7 Stats to Justify SEO

This is for those who still aren’t sure if SEO is worth their troubles or those who may have seen the potential of SEO but can’t convince their boss or colleagues.

A surprising number of people still feel this way.

“Why do we need SEO? People already know who we are.” Maybe a little self righteous but this is something we hear a lot.

Others see SEO as a difficult, time consuming process that they don’t understand therefore their business doesn’t need it.

But the most common thoughts on SEO for smaller, more local businesses are that they often think they won’t benefit from spending money on online marketing.

We’ve put together a list justifying why every business can benefit from SEO:

1. More than two billion people are now online

The number of internet users across the world has now exceeded two billion! In 2010, more than 226 million people came online for the first time. It has been suggested that by 2015, 2.7 billion people will be online (that’s 40% of the world’s population).

2. 38 million of them are in the UK (around 61% of the population)

Over the last year 38 million UK based users used the internet, 30 million of these accessed the internet at least once a day and these numbers are just going to keep growing. With the internet now reaching this many people in the UK alone can you really afford to ignore SEO?

3. 31 million are actively shopping online

Shopping online for goods and services is becoming more and more popular with around 31 million people in the UK actively using the internet for shopping purposes.

Not only this, people with higher incomes are more likely to use the internet to search for goods and services. 98% of people with an incoming exceeding £41,600 used the internet for this reason, compared to just 69% of adults with an income less than £10,399.

With so many potential customers with high incomes using the internet to shop, neglecting your online presents could lose you a lot of business.

4. 93% of users begin their online experiences with a search engine

We’ve established that a huge amount of people are spending a lot of time and money online, but does that really mean that SEO will benefit you? Yes!

93% of all traffic comes from search engines. Not ranking on page one of Google means you will miss out on the majority of internet users.

5. Google rules!

In the UK, Google dominates search. Google controls 92% of the search market, with its closest competition Bing only holding 3.17% of the search market.

Prioritise Google with your SEO efforts for the best results.

6. Targeting people on the go

It has been predicted that soon more users will access the internet through their mobile phones than through computers.

64% of young adults are now accessing the internet using their smartphone devices. Having a website optimised for mobile is already a must for Estate Agents.�

7. 41% of businesses are gaining customers through social media

A successful SEO campaign works hand in hand with a social media strategy. It’s never been more important to target customers through social channels.

41% of UK firms  are generating business through their social networking efforts. Not only that, but 48% use social platforms to engage with their existing customers.

By Luke Stanley
SEO Consultant