Does Google even matter any more?

As statistical data and research continues to prove out that search engine optimization is your most formidable marketing weapon, it may be time to examine the importance of search engines. While Google remains the undisputed ruler of search, some have begun to wonder if Google really matters. Some recent research gathered by Hubspot just may give you and your marketing team a better handle on exactly what Google is and how your future strategies may have to adapt. Below has been taken directly from that research:

  • There are over 190 different versions of Google Search. (GiT Magazine)
  • More than 50% of Google searches end without a click. (Search Engine Land)
  • 92% of all search queries are long-tailed keywords. (Backlinko)
  • 89% of URLs and 37% of URLs in positions 1-20 rank differently on mobile and desktop. (SEMRush)
  • Compressing images and text could help 25% of web pages save more than 250KB and 10% save more than 1 MB. These changes reduce bounce rates and increase page rank on Google SERPs. (Google)
  • In 2021, 56% of web traffic took place on mobile phones. (Broadband Search)
  • 14% of Google searches are a question. (Backlinko)
  • In 2020, 500 keywords accounted for 8.4% of all search volume. (Backlinko)
  • The average click-through rate for first place on desktop is higher than that of mobile, at 31.5% and 24% respectively. (Advanced Web Ranking)

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  • Four times as many people are likely to click on a paid search ad on Google (63%) than on any other search engine — Amazon (15%), YouTube (9%), and Bing (6%). (Clutch)
  • 55% of teens use voice search on Google every day. (Marketing Dive)
  • 55% of people clicking on Google search ads prefer those to be text ads. (Clutch)
  • For every $1 businesses spend on Google Ads, they make an average of $2 in revenue. (Google)
  • The average click-through rate in Google Ads across industries is 3.17% in the search network and 0.46% on the display network. (WordStream)
  • The average cost-per-click for a keyword is about $0.61. (Backlinko)
  • The average cost-per-click in AdWords across all industries is $48.96 for search and $75.51 for display. (WordStream)
  • More than 90% of web pages receive zero organic traffic from Google. Just about 5% receive 10 visits or less each month. (Ahrefs)

-Written by Kevin Sawyer