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I’ve been yakking about the importance of website and content optimization for ages now, but I’ve finally decided to take the time to gather hard statistics to back up by fervent pro-optimization arguments. Here are the numbers you need to know and some explanation on just why we think you need to know them.
Approximately 70-80% of searches ignore paid ads in favor of clicking on organic search results. (source)
Once again we have evidence that our audience is smarter than we may be giving them credit before. They may not know why or how organic search results are positioned the way they are, but on some level, they appear to give more weight to those highly ranked websites than they do to ads that are clearly paid for and placed accordingly.
50% of locally based searches result in a visitor to the physical store within 24 hours. (source)
It’s not enough to just optimize your site for niche keywords like “cupcakes” or “artisan bakery.” Searches are becoming more and more localized – when was the last time you chose a restaurant for dinner without searching for “Mexican food nearby” or “Italian restaurant [zip code]” first? By including language in your site that reflects not only your industry and business name but also your city, street, name of your shopping complex, zip code, and other data, you could see a significant – and apparently pretty immediate – increase in traffic to your brick-and-mortar store.
90% of consumer’s online experiences start with keywords being entered into a search engine. (source)
Most people aren’t typing your business’s URL into the address bar, scanning a QR code for a direct route to your homepage or clicking on a link embedded in your ad or email, they’re using Google or whatever other search engine they favor to discover just what all is out there. Brand recognition is still important, but now instead of hoping consumers come straight to you, you have make sure you’re ranked high in search results and that your logo or name is familiar so that they can a) see you exist, and then b) feel drawn to you over everybody else.
There were 97.3 million people accessing the Internet from their phone in 2011; in 2016 that number will top 2 billion. (source)
More people are using their phone to surf the web than ever before, and if your website isn’t designed with that mobile audience in mind you may be in big trouble. If consumers accessing your website via their smartphones find that it loads slowly (or not at all), is slow (think twice about fancy plug-ins), or is sized wrong, you can count on them closing out of the window and trying someone else.
When asked about their biggest challenges related to content marketing, BSB marketers put these in the top three: finding the time to produce content (69%), producing enough content in general (55%), and producing content that actually engages readers (47%). (source)
There are countless things businesses do well, many of them being things that are difficult if not impossible to outsource. Successful businesses with popular blogs often have one pretty big thing in common: they rely on a content marketing agency or dedicated team of in-house marketers to oversee, strategize, and execute their content marketing plans. Why not leave the writing to the experts so you can spend time doing the things you do best?
Alana M lovers her some stats. When she isn’t hard at work writing all kinds of witty and engaging content, she enjoys long walks on the beach, lion taming, nuclear physics and lying about her hobbies.
