Statistics
These are past and current statistics; some are based upon expecting what the future will bring to the Search Engine Marketing Industry. These statistics are recorded from SEMPO & Hitwise, two of the industry’s most used statistical resources to understand our industry, the marketing of the industry, where most of the money is being spent within the industry as well as what search engines are gaining priority and rank over the competitors.
- 42% of search users click the top-ranking link. 8% click the second-ranking link, and the click-through rate (CTR) continues to drop thereof.
- When these two top-ranking links are artificially switched, the click-through ratio of 42-8% drops to 34-12%, demonstrating the importance of engaging copy in addition to rank position.
- 62% of search users click a link on the first page of search results
- 23% of searches progress to the second page. Presumably the difference between 62% and 23% stems from searchers trying either another keyword or another engine, or giving up.
- 80% Of unsuccessful searches are followed with keyword refinement.
- 41% of searches unsuccessful after the first page choose to refine thir keyword search phrase or their chosen search engine.
- 77% of search users choose organic over paid listing when searching, 67% choose organic search when purchasing.
- When the searcher is purchasing, organic click-through generates 25% higher conversion rates than equivalent Pay-Per-Click (PP) click-through.
- 40% of SEO campaigns aware of their ROI achieve returns in excess of 500%, while only 22% of PPC campaigns were able to achieve this value.
Spending Trends
SEMPO’s survey found organic SEO (tactics for improving a website’s non-advertising rank in search engines) is still the most popular form of SEM, with almost three-quarters of advertisers using this method, with paid placement a very close second at 71 percent. However, in dollars, paid placement accounted for 86 percent of total spending, or $8 billion. Organic SEO accounted for $1.1 billion in spending, or 12 percent. Paid inclusion continues its decline, accounting for one percent of total spending, or $94 million. SEM technology platforms account for the remainder, at 1.3 percent, or $122 million in spending.
