyper-local businesses (which tend to be run by a single individual), is £50 per month, this is 91% less than the minimum cost for a small-to-medium size enterprise.

Average SEO monthly cost UK	Business Model
£50 to £600	One man/one woman, hyper local businesses
£600 to £6,000	Small-to-medium sized business
£6,000+	Enterprise-model business, very large corporations

(Source: Add People)

As you might expect, hyper local businesses (which tend to be operated by a single individual) invest the least each month into SEO. Monthly SEO investment by businesses using this model ranges from £50 to £600 per month.

Small-to-medium sized businesses invest significantly more each month into their SEO, ranging from £600 to £6,000 per month.

Businesses who fit the enterprise model of course invest significantly more, with investments being anywhere from £6,000 per month to any amount more (some enterprise SEO retainers can reach hundreds of thousands of pounds per month being into the SEO channel).

SEO Return-on-Investment (ROI) Statistics

SEO return-on-investment (ROI) statistics show that the average ROI ratio of SEO is 22:1, meaning for every £1 you spend on SEO you could get £22 back. This is considerably better than many other channels, with digital marketing more generally offering an average ROI of 5:1.

Most marketers aim for a 10:1 ROI ratio, meaning that the SEO channel offers a lot of potential for marketers to hit targets and drive significant returns from their marketing budgets.

Survey showing which digital marketing strategies offer the best ROI

Industry	Percentage of business owners
SEO	49%
Email	24%
Social media	13%
Google Ads	4%
Content marketing	4%
Other	6%

(Source: Website Builder Expert)

The marketing channel which most business owners think offers them the best ROI is SEO, with close to half (49%) of business owners surveyed saying that this channel offers them the best return on investment.

After SEO, the email marketing channel was the one which most business owners believe offers them the best ROI, with 24% of those surveyed picking this channel.

Social media and Google Ads were the next most popular channels picked, with 13% and 4% of business owners claiming that they offer the best ROI.

Finally, content marketing and ‘other’ marketing channels are the channels which had the lowest number of business owners say that they have the best ROI, with only 4% and 6% respectively selecting them.

How perceived ROI from investment into the search channel is changing over time

Response	Share of respondents
Increased a lot	20.1%
Increased a little	38.6%
Stayed the same	21.3%
Decreased a little	16.4%
Decreased a lot	3.7%

(Source: Statista)

According to Statista, most respondents believe that the ROI on SEO is generally improving. Close to 3 in 5 (58.7%) of respondents surveyed felt that the ROI on SEO activity has increased a lot or a little over time.

Just under 1 in 20 (3.7%) respondents felt that the ROI offered by SEO had decreased a lot in recent years, while 16.4% felt that it had either decreased a little bit. 21.3% of those surveyed felt that the ROI offered by SEO had stayed the same.

These statistics are promising for SEO professionals, showing that most people believe that the ROI offered by the SEO channel is at least staying the same, if not increasing, as time goes on.

SEO ROI Statistics by Industry

SEO ROI data shows that the real estate industry sees the best return on SEO advertising spend, coming in at 15.1. This is close to a fifth (17.5%) higher than the next best industry, which is the medical device industry, and 21% more than the third best, the PCB design and manufacturing industry.

SEO ROI three year average by industry type

Industry	Return on advertising spend	ROI	Time to break-even
Addiction treatment	8.9	736%	8 months
B2B SaaS	8.75	702%	7 months
Biotech	9.2	788%	8 months
Construction	7.4	681%	5 months
eCommerce	3.65	317%	16 months
Financial services	11.1	1031%	9 months
Higher Education & College	10.4	994%	13 months
HVAC services	8.15	678%	6 months
Industrial IoT	9.85	866%	7 months
Commercial insurance	9.05	758%	9 months
IT staffing	7	612%	10 months
Legal services	6.15	526%	14 months
Manufacturing	9.5	813%	9 months
Medical device	12.85	1183%	13 months
Oil & gas	10.55	906%	10 months
PCB design & manufacturing	12.4	1101%	11 months
Pharmaceutical	9.85	826%	9 months
Real estate	15.1	1389%	10 months
Solar energy	9.2	770%	9 months

(Source: First Page Sage)

The industry with the weakest return on SEO advertising spend is eCommerce, with a ROAS of 3.65. This is more than 4 times weaker than the ROAS generated for the real estate industry.

Ecommerce is the industry where it takes the longest to break even on your investment into SEO. Construction offers the fastest ROI from SEO investment at just 5 months until you break-even, half the length of time it takes the IT staffing and Oil & Gas industries.

SEO ROI Statistics by Service Type

Data from First Page Sage shows that ‘Thought Leadership and SEO’ campaigns offer the best ROI, with this type of activity bringing in a ROI of 748% on average. Plus, the time it takes to break-even is two-fifths (40%) shorter than the time it takes to break-even from an investment into more basic forms of content marketing.

Return on advertising spend by service type

SEO Service	Return on Advertising Spend (ROAS)	ROI	Time to Break-Even
Technical SEO	1.35	117%	6 months
Basic content Marketing	1.05	16%	15 months
Thought leadership and SEO	9.10	748%	9 months

(Source: First Page Sage)

Technical SEO also brings a strong average ROI at 117%. The time it takes to break-even from an investment into technical SEO is also shorter than for other SEO services, it is a third (33%) quicker than thought leadership and SEO, and three-fifths (60%) quicker than basic content marketing.

The above data aligns with what we see within our own SEO agency, in that those investing into higher quality content-related campaigns (particularly those which have some focus on creating thought leadership assets, like our Hyper Relevancy and Digital PR campaigns) will often see a far greater ROI. Investing into such strategies allows brands to set themselves apart from their competitors, and experience greater SEO growth as a result.

Sometimes to understand an industry you have to delve into its past. That’s why we’d recommend taking a look at our history of SEO page.

Average SEO Salaries

Data from Ahrefs shows that the median average annual salary for a SEO Manager is $58,107, which is close to three-tenths (28%) more than the median salary for a SEO Executive. This demonstrates good salary progression for those working in SEO who strive to work towards a more managerial role.

Average SEO salary by job title and years of experience

Role	Median average annual salary in USD ($)	Average experience (in years)	Most common specialization	Most common place of work
Head of SEO	$81,522	10	Content	In-house
SEO Director	$97,468	13	Technical	Agency
SEO Lead	$58,898	8	Content	In-house
SEO Specialist	$45,090	5	Content	Agency/In-house
SEO Manager	$58,107	7	Content	In-house
SEO Consultant	$58,864	9	Technical	Agency
SEO Executive	$45,042	5	Content	In-house
SEO Analyst	$45,005	9	Technical	In-house

(Source: Ahrefs)

SEO salary statistics show that the highest paid role is SEO Director, which pays a median salary of $97,468. This is close to a fifth (19%) more than what a Head of SEO earns, which is $81,522. The median SEO director’s salary is also more than three-fifths (65%) more than the $58,898 a SEO Lead earns. It is important to note however that those with the title of Head of SEO or SEO Lead tend to work in-house, while most SEO Directors work at an agency. This could explain the difference in salaries, given different skillsets and experience are required to thrive in an in-house role vs an agency one.

In terms of which job pays the best in comparison to years of service, SEO Specialists come out on top. SEO Specialists make $9,018 per year they have spent in the industry, this is a tenth (10%) more than the Head of SEO role and a fifth (20%) greater than a SEO Lead. The job that pays the least in comparison to years in the industry is SEO Analyst, who average just $5,000 in salary per year that they’ve worked in the industry.

Age Range	Minimum	Median	Maximum
18-21	£20,000	£21,000	£23,000
22-29	£20,000	£30,000	£40,000
30-39	£23,000	£35,000	£68,000
40-49	£25,000	£39,000	£60,000
50-59	£25,000	£39,000	£75,000
60+	£28,000	£37,000	£42,000

(Source: CheckaSalary)

SEO salary statistics from CheckaSalary shows that people aged 18-21 who work in the SEO industry earn somewhere between £20,000 to £23,000 on average, with the median salary coming in at £21,000. This means that the highest paid 18-21-year-old earns just 15% more than the lowest paid person in their age bracket.

The median salary for someone working in SEO leaps by 42% for a worker aged 22-29 compared to one aged 18-21, while the maximum increases by close to three-quarters (73%). The median salary for someone aged 30-39 working in the SEO industry is £35,000, which is 16% higher than for those aged 22-29. Median salary then increases by more than a tenth (11%) for those working in the industry and in between ages 40-59.

Across all ages, the minimum salary never exceeds £30,000 a year while the maximum salary increases from a low of £23,000 all the way up to £75,000 (representing a rise of 226%).

How SEO salaries compare to those in other industries

Job Title	Yearly Salary
SEO manager	£36,010
Digital designer	£32,530
PPC executive	£30,560
Digital marketing executive	£27,940
Digital marketing specialist	£27,440
Social media analyst	£27,300

(Source: CheckaSalary)

The average yearly salary of an SEO manager is £36,010, which compares favourably to other jobs in the digital marketing and advertising industry. They earn a tenth (10%) more than digital designers, who earn £32,530 a year, and close to two-fifths (17%) more than a PPC Executive.

Salary statistics show that social media analysts earn £27,300 a year, this is almost a quarter (24%) less than SEO managers. If a SEO manager earns £692.50 a week, it would take them 39 weeks to earn what a digital marketing executive receives in a year.

Salary of SEO managers by region

Region	SEO Manager Salaries
Scotland	£32,900
North East	£16,700
North West	£30,500
Yorkshire and Humber	£29,600
West Midlands	£35,600
East Midlands	£35,100
Wales	£49,100
East of England	£35,800
Greater London	£41,600
South West	£33,800
South East	£35,000

(Source: CheckaSalary)

According to SEO salary statistics, the region where SEO managers are paid the most is Wales, where the average salary is £49,100. Surprisingly, this is close to a fifth (18%) more than the average SEO manager salary in London.

The North East is the region where SEO managers are paid the least, earning just £16,700 a year. This is almost half as much as they are paid in the nearby North West, where SEO managers make £30,500 a year.

SEO managers in Wales earn 194% more a year than people who do the same role in the North East. This means that an SEO manager in the North East would have to work for close to 3 years to earn the same as an SEO manager in Wales.

SEO Salaries Across the World

SEO salaries can vary greatly depending on whereabouts you are working in the world, as well as what role you have. The overall average SEO salary is £38,107.

Average SEO Salaries Across the World

The nation with the highest average yearly salary is the USA, where people working in the industry earn £68,371 on average. This is more than 50% more than the average yearly salary in Australia, which is the second best paying country. It is also almost seven-tenths (68%) greater than the average SEO salary in Germany.

Data showing Average Yearly Salary of People Working in the SEO Industry

Country	Average Yearly Salary
USA	£68,371
Australia	£45,423
Germany	£40,696
Canada	£39,715
United Kingdom	£38,572
Netherlands	£35,358
Singapore	£34,269
France	£28,156
India	£5,254
Overall Average	£38,107

(Source: Reboot Online)

In the United Kingdom, the average salary for someone working in SEO is £38,572, this is just 1.2% more than the global average. The country with the lowest average SEO salary is India, where people working in the industry earn £5,254 in a year.

India’s average yearly salary is more than nine-tenths (91%) less than the average SEO worker in the USA earns. This means your average Indian SEO worker has to work for 12 years to earn what your average SEO worker in the USA earns in a single year.

Average Yearly Salary for SEO Content Writers

Country	Average Yearly Salary for Content Writers
USA	£60,319
Australia	£43,252
Germany	£41,148
Canada	£36,122
United Kingdom	£33,573
Netherlands	£22,312
Singapore	£26,686
France	£19,720
India	£5,455
Overall Average	£35,339

(Source: Reboot Online)

The average yearly salary for SEO content writers in the USA is £60,319, this is 79% more than what the average SEO content writer earns in the United Kingdom. US based SEO content writers also earn almost four-tenths (39%) more than content writers in Australia.

France is one of only two countries where the average yearly salary for a SEO content writer is less than £20,000, yet SEO content writers in France still earn 261% more than what content writers in India earn.

Average Yearly Salary for SEO Directors

Country	Average Yearly Salary for SEO Directors
USA	£93,900
Australia	£46,005
Germany	£48,960
Canada	£46,805
United Kingdom	£59,859
Netherlands	£37,977
Singapore	£64,814
France	£50,291
India	£6,524
Overall Average	£50,909

(Source: Reboot Online)

The average yearly salary for a SEO Director in the USA is £93,900, this is 165% more than the global average salary for SEO Directors. SEO Directors in the United Kingdom earn almost a fifth (19%) more than SEO Directors in France, earning £59,859 versus £50,291. The global average yearly salary for SEO Directors is £93,900.

Average Yearly Salary for SEO Specialists

Country	Average Yearly Salary for SEO Specialists
USA	£53,180
Australia	£43,848
Germany	£35,731
Canada	£34,618
United Kingdom	£34,806
Netherlands	£34,754
Singapore	£26,285
France	£28,097
India	£4,938
Overall Average	£32,873

(Source: Reboot Online)

The country that pays the highest average yearly salary for SEO specialists is the USA, where they earn £53,180 per annum, this is more than a fifth (21%) more than what SEO specialists in Australia earn. In the United Kingdom, SEO specialists earn just over a third (34%) less than what SEO specialists in the USA earn.

SEO Marketing Statistics

SEO and marketing are brilliant when used simultaneously, as part of an overarching structure. SEO specialists are known to work with both digital marketing agencies, as well as in-house marketing departments. The demand for these types of professions is forecast to increase by close to a quarter (22%) between 2022 and 2030.

And it’s clear that if SEO isn’t part of your marketing plan, then you’re falling behind. The SEO industry is forecast to be worth almost $218 billion by 2030.

B2B SEO Statistics

B2B SEO statistics from Backlinko show that the most popular channel for discovering products is internet search results, which is used by two-thirds (66%) of B2B buyers. This is 16% more than the number that use an online marketplace and close to a quarter (23%) more than those who use a product catalog.

The most popular channels for B2B product discovery

Popular channels	Share of B2B Buyers
Internet search results	66%
Online marketplace	50%
Product catalog	43%
Industry associations	42%
Online adverts	35%
Referrals	33%
Industry publications	29%
Physical advertising	24%
Trade shows	23%
Social media advertising	23%
TV advertising	14%

(Source: Backlinko)

Little under a quarter (24%) of buyers find products via physical advertising, while just over a tenth (14%) find products via TV advertising.

The most implemented marketing tactics among B2B marketers

Marketing tactic	Share of B2B marketers
Search engine optimisation	49%
Content marketing	43%
Organic social media	43%
Email marketing	36%
Paid social media	35%
In-person tradeshows and events	35%
Virtual events and webinars	28%
Search engine marketing	27%
Public relations	27%
Video marketing	21%
Direct marketing	20%
Telemarketing	20%
Print advertisements	12%

(Source: Backlinko)

Close to half (49%) of marketers make use of search engine optimisation, making it the most implemented strategy around. It is implemented twice as much as video marketing and direct marketing, and more than 4 times more than print advertising.

The next most implemented marketing tactics are content marketing and organic social media which are used by more than 2 in 5 (43%) of B2B marketers. More than 3 in 10 (36%) of B2B marketers use organic social media to boost their profile, however this is 13% less popular than search engine optimisation.

The top areas of marketing spend among B2B companies

Channel	Share of marketing spend
In-person tradeshows and events	25%
Direct marketing	23%
Content marketing	23%
Directories and sponsorships	23%
Print advertisements	22%
Public relations	21%
Paid social media	21%
Email marketing	20%
Branding	20%
Marketing technology	17%
Search engine marketing	17%
Search engine optimisation	15%
Virtual events and webinars	15%
AI chatbots	12%
Video marketing	9%
Market research	9%
Website development	8%

(Source: Backlinko)

The top area for marketing spend among B2B companies is in-person trade shows and events, with companies spending a quarter (25%) of their marketing budget on this. This was closely followed by direct marketing (23%) and content marketing (23%).

The survey results from Backlinko found that just over a seventh (15%) of the marketing budget is spent on search engine optimisation. This is a quarter more than the amount spent on AI chatbots (12%) and two-thirds more spent than on video marketing (9%).

The fact that search engine optimisation is the most implemented tactic for B2B marketers, but only comes in as the 12th most expensive tells you everything you need to know about how cost effective it is.

SEO Link Building Statistics

More than 9 in 10 (94%) published web pages have 0 backlinks. This means there are 84 times more web pages with 0 backlinks, than there are web pages with 1 backlink.

Percentage of web pages with 2 or fewer backlinks

Number of backlinks	Percentage of published web pages
0 backlinks	94%
1 backlink	3.8%
2 or more backlinks	2.2%

(Source: Sure Oak)

In addition to this, a little over 1 in 50 (2.2%) web pages have 2 or more backlinks. SEO link building statistics show that there are 15.6 times more web pages with 0 backlinks, compared to pages with 1 or more backlinks.

Link building strategies favoured by SEO experts

Strategy	Percentage of marketers
Content and outreach	89%
Guest posts	75%
Competitor analysis	54%
Unlinked mentions	50%
Journalist requests	49%
Broken link building	48%
Resource pages	44%
Paid backlinks	40%
Free products	38%
Digital PR	35%
Newsjacking	34%
Link exchanges	28%
Skyscraper tactics	24%
Black hat PBNs	7%

(Source: Sure Oak)

According to Sure Oak, the most popular link building strategy is content and outreach, favoured by close to 9 in 10 (89%) of marketers. This makes it more than twice as popular as paid backlinks and more than 3 times more favoured than link exchanges.

Three-quarters (75%) of marketers make use of guest posts as a link building strategy, while more than half (54%) conduct competitor analysis.

Fewer than 1 in 10 (7%) use black hat PBNs to improve their link building. It’s for good reason too that so few marketers favour this strategy, as it is frowned upon by Google and can have a detrimental impact on the site’s ranking.

Voice Search Statistics

As of Q2 2024, voice search statistics show that around a fifth (20.5%) of people across the globe use voice search. This is an increase of 1.8% since Q1 2022. In the US alone, the number of voice assistant users had increased by 2.8%, to 146 million.

The popularity of Siri continues to rise, with 84.2 million Americans making use of the service in 2024. This represents a rise of 8% compared to 2022. Around 3 in 10 internet users aged 16 to 64 use a voice assistant every week.

SEO statistics indicate that the average voice search is 29 words, this is considerably longer than the average typed search which are typically between 3 and 4 words.

Voice assistant usage for the total US population over 18

Device	Voice assistant usage
Smartphone	56%
Smart speaker	35%
TV/TV remote	34%
Car	29%
Computer/laptop	24%
Tablet	24%
Household appliances	12%

(Source: Backlinko)

Smartphones are the most common voice assistant usage device in the US with people over 18, with close to three in five (56%) saying that they use the device for this purpose. This is more than a fifth (21%) who use smart speakers for voice searching.

Just under 3 in 10 (29%) use cars for voice search, this a 20th (5%) more than the number that use a computer/laptop or tablet.

A little over 1 in 10 (12%) use household appliances for voice search, this is half the percentage that use tablets or computers.

Technical SEO Statistics

The most common technical SEO issue facing websites is 3XX redirect, which dogs more than 19 out of 20 (95.2%). This is a type of HTTP status code that indicates that a web page or resource has been moved to a new location. This issue is almost 15% more prevalent than missing alt text and more than a fifth (22.5%) more frequent than missing meta tab descriptions.

The most common technical SEO issues

SEO issue	% of affected domains
3XX redirect	95.2%
HTTP to HTTPS redirect	88.0%
Missing alt text	80.4%
Meta descriptions tag missing or empty	72.9%
Slow page	72.3%
Page and SERP titles don’t match	68.5%
Page has only 1 dofollow incoming internal link	66.2%
Title too long	63.2%
Page has links to redirect	62.7%
H1 tag missing or empty	59.5%
Meta description too short	59.2%
Open graph tags incomplete	56.0%
Meta description too long	54.5%
Multiple H1 tags	51.3%
Meta description tag missing or empty (non-indexable)	50.8%

(Source: Ahrefs)

Many of the issues facing sites were easily rectifiable. For example, close to 7 in 10 (68.5%) had the issue where the page and SERP titles don’t match. In addition to this, more than 3 in 5 (63.2%) were hampering their search ranking by having titles that were too long.

Other problems were a little harder to fix, for example close to three-quarters (73.5%) had slow pages, while a further two-thirds (66.2%) had just 1 incoming dofollow link.

Local SEO Statistics

Local SEO statistics indicate that close to three-fifths (57%) of local search queries are submitted using a mobile device or tablet. Millennials especially value local searches, this generation is 50% more likely to use local searches when they are on the move - and twice as likely as other age groups to search for a business to visit immediately.

If you’re a local business hoping to perform strongly in regard to click-through-rate, then statistics show that you need photos, Google reviews and a high position on the SERPs.

Search Engine Statistics

Search engine statistics show that Google’s revenue has increased by three-fifths (59%) from $55.2 billion in Q1 2021, to $87.9 billion in Q2 2024.

Google’s revenue in billions (2021-2024)

Quarter and year	Revenue in billions
Q1 2021	$55.2 billion
Q2 2021	$61.7 billion
Q3 2021	$64.8 billion
Q4 2021	$74.9 billion
Q1 2022	$67.2 billion
Q2 2022	$69.1 billion
Q3 2022	$68.2 billion
Q4 2022	$75.2 billion
Q1 2023	$69.4 billion
Q2 2023	$74.3 billion
Q3 2023	$76.4 billion
Q4 2023	$85.5 billion
Q1 2024	$84.2 billion
Q2 2024	$87.9 billion

(Source: Statista)

In 2021, the search engine’s revenue rose by more than three-tenths (35%) from $55.2 billion to $74.9 billion. After a dip of 10% between Q4 2021 and Q1 2022, revenue began to rise, increasing by 11% by the end of 2022.

Between Q1 2023 and Q2 2024 revenue rose by more than a quarter (26%) from $69.4 billion to $87.9 billion.

Search Engine Market Share Statistics

As of October 2024, Google continues to be the leading search engine, with a market share of 89.34%. However, this is down by 2.22% compared to October 2023.

Overall search engine market share October 2023 to October 2024

	October 2023	October 2024
Google	91.56%	89.34%
Bing	3.1%	4.16%
Yandex	1.84%	2.78%
Yahoo!	1.2%	1.33%
Baidu	1.02%	0.82%

(Source: Statcounter)

As of October 2024, Google continues to be the leading search engine, with a market share of 89.34%. However, this is down by 2.22% compared to October 2023.

The search engine that has increased its market share the most is Bing, rising by 1.06% from 3.1% to 4.16%. Despite this, Google’s market share is still more than 21 times higher than Bing’s.

Yandex and Yahoo! both increased their market share, rising by 0.94% and 0.13% respectively. The only other search engine which saw its market share fall was Baidu, with market share falling by 0.2%.

Search engine market share for desktop

	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Google	88.1%	88.36%	89.06%	87.35%	89.95%	87.35%	85.86%	85.55%	84.69%	81.95%
Bing	4.53%	4.85%	4.59%	5.79%	3.99%	5.53%	6.84%	7.61%	8.85%	10.51%
Yahoo!	4.13%	3.3%	3.08%	3.07%	2.84%	2.83%	2.76%	2.85%	2.59%	2.67%
Yandex	0.35%	0.57%	0.58%	0.59%	0.39%	0.42%	0.69%	1.43%	1.31%	2.42%
DuckDuckGo	0.05%	0.16%	0.21%	0.34%	0.44%	0.59%	0.9%	1.03%	0.83%	0.69%
Baidu	0.61%	0.73%	0.54%	0.74%	0.56%	0.7%	0.55%	0.59%	0.54%	0.53%

(Source: Statista)

In regard to search engine market share for desktop, Google has seen its dominance slightly wane. In 2015, the search engine giant had a market share of 88.1%, but by 2024 it has fallen by 6.15% to 81.95%.

Meanwhile, Bing’s market share has more than doubled, rising from 4.53% to 10.51%.This is especially noteworthy as in 2019, market share had dropped to 3.99%, this means that since then it has risen by 6.52%.

The gap between Google and Bing for desktop market share is much narrower than it is for overall market share. Google’s desktop market share is just under 8 times stronger than Bing’s.

Yahoo!’s desktop market share has decreased by 1.46%, from 4.13% to 2.67%.

Search engine market share for mobile

	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Google	93.28%	94.78%	95.97%	94.94%	95.19%	95.65%	95.06%	94.97%	96.46%	95.32%
Yandex	0.14%	0.21%	0.21%	0.21%	0.33%	0.37%	0.98%	1.22%	0.66%	1.53%
Baidu	0.72%	1.2%	1.27%	1.9%	1.116%	1.36%	1.48%	1.43%	0.7%	0.96%
Bing	1.35%	0.72%	0.75%	0.47%	1.1%	0.51%	0.43%	0.56%	0.48%	0.52%
Yahoo!	3.87%	2.28%	1.33%	0.88%	0.98%	0.9%	0.78%	0.87%	0.63%	0.47%
DuckDuckGo	0.05%	0.06%	0.06%	0.11%	0.35%	0.33%	0.52%	0.52%	0.46%	0.47%

(Source: Statista)

Google’s search engine market share has stayed relatively stable. Between 2015 and 2019, it increased by 1.91% from 93.28% to 95.19%. In the five years that followed, the rate of growth fluctuated. Between 2021 and 2022, market share fell by 0.09%, but in the year that followed it increased by 1.49%.

Bing has struggled to get any foothold in the search engine for mobile market, with its market share falling by 0.83%. Yahoo!’s market share has also plummeted, falling from 3.87% to 0.47%. This means that as of 2024, Google’s market share is 202 times that of Yahoo!’s.

Search Engine Marketing Statistics

Search engine marketing statistics show that the way different age groups use sites like Google and Bing varies considerably. In January 2024, just over three in five (60.7%) of 16-24-year-olds stated that they used search engines for finding information, compared to two-thirds of internet users between the ages of 55 and 64.

Main reasons to use a search engine (January 2024)

	16-24 year olds	25-34 year olds	35-44 year olds	45-54 year olds	55-64 year olds
Find Information	60.7%	58.7%	59.7%	62.1%	66.9%
Contact Family and Friends	59.2%	55.6%	55.7%	56.3%	56.3%
Watch Videos and Shows	58.4%	54.1%	51.7%	48.8%	43.0%
Follow News and Events	47.8%	49.4%	52.9%	54.8%	59.1%

(Source: SmartInsights)

Fewer than half (47.8%) 16-24-year-olds use search engines for following news and events, whereas close to 3 in 5 (59%) of 55-64-year-olds use it for this purpose.

Just over 2 in 5 (43%) internet users aged between 55 and 64 used search engines for watching videos and shows, this is 15.4% less than the number of 16-24-year-olds who use it for this.

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Google SEO Statistics

Data from WebFX shows that over 3.1 trillion searches are conducted on Google every single year, with more than four-fifths (81%) of people using Google at least 3 times a day.

The importance of ranking near the top of the SERP has never been greater, with the top organic search results earning more than a third (34%) of clicks on desktop. It’s close on mobile as well, with the top result earning more than three-tenths (31%) of clicks.

In all more than half (56%) of web searches take place on a mobile device, with 51% of smartphone users discovering a new company or product when conducting a search.

Local searches take up a considerable proportion of daily enquiries. One-third of mobile searches are location based, with local searches contributing close to a fifth (22.6%) of website traffic.

Keyword Statistics

Keywords are a crucial aspect of search engine optimisation, and they play a significant role in determining where a page ranks on the search engine result page. There are plenty of interesting facts out there which show just how big a role keywords and the keyword research phase can play in determining where a site ranks. These include:

10-15 character keywords get 1.76 times more clicks than their single-word counterparts.
3.2 to 3.5 words is the average length of the keywords that the top-ranking sites rank for.
The search volume for AI keywords has leapt to over 100 million per month.

Search volume distribution of 4 billion keywords

Search volume	Percentage of searches	Number of keywords
0-10	94.74%	3,814,523,865
11-1,000	5.14%	206,978,647
1,001-100,000	0.10%	4,066,678
More than 100,000	0.0008%	31,339

(Source: Ahrefs)

Data from Ahrefs found that close to 19 out of 20 Google searches were for terms that had a search volume of between 0-10. This shows how unique most Google searches are. Within this category there were 3.8 billion searches, this is more than 18 times the number of searches with a volume of 11-1,000 and 953 times the number of searches with a volume of 1,001 to 100,000.

In all, just over 1 in 20 searches had a search volume of 11-1,000, while 1 in 1,000 searches had a search volume of 1,001 to 100,000.

Google Keyword Statistics

Google keyword statistics show that there were 580 million searches for YouTube alone in October 2024, making it the most searched for website. YouTube garnered 14% more searches than the second most searched for site which was WhatsApp. The video streaming site received more than three-fifths (61%) more searches than facebook.

Keyword	Search volume
YouTube	580,000,000
WhatsApp web	506,000,000
facebook	359,000,000
Translate	248,000,000
Google	244,000,000
Gmail	232,000,000
Amazon	220,000,000
Instagram	174,000,000
ChatGPT	171,000,000
Google Translate	140,000,000

And if you’re desperate to know more about the wild world of e-commerce, then check out our e-commerce statistics page

FAQs

What is SEO?

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is the process of improving a website’s visibility and SERP ranking through various techniques. These include keyword optimisation, improving the quality of the site's content as well technical enhancements such as improved loading speeds.

What does SEO stand for?

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation.

How to improve SEO?

There are various ways to improve SEO, here are some of the most effective:

Optimise pages and sites for relevant keywords.
Create high-quality content that is original, valuable and engaging.
Improve the load speed of your pages.
Make your site more mobile friendly.
Enhance user experience by making the site easier to navigate.
Acquire high-quality backlinks from authoritative websites to boost domain authority.
Optimise on page elements such as meta tags, headings, URLs and internal linking structure.
Regularly update content.

How does SEO work?

SEO works by optimising a website’s content, structure, and technical aspects to align with the search engine’s algorithms.

What is technical SEO?

Technical SEO is the process of optimising a website’s backend elements. These include site speed optimisation, crawlability and how easy it is to use for mobile users. By adding more links to your site it makes it easier for search engines to index and rank more effectively.

How much does SEO cost?

For a small business, SEO services typically cost between $1,500 to $3,000 per month, whereas for a larger business the range is more like $3,000 to $5,000 per month. Ultimately this will depend on what services you require.

Why is SEO important?

Good SEO is vital for any site that wants to rank highly for its niche. SEO increases visibility in search engines, drives organic traffic and enhances the user experience.

How much should I spend on SEO per month?

The amount you spend on SEO per month ultimately depends on what services you want as well as the size of your business. For example, a link profile audit can cost anything from $500 to $7,500, while a fixed contract can cost anything up to $25,000.

What is off-page SEO?

Off-page SEO refers to actions taken outside of your website, such as building backlinks, social media marketing and online reputation management.

Glossary

Backlink

A link from one website to another, these are used to increase authority and improve search engine rankings.

SERP (Search Engine Results Page)

The page displayed by search engines in response to a user’s query, showcasing ranked results.

Keyword Optimisation

The process of researching and using targeted words or phrases to improve content visibility in search engines.

Technical SEO

The optimisation of various ‘backend’ elements, such as page speed, mobile responsiveness and crawlability to enhance search engine indexing and ranking.