119 SEO Statistics for 2026

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To save you time, we reviewed the latest SEO data and reports from HubSpot, SparkToro, and other research sources to show how people search in 2025–2026 and which approaches deserve attention this year.

Key Trends and Takeaways for 2026

As the data shows, the operating conditions of SEO are shifting, especially with the expansion of AI search traffic. Below are the main trends we observe for 2026:

• AI Overviews redistribute clicks inside the top results: Ranking remains necessary, but traffic now depends on whether a page is selected as a cited source inside AI answers. AI Overviews expanded to 200+ countries and 40+ languages, so selection for citations becomes the main moat for many queries. Build pages that read like extractable evidence: tight definitions, specific claims with supporting context, and clean sectioning that an answer system can quote.
• Conversational follow-ups shift content demand: Google now lets users jump from AI Overviews into AI Mode conversations, which rewards sites that cover the obvious question plus second- and third-order questions (edge cases, constraints, “what changes if…”).
• Link authority alone no longer guarantees competitive rankings: Search engines correlate brand mentions, author profiles, citations in databases, conference appearances, and referenced expertise. In several verticals, pages with fewer backlinks may outrank stronger link profiles if external validation exists.
• Scaled content risks site-wide visibility loss: Google’s updated spam policies define mass-produced low-value pages as “scaled content abuse,” regardless of whether AI or humans created them. Large inventories of templated or lightly rewritten pages correlate with indexing suppression and ranking instability. Upgrading existing pages often produces stronger results than expanding volume.
• Traffic drops do not equal demand drops: Search demand remains massive: Google processes more than 5 trillion searches annually. The changes are search behavior and distribution: queries involving alternatives, comparisons, reliability, and pricing retain external clicks because users still need validation before decisions. SEO value concentrates around research-stage searches rather than basic informational ones.

Search Engine Statistics

• Google holds 89.82% of the global search engine market; Bing 4.45%, Yandex 1.95%, Yahoo 1.37%, DuckDuckGo 0.74%, Baidu 0.69% (StatCounter)
• On mobile devices, 92.5% online experiences begin with Google. (StatCounter)
• 80.3% of internet users used a search engine in the past month (DataReportal Digital)
• Google processes more than 5 trillion searches per year (~14 billion per day) (Search Engine Land)
• Average visit on google.com: 10 min 10 sec, 8.52 pages per visit, 28.36% bounce rate (Similarweb)
• Average visit on bing.com: 7 min 58 sec, 6.45 pages per visit, 31.33% bounce rate (Similarweb)
• Among U.S. desktop users: 34% perform 100+ searches/month, 13.7% perform 250+ searches/month, top 1% perform 1,000+ searches/month (MarketingCharts)

Google Search Statistics

Google is the absolute leader in search traffic. Here are the stats that show the importance of optimizing for it.

• 65% of people who search on Google click on an organic search result. (Backlinko)
• 59% of Google users click on just one page during their search session. (Backlinko)
• 21.1% of web traffic on Google comes from the US. (Statista)
• Brands account for around 45.7% of Google searches. (Ahrefs)
• Only 9% of users scroll all the way to the bottom of the first page of Google. (Backlinko)
• The average Google user makes around 4.2 searches per day, while the median number of searches is closer to 1.8. (Exploding Topics)

AI SEO Statistics

ChatGPT and other generative AI platforms have significantly contributed to the popularity of AI SEO services. Is it worth investing in them in 2026? Our search engine optimization statistics reveal whether robots truly can improve your business promotion.

For a better understanding of how AI is influencing SEO, refer to these AI SEO Statistics.

• 56% of marketers say their company is already using and actively implementing AI, while 44% prefer to wait until solutions on the market become more stable and proven. (SurveyMonkey)
• The most common ways marketers use AI are for basic content creation (76%), inspiring their creative thinking (71%), and analyzing market data. (Salesforce)
• 42% of podcasters use AI tools to record and edit their shows as well as convert audio into text. (Riverside)
• Just 19% of executives in the C-suite say their company’s revenue has grown beyond the 5% mark with AI tools adoption. (McKinsey)
• About 74% of all new online content is now produced with the help of generative AI. (Ahrefs)
• 82.1% of respondents say they can recognize AI-generated content at least occasionally. (SearchEngineLand)
• Nearly 60% of companies are already applying generative AI in their marketing. (Capgemini)
• In 2024, roughly 15 million adults in the United States said they primarily used generative AI for search, and that figure is expected to rise to over 36 million by 2028. (Statista)
• 75% of marketers use AI tools to reduce the time spent on manual tasks like optimization of meta descriptions. (HubSpot)
• 66% of consumers say traditional search has five years before AI takes the lead. (SearchEngineLand)
• 73% of consumers trust the content generated by artificial intelligence. (Capgemini)
• Companies that use AI in their content process publish about 42% more each month. On average, they release 17 new articles monthly, compared to 12 among those that still create content manually. (Ahrefs)
• ChatGPT remains the leading tool for content creation, used by 44% of those surveyed. (Ahrefs)
• The presence of AI Overviews correlates with a 34.5% decline in click-through rates. (Ahrefs)
• AI Overview results appear more often for longer, more specific queries. 63.61% of AIO keywords contain 3–5 words, and they most commonly fall in the 21–30 character range (40.41%), while shorter queries (0–2 words or under 20 characters) more often show standard results without AIO. (Semrush)
• In January 2025, 91.3% of AIO-triggering queries were informational. By October, that share fell to 57.1%, as commercial and transactional visibility expanded. Navigational queries rose sharply from 0.74% to 10.33% over the same period. (Semrush)
• 27.2% of U.S. searches now end without a click, as Google AI Overviews give users instant answers that already feel complete. (SearchEngineLand)

Ranking Statistics

SEO search ranking refers to your website’s position on search engine results pages (SERPs). Take into account the SERP statistics provided below when planning your next SEO strategy.

• 94% of the pages on the internet get zero traffic from Google. (SERanking)
• Moving up a single position in Google search results can increase the click-through rate (CTR) by 2.8%. (Backlinko)
• About 60% of the pages that rank in Google’s top 10 are more than 3 years old. (Ahrefs)
• The first result on Google takes 27.6% of all clicks. followed by 15.8%, 11%, 8.4%, 6.3%, 4.9%, 3.9%, 3.3%, 2.7% and 2.4% for positions 2 to 10, not including clicks captured through AI Overview answers. (Backlinko)
• According to 89.1% of 755 link builders surveyed, nofollow links have an impact on rankings. (AuthorityHackers)
• A site’s overall link authority, known as Domain Rating, has a strong connection to higher rankings. (Backlinko)
• When ranking pages, Google prioritizes content that is helpful, trustworthy, and created for people rather than just for search engines. (GoogleSearchCentral)
• Almost 60% of Google mobile searches now end without a click. (SearchEngineLand)

Local SEO Statistics

These SEO performance metrics are essential for local business owners who aim to conquer the market. Following the most efficient trends revealed by detailed local SEO stats will undoubtedly boost your online presence.

• 42% of consumers regularly read online reviews when browsing with local intent. (Brightlocal)
• GMB listings with 50+ reviews and a 4.5+ rating are 57% more likely to rank in the top local results. (SQ Magazine)
• Businesses that appear in the top 3 positions on Google Business Profile typically have over 250 Google images included in their listing. (Localo)
• Clients are 2.7 times more likely to consider a company reputable if it has a complete business profile on Google Maps and Search. (Google)
• The main factors that affect visibility in Google’s local pack are the chosen business category, the use of local search queries in the Google Business Profile title, and how close the business is to the user’s location. (Backlinko)
• On average, a GBP listing gets 81 monthly actions: 38% direction requests, 35% website visits, and 27% calls. (SQ Magazine)
• 48% of U.S. adults rely on local news outlets for reviews of businesses in their area. (BrightLocal)
• People are 70% more likely to visit local businesses with complete business profiles. (Google)
• Consumers trust online reviews: About 77% of them say negative ones have a strong influence on their purchasing decisions. (Upfirst)
• Local SEO services typically cost around $1,600 per month for small businesses, $5,000–8,000 for growing brands, and about $9,500 for companies in highly competitive local markets. (SeoProfy)

Keywords Statistics

Keywords play a critical role in the development of relevant, top-quality content. Get acquainted with the most interesting SEO stats related to this irreplaceable element of any successful search engine optimization campaign.

• Longer keywords tend to attract more clicks: search terms that are 10-15 words long receive 1.76 times more clicks than single-word queries. (Backlinko)
• “YouTube” became the most searched keyword in 2024 with a monthly search volume of more than 346 million. (Statista)
• Google Keyword Planner was shown to drastically overestimate search volumes in over 50% of cases. (Exploding Topics)
• URLs that include words related to a keyword have a 45% higher click-through rate than those without relevant keywords. (Backlinko)
• 94.74% of keywords have monthly search volumes of 10 or less. (AIOSEO)
• Ranking for a certain number of keywords isn’t always a valuable SEO metric since most pages rank for terms with low search volume. (Backlinko)

Backlinks Statistics

Backlinks are among Google’s most important ranking factors. Check out these SEO stats to see their importance in 2025.

• Top pages in Google have approximately 3.8 times more backlinks than lower-ranked ones. (Backlinko)
• 92% of marketing specialists claim link building will be a key ranking factor in Google’s search engine algorithm in the next five years. (SearchLogistics)
• Almost 95% of pages have no backlinks at all. (Backlinko)
• 92% of surveyed SEO specialists believe that competitors buy links. (Editorial Link)
• Over two-thirds (68.9%) of surveyed companies choose to keep link building in-house. (Editorial Link)
• Nearly 2.2% of all online content generates more than one unique backlink. (SearchLogistics)
• Pages with at least one exact match anchor have at least five times more traffic than pages without. (Zyppy SEO)

Content Marketing SEO Statistics

Content marketing remains important this year, as businesses rely on it to build brand awareness, attract leads, and keep their audience engaged. The search engine marketing statistics below show what goals marketers achieved with content last year and the strategies they plan to use in 2025.

• 73% of B2B marketers and 70% of B2C marketers include content marketing in their overall strategy. (Meetanshi)
• The average word count of a blog post is nearly 1,400 words. (OrbitMediaStudios)
• Only 3% of blogs on the internet regularly publish articles that are 2,000+ words. (OrbitMediaStudios)
• One in four (25%) marketers plans to create content that reflects their brand’s values. (HubSpot)
• 50% of marketers say they actively invest in content marketing. (Meetanshi)
• 70% of internet users prefer to learn about a company through its blog posts rather than advertisements. (Hostinger)

Technical SEO Statistics

Marketers mostly pay attention to keywords, content, and backlinks. But how fast your site loads, how well it works on mobile, and how easy it is to navigate also shape the customer experience. These factors impact bounce rates, time spent on your site, and whether visitors turn into buyers. Below are some of the technical SEO statistics that show common problems and the potential of technical SEO.

• 88.5% of survey respondents said slow loading time is the top reason visitors leave a website, while 73.1% pointed to poor mobile responsiveness as a major issue. (GoodFirms)
• Redirect errors are among the most common SEO issues found during SEO audits: an analysis of 11 million URLs found that 50 % of redirect chains ended in errors and 0.06 % extended beyond 10 hops. (ACM Digital Library)
• People spend about 1.5 times longer on pages that use structured data, and AMP pages with search features generate 3.6 times more engagement than those without. (Google for developers)
• Pages enriched with structured data earn roughly 25% more clicks than pages that lack this optimization. (Google for developers)
• About 51.8% of source websites meet the recommended Core Web Vitals performance standards. (Chrome for developers)

SEO Industry Statistics

The following statistics on search engine marketing will help business owners and marketers understand SEO costs and hiring trends. You can see from these SEO stats what companies pay for services and how much experts charge.

• The average cost of SEO services falls between $25 and $199 per hour, with $150 being the most common rate. (SeoProfy)
• The average annual salary of SEO specialists is $86K/yr. (Glassdoor)
• SEO professionals with 5 to 10 years of experience charge $500 to $1,000 per month. For those with 10+ years, the price can go up to $3,000. (SeoProfy)

SEO ROI Stats

Business owners invest in SEO not just to improve their online presence but to grow their revenue. These SEO ROI statistics show why professional search engine optimization is worth it.

• 91% of marketers reported that SEO had a positive impact on their website performance and marketing goals. (Conductor)
• Websites, blogs, and SEO were mentioned as the top marketing channels for ROI in 2024 for B2B brands, followed by paid social media content and social media shopping tools. (HubSpot)
• Leads from search engines close at a rate of 14.6%, while outbound leads have a much lower close rate of just 1.7%. (Intergrowth)
• SEO campaigns achieve a positive return on investment (ROI) within 6 to 12 months. (SeoProfy)
• SEO delivers an 8x ROI, double the 4x return of PPC, based on SEO data from 119 companies. (NP Digital)
• On average, companies that implement SEO strategies save up to 400% on ad spending without affecting the attraction of the target audience. (Lyfe Marketing)

Mobile SEO Statistics

More people have started using mobile phones to search for information on the internet. Refer to the following SEO facts that show this trend.

• Google holds over 92% of the global mobile search market. (StatCounter)
• 62.73% of the global website traffic comes from smartphone users. (Statista)
• Over 1.5 billion people use Google Lens every month, and by 2025, Google had already recorded more than 100 billion visual searches. (Think with Google)
• 63% of consumers use mobile devices to look up information about brands and products. (HubSpot)
• Smartphones accounted for 77% of retail site visits in Q3 2025. (Statista)

Video SEO Statistics

Video content is very popular with users nowadays. People like learning about products and services through videos, and it’s one of the best formats for ROI. Here are some SEO stats that prove it:

• 89% of businesses use video in their marketing strategy. (Wyzowl)
• Videos perform best on course, contact, and media pages: play rates reach 35%, 32%, and 33% respectively, with engagement around 50%, 51%, and 45%. (Wistia)
• Form placement affects video conversions: the end of 60+ minute videos converts at 65%, the third quarter of 1–3 minute videos at 58%, and positions within the first to fourth quarter of 60+ minute videos at 40–45%. (Wistia)
• 82% of marketers noticed that video has helped them increase website traffic. (Wyzowl)
• Captions in videos are now used far more often, up 572% since 2021. Many marketers also pick higher-contrast player colors so videos are easier to read and follow. (Wistia)
• Short-form videos deliver the highest ROI for businesses. (HubSpot)

YouTube Video Stats

YouTube is the most popular platform for sharing videos. We’ve prepared a compilation of search engine optimization stats that will help you get a better understanding of this platform’s trends.

• YouTube is the second most-visited website in the US by organic traffic (2.3B as of February 2025). (Ahrefs)
• It’s estimated that there are more than 4.3 billion YouTube videos. (ElectroIQ)
• Roughly 88% of consumers say they are more inclined to purchase a product after watching a video about it. (Zebracat)
• YouTube’s global ad revenue reached $11.3 billion in Q4 2025. (Statista)
• Most YouTube users are between the ages of 25 and 34. (Statista)
• At the beginning of 2025, YouTube ads were seen by 45.5% of internet users around the world. (Datareportal)

Voice Search SEO Statistics

Siri, do you have any interesting voice search statistics to share? Let’s see!

• The number of voice assistant users in the U.S. is expected to grow from 142 million in 2022 to 157 million in 2026. (Statista)
• 13% of marketers are using voice search optimization in their strategy (HubSpot)
• Around 100 million people in the United States, or about 35% of those aged 12 and older, own a smart speaker and use voice search answers. (ScoopMarket)
• Roughly 32% of consumers say they use voice search daily instead of typing their search queries. (DigitalSilk)
• This year, the number of users in the United States is projected to reach about 92.4 million for Google Assistant, 87.0 million for Apple Siri, and 77.6 million for Amazon Alexa. (Emarketer)
• Voice search results tend to load faster by 52% than the average search results. (DemandSage)

B2B SEO Stats

In 2025, a well-thought-out content marketing plan will still be a big piece of a successful B2B strategy. But where else are businesses putting their time and money? These B2B SEO statistics show the trends and tactics companies are betting on:

• About 73% of B2B buyers say they prefer making purchases online. (Sana)
• 92% of B2B marketers are using short articles and blog posts in their content strategy. (Content Marketing Institute)
• B2B companies that published nine or more blog posts per month saw a 35.8% increase in yearly Google traffic, compared to 16.5% for those posting 1-4 times a month. (StrataBeat)
• Among the most successful B2B teams, audience insight stands out as the main driver of results: 82% say knowing their audience well is key to content marketing success. Other commonly cited contributors include producing high-quality content (77%), strong industry expertise (70%), capable team members (69%). (Content Marketing Institute)
• 66% of B2B buyers in the US discover the products from the search results on the internet. (Backlinko)
• Around 79% of B2B marketers consider blog posts an effective way to share SEO content, reach customers, and strengthen brand awareness. (DigitalSilk)
• Businesses in the SaaS space that publish original research see an 18.7% increase in SEO traffic. (StrataBeat)
• The top objective for B2B marketers in 2025 is to build more brand awareness. (SageFrog)
• In 2024, the main marketing channels delivering the highest ROI for B2B brands were SEO, followed by paid social media campaigns and social media shopping tools. (HubSpot)
• The main sales and marketing priority for B2B companies in 2025 is AI. (SageFrog)

eCommerce SEO Statistics

Running a successful retail company requires a complete understanding of SEO trends and how they may change in the near future. Use our ecommerce search engine optimization stats to make sure your online business heads in the right direction.

• In 2025, the average ecommerce brand ranks for 1,783 organic keywords, generating about 9,625 monthly visits from organic search. (Reboot)
• Aliexpress.com is the most visited ecommerce site in the world in 2026 (705,858,167 visits). (Semrush)
• China, the United States, and Western Europe together account for the majority of global ecommerce, generating over $5.17 trillion in sales in 2025. (Shopify)
• In Q3 of 2025, smartphones accounted for 78% of total online purchases. (Statista)
• Almost 60% of shoppers in the United States now use tools like ChatGPT or Gemini to assist them while shopping. (Shopify)

Summing Up

We hope that the top SEO statistics and trends we shared with you today were useful and have given you plenty of ideas on what strategies to invest in this year. With the help of these stats, you’ll be equipped to create data-driven strategies for your business and get more customers, traffic, and sales.

And if you’d rather not handle it all on your own, our professional SEO services at SeoProfy are here to help you make it happen. So, if you’re looking for a team that truly understands how SEO works in 2026, you’ve just found it.

Author

Hanna Zhytnik

As a Content writer at SeoProfy, Hanna Zhytnik creates SEO content grounded in research, data, and ongoing hypothesis testing. With more than 5 years of experience across B2B, SaaS, and ecommerce, she brings both breadth of knowledge and a sharp focus on modern search. Her strength lies in turning complex experiments into clear explanations, bridging the gap between deep SEO practice and accessible content.