SEO Statistics, Trends 2023

Today, we’re going to explore some of the most valuable SEO statistics for 2023.

Let’s get started.

General SEO Statistics 2023

1. Google’s search algorithm uses over 200 factors to rank websites.
2. #1 result in Google’s organic search results has a click-through rate of 31.7%.

Backlinko’s search engine statistics reveal that a page in the #10 spot receives 10x fewer clicks than a #1 page of search results. 

Note that CTRs for spots 7-10 are almost the same. This means competing to rank higher at the bottom will not result in more organic search traffic.

At the same time, even moving 1 spot above on Google searches will increase the click-through rate by 30.8%. 

But, as mentioned, it matters where you are moving from; for instance, the CTRs will significantly improve if you move from the #3 to #2 page of search results. However, moving from #8 to #7 doesn’t necessarily mean that the CTRs will improve.

Here are some essential search engine statistics from Backlinko to rank higher on Google searches: 

• Title tags between 15 to 40 characters receive more clicks. 
• A question in title tags receives 14.1% more clicks than the average title tag. 
• Power words to the title tags increase the CTR by 13.9%. 
• URLs with main keywords receive 45% more clicks. 
• Positive or negative sentiments improve CTR by up to 7% on average.
• Meta descriptions have positive effects on the CTR. 

Organic SEO Statistics 2023

1. Updating existing content with new images and content can increase organic traffic by 111%.
2. 53.3% of all trackable website traffic comes from organic search results.

1. 90.63% of pages get no organic search traffic from Google, and being in 9.37% is extremely difficult.

1. More than 50% of all browser-based searches on Google.com receive zero clicks.

Mobile SEO Statistics 2023

1. Ranking #1 on mobile receives 6.74% clicks on average, vs. ranking #1 on the desktop gets 8.17% clicks.
2. Organic clicks on mobile devices are 50% lower than on desktops (33% vs. 66%).
3. 58.99% of all website traffic comes from mobile devices.

1. Mobile search queries for “stores open now” and “food open now” have increased by 2.1x since 2017, while queries for “where to buy/find/get” have increased by 1.3x.

Voice Search Statistics 2023

1. 76.8 is the mean Ahrefs DA rating of a Google Home Result to rank higher in voice search results.

Voice search is becoming more popular than typing. Some 71% of smartphone users say they prefer voice searches for searching. 

eMarketer’s voice search statistics report that 135.6 million smartphone users in the US use voice search features (more than 40% of the US population). 

And the voice search trends are more common among adults. Be it shopping, research, cooking tips, or other search queries, 52% of US users use their smart speakers to carry out voice searches. 

Not only this, eMarketer estimates that 33.2 million US consumers are likely to shop online via voice searches.

This clearly suggests that appearing in voice search answers should be a key priority of the marketers.

“Hey, Google, how to rank higher in voice search results?”

Backlinko’s voice search statistics highlight that there are numerous search engine optimization tactics that affect the voice search results ranking: 

• On average, the voice search answers page loads in less than 4.6 seconds. 
• Google prefers ranking the answers of 29 words for voice searches. 
• High-level social media engagement is crucial. On average, pages that rank in voice searches have 1500+ Facebook shares and 44 Tweets. 
• Simple, easy-to-digest website content is important if you want to appear in voice search results, preferably written at a 9th-grade level. 
• Appearing on the first page is crucial for voice search. 75% of voice search answers rank among the first three Google search results. 

As evident, marketers need not do anything new for voice search as long as they focus on all the aspects of search engine optimization. 

Still, there are some things to consider to rank higher in voice search results, for instance, investing in quality social media management tools to manage multiple accounts across different platforms conveniently.

Google Searcher Behavior Index 2023

1. Natural results next to featured snippets receive 2x more clicks than a featured snippet at the #1 position (on average).
2. A searcher makes 3.4 queries on average per day; however, less than 15% of US internet users make more than one search per day.

Local SEO Statistics 2023

1. 80% of local SEO marketers (up from 70% in 2019) are buying ads on Google aside from focusing on organic tactics.
2. 90% of internet users will purchase the item within a week after the local search.
3. 45% of global shoppers buy online and collect the item in-store.

SEO Statistics: SEO Professionals and Businesses 2023

1. 57% of SEO (up from 53% in 2021) professionals say “word of mouth” is the most common way to attract new clients.
2. 75% of SEO businesses (up from 42% in 2021) use WordPress to power their website.

38% of local marketers (up from 33% in 2021) have attracted a new client via content marketing. Moreover, compared to last year, more local businesses have invested in a website this year. 

This means that even local businesses understand the value of having a website to connect with a client. 

It is a good thing that creating a website does not cost a lot of money. Today, there are many out-of-the-box website-building solutions to start a blog and connect with new clients.

Coming to other popular content management systems used by SEO businesses, 5% say they use Google Business profile websites (down from 9% in 2021). 

At the same time: 

• 3% of SEO marketers (down from 8% in 2021) say they use Wix. 
• GoDaddy Website Builder popularity has also plummeted among SEO marketers, with only 2% of them using it compared to 6% in 2021. 
• No SEO business uses Squarespace and Weebly anymore; some 6% and 4% of marketers were using it in 2021.
• Whereas 16% trust some other CMS platforms instead of the more typical website builders.

SEO and Business Statistics 2023

1. 75% of marketers feel their SEO tactics are “extremely” or “very effective” in achieving their marketing goals.
2. 46% of businesses track between 1 to 3 metrics to measure SEO success, and 40% track up to 6 to 10 metrics.
3. Google Analytics and Google Search Console are the most popular tools among businesses, with over 80% of them using these two SEO services.

1. It takes up to three to six months for an SEO strategy to deliver positive results.

1. 38% of marketers say on-page search engine optimization brings the quickest wins and results.
2. Search engine optimization experts prefer writing for people (79%) instead of search engines (21%).

SEO and Marketing Statistics 2023

1. SEO professionals spend most of their time on keyboard research (36.3%) and (33.4%).

As much as 61% of marketers say growing SEO and organic search is their top inbound marketing priority.

Even when it comes to allocating budget for digital marketing strategies, paid media (25.8%), content marketing (25.1%), and SEO (25%) all will get the “Most” of

the digital marketing budget in 2022. 

But how much time do SEO marketers spend on each activity? Here’s the responses shown in SEJ’s search engine marketing stats: 

SEO Challenges and Threats Statistics 2023

1. 37% of SEO professionals identify “budget cuts” as their greatest challenge.

Only 5% of SEO professionals say they did not experience any issues at all. 

Some 37.6% identify budget cuts by their clients as one of their biggest challenges. Nevertheless, some 40% of SEO professionals have also indicated their clients have increased SEO budgets in 2021. 

According to SEJ, this is attributable to the ecommerce boom — more ecommerce profits mean clients were willing to invest more in SEO. The latest ecommerce statistics indicate that the ecommerce market grew by 27.1% during the pandemic.

Nevertheless, some 4% of SEO professionals say their clients have cut their SEO budgets entirely.

34.8% of professionals identified “SEO strategy issues” as one of the top challenges. Plus, 32.9% of SEO professionals identified “inadequate resources” as the third-most pressing challenge.

Here are all the top challenges identified by SEO professionals in 2021: 

At the same time, here are responses given by professionals when asked about the biggest threats to search engine optimization in the next two years: 

SEO Spending Statistics 2023

1. The most common salary bracket in the SEO industry is US$ 50,000 to US$ 74,000. 
2. Male SEO professionals make 27%, 32%, and 16% more than female SEO professionals in the US, Canada, and the UK, respectively. 

1. 58% of SEO professionals (up from 51% in 2021) charge a monthly fee based on deliverables in 2022.

What These Search Engine Optimization Statistics Mean For Your Business?

With years passing, Google is continuously improving its user experience. As a result, users trust Google more and rely on it more than ever; today, most online experiences begin on Google. 

Google dominates the global search market and it has shifted its priority from desktop-first to mobile-first. And the only way to get on the first page and constantly rank higher in the users search queries is to focus on search engine optimization. 

The SEO statistics mentioned indicate that the basics of search engine optimization — website’s code, content, backlinks, authority, and social media exposure — are not difficult to abide by. 

But you must have a very deep understanding of these topics. Importantly, continue to learn about the changing faces of search engine optimization.