Google

We all know that Google is King when it comes to search, but aside from this statistic, there is hardly any research out there about how internet goers are actually using the top search engine.

Of course, Google will sometimes feed digital marketers with statistics and updates like, how many people searched for a particular topic or how many videos were uploaded to YouTube, but this can only help so much.

What us marketers want to know is things like:

  • How many searches happen across various platforms- is Google losing its market share to Amazon for example?
  • Are people really searching more on Google’s YouTube than Microsoft’s Bing?
  • Is Google Image search more popular than Google’s News search?
  • What percentage of queries are questions?
  • How many words are in the average query?

And so on…

By having access to this type of data, it makes it much easier for businesses and marketers to understand the changing landscape of search engines and how internet goers are really using search engines to find information.

While Google doesn’t really provide this type of data, we have searched high and low to bring you some top secret statistics on how consumers are using the power of the internet to search and find products.

By having access to this data, you can use it to help boost your SEO and make your website more relevant for your most desirable customers. This in turn, will help you to boost your sales and profits.

Here is what we found when it comes to how internet goers are using search engines like Google-

Secret Fact #1: The Average Person Conducts 3.4 Searches Every Single Day 

We discovered that the average person conducts around 3.4 searches every single day. That equates to around 40-60 billion searches on Google alone just in the US every single month. This is also not counting voice searches or searches using the Google app or Google Home.

We know that Google announced back in May of 2016 that they process around 2 trillion searches every single year, however we believe that this number could be much higher.

What does this mean for your business? Your average customer is making at least 3-4 queries every single day, which means that you have very few chances for people to find your site.

This statistic really stresses the importance of SEO and having your website or landing pages rank well for your most desirable keywords.

We also know that not many internet-goers make it past the second or third page of search results, which means that if your site is not coming up in the first few results, it could really be costing your business.

SEO is important, but this statistic proves just how important it is to ensure that your customers know exactly where to find you.

Secret Fact #2: The Average Google Search Session is Under 1 Minute 

We discovered from analysing data that the average time a user spent searching for something on Google was less than one minute.

While there were some searches that lasted hours, especially for travel related queries, all of the searches across all of the industries only averaged 60 seconds at best.

The likelihood that people are searching even less than 60 seconds is probably high. This further proves the point that having exceptional SEO, especially if you want your brand to be found by your customers.

Because users are searching so little, having lots of information on your website is definitely going to pay off.

While you don’t want to bombard your readers with tonnes of information, having a well thought out page with access to a detailed blog and videos can help your customers to stay on your page longer.

This in turn will improve your SEO ranking and help your website to come up first in search results.

Secret Fact #3: Only 15 percent of users perform one or more searches in a day 

Earlier we talked about how the average person searches for around 3.4 things every single day on Google. When looking a little closer, we found that really only 15 percent of people were performing one more than one search.

This means that the percentage of people searching for more than one thing per day on Google is extremely low.

To put it in perspective, only 15 percent performed at least one or more searches per day, 45 percent performed at least one or more searches per week and 68 percent performed one or more searches per month.

While Google is definitely the most visited search engine in the world, it is clear that not many  people are solely relying on it for navigating around the web.

After Google, the next most popular search engines include YouTube, Bing and Yahoo.

Based on this research, it is almost necessary for all businesses to pay just as much attention to ranking well across all of these popular search engines.

The reason for multiple search volumes being so low may also be contributed to the fact that social media is now a hot spot to find information.

Platforms like Facebook and Twitter offer trending news sections and plenty of ads. With the average person spending at least 15 minutes on Facebook per day, it just goes to show that being present on this platform is a good way for clients and customers to find your brand.

Secret Fact #4: 66 percent of search enquiries on Google result in a click 

We have often wondered how many clicks Google would be getting from each search. It turns around that only around 66 percent of searches actually result in a click. The remaining 34 percent seem to result in no clicks at all.

For quick searches, often you can gain information on Google without having to actually click. For example, Google highlights important information for say a restaurant or local business or definitions for words.

By highlighting this information, users can get access to the answers they are looking for immediately. This is clearly a strategy of the search engine and it seems that it is definitely working.

With Google supporting the mission of fewer clicks, your business could stand to miss out. To avoid this happening, you need to ensure that you offer your readers more information than your competitors.

For example, instead of writing an article about “how to remove wine stains from the carpet”, consider choosing a more niche topic like “how to remove wine stains from the carpet naturally” or “how to remove wine stains in 10 seconds”, in order to appeal to your most desirable audience.

We all know that long tail keywords tend to perform better and this is just another reason why. If the information you are offering is too generic it may leave no incentive to click on your link and read further.

Secret Fact #5: Only 3.4 percent of Adwords ads are clicked during a search 

If you are wondering what percentage of Adwords ads are clicked versus regular listings the answer is somewhere around 3-4 percent.

Adwords is known to be highly competitive and this just proves how competitive it can be. Out of 100 searches, only 3, maybe 4 people are clicking on an Adwords listing.

Even though just a small percentage of these ads are being clicked, Google is making a lot of money with every click. This is probably why a lot of the search engine data is kept under wraps.

While it may seem that hardly any Adwords ads are being clicked on a daily basis, it helps to remember that Google processes billions of searches every single day. When you look at it from this angle, there is a lot of potential to be had from using Adwords.

Adwords is definitely one of the premier CPC campaign platforms and every business should know the basics of how to run an effective Adwords campaign.

Secret Fact #6: 0.9 percent of Google searches result in a click on Google Maps Vs. closer to 15 percent on mobile devices 

It was found that on desktop devices, only 0.9 percent of Google searches resulted in clicking on Google Maps.

On mobile devices however, the number of people clicking on Google Maps or local listings is likely to be around 15 percent.

It has been common knowledge for a while that more and more mobile devices are being used to search for directions and local results, but these statistics finally support these statements.

When designing your mobile pages, it is extremely important to have your address and link to directions or Google Maps so people can find your business with ease. This is especially important for stores, restaurants and even corporate offices.

The easier it is for people to find your website or your brick and mortar store on the go, the more customers you are likely to have.

Secret Fact #7: 0.5 percent of clicks are going to Google’s Knowledge Panel 

You may have seen Google’s knowledge panel popping up during a search on the right hand side of your screen. This knowledge panel highlights key information around what you are searching and gives viewers quick and necessary facts.

Knowledge panels are popular for highlighting the main facts of famous people, countries and cities and even restaurants.

If you have ever wondered how much traffic these knowledge panels are stealing away from you, the answer is not a lot.

It was found that only 0.5 percent of clicks were going to these knowledge panels, however that number is likely to be higher depending on the type of knowledge panel that is shown.

Knowledge panels come up in an estimated 38 percent of search results and their popularity is also slowly increasing.

We have to believe that the reason for this is so Google can make themselves more relevant and necessary when internet-goers are searching for information.

The more people that rely on Google for information, the more likely they are to keep their powerhouse status.

To determine if these Knowledge panels are stealing away relevant traffic from your site, try searching for your main keywords and seeing what knowledge panels come up when you do.

Take note of any links that are provided in the knowledge panel or what information is being offered. This will help you to devise a competitive strategy to offer readers more detailed or thoughtful information.

If you really want to win over the clicks that are going to the knowledge panel, you will need to get creative and offer something of greater value to your readers.

Secret Fact #8: Google Image searches result in 3 percent of all total search clicks

Image searches made up 3 percent of all total clicks conducted on Google. This may not seem like much, but when you are dealing in the billions, this number proves to be quite significant.

In fact, other data companies out there estimate that even as much as 11 percent of searches on Google are resulting in an image being clicked.

There is no doubt that images are powerful and with the growing trend of infographics, it is no surprise that image searchers are popular.

When it comes to ranking for image searches, this is just as important as any of the other SEO that you do for your blog content and landing pages.

Images are a great way to not only make your landing pages and content interesting, but they can also help to direct a lot of traffic to your site as well.

By focusing on images and even creating infographics, you can boost your traffic and reach a whole new audience.

Secret Fact #9: 0.23 percent of Google search results end up with a click on Twitter

Recently Google started hosting a Twitter block for certain searches. We were curious how many clicks these Twitter blocks were receiving. During our research we found statistics ranging from 0.23 percent of clicks to 7 percent of clicks

Based on other data we have seen, tweets typically do well for certain search queries. Trending news, celebrities and similar topics all being some of them.

If you are not already on Twitter, this data shows how important this social network may be to your business, especially if you are trying to grow your personal brand or get your name out there.

Twitter is one of the most popular social media networks around, so it makes sense that your brand has a presence on the platform. This becomes even more true when anywhere from 0.23 to 7 percent of Google searches result in a click over to Twitter.

Secret Fact #10: 6.3 percent of all Google searches result in a click to YouTube

An impressive 6.3 percent of all Google searches end up with a click to YouTube. You may have heard that video content is powerful, but this proves just how powerful it really is.

As the second largest search engine in the world, YouTube is definitely a key way to advertise and promote your brand. It is also a great way to create demonstrative videos and teach your customers or clients something of value.

With Google owning YouTube, it makes sense that utilising the platform would have added benefits, not just for traffic, but for SEO as well.

There is so much written information out there online and sometimes users simply want to see things visually. By catering to this crowd and offering video content as an option, you will not only appeal to a wider audience but it will also help to further your reach, especially if you are competing for a popular keyword.

Secret Fact #11: 0.55 percent of all clicks go to Google Shopping results 

In the beginning, one of our main questions was how Amazon was stacking up against Google.

We know that Amazon has over 244 million active customers, but it was also interesting to see that around .5 percent of Google searches end up with clicks in Google shopping results.

Google Shopping is a relatively new feature and it seems that it is growing in popularity. While Amazon is still the giant of the e-commerce world, Google Shopping definitely has some clout.

If you have an e-commerce store, being featured in Google shopping results is definitely going to be worth your while. As more and more people shop online, the demand is only going to increase.

Secret Fact #12: Google takes around 11 percent of all search traffic 

Adding up Google Maps, Google Images, Google Books and all other things Google, we found that the total traffic that Google is pulling in for themselves is around 11 percent.

As one of the biggest search engines in the world, it is no surprise that Google is taking so much traffic for itself. This is why Google is able to get away with not offering a lot of concrete data or sharing the full details of their algorithms.

As long as Google remains the giant that it is, it is going to be very difficult for others to compete. This is even seen in the growing percentage of “Google property” taking over.

Google now has so many different platforms and ways to take traffic, and this is only going to keep growing.

Secret Fact #13: The Average Search Query has 3 Words

We discovered that the average search query has about 3 words. Desktop users had a slightly higher search query length than mobile users, however not as much as you would imagine.

In fact, from what we found, searches on mobile devices and desktops were fairly similar in the number of words that were used.

When creating the perfect keyword, aim for 3 or more words. This will help your search results to be more relevant for your audience.

Secret Fact #14: 8 percent of search queries are asked as Questions

Through our research, we found that 8 percent of search queries were questions; this means that 8 out of 100 searches started with the words- who, what, where, when, why and how.

Using questions as keywords may be something you want to experiment with based on these findings.

You may even want to write more questions in the headlines of your ad copy or on your blog posts to see if you can capitalise from this trend.

Secret Fact #15: 18 percent of users click on the change search query suggestions at the bottom of search results

We have all seen the alternative search terms located at the very bottom of search results. We found that a whopping 18 percent of users were clicking on these alternative suggestions.

In order to use this to your advantage, type in your most common keywords and see what alternative suggestions are offered. Try catering to these suggestions through your copy and headlines.

These alternative search queries are often a result of a lot of data collected by Google over the years and what the most popular search terms based on the keyword you are looking for.These alternative suggestions are therefore extremely valuable to your SEO strategy and for funnelling more traffic your way.

Conclusion

So there you have it- 15 secret facts about Google that should help to support your SEO efforts, copy and the keywords you should choose to focus on.

Here are the main takeaway points of this article summarised in bullet form-

  • Google is likely processing far more search queries than the stated 2 trillion searches per year
  • The average Google search session is just under 1 minute, which means that having your results featured higher up in search results is crucial
  • 34 percent of all searches get no clicks at all, this means that your content needs to offer more detail and more value than just the basics
  • 3.4 percent of all search clicks go to Adwords, making it one of the premier CPC platforms around
  • Only 0.9 percent of Google Map results were clicked on desktop, however as much as 15 percent were clicked on mobile devices
  • Google’s own knowledge panels take a total of 0.5 percent of clicks; in total Google’s own property (Google Shopping, Google Books etc) takes a total of 11.8 percent of all search traffic
  • 0.23 percent of Google search results end up with a click through to Twitter and 6.3 percent go to YouTube
  • 0.55 percent of all search results end up with clicks on Google Shopping
  • Search results across desktop and mobile devices average 3 words
  • 18 percent of users change their search query based on the suggestions offered at the bottom of the search page