31 Google Search Statistics to Bookmark ASAP

Consider the rapid uptake of “Google” as a verb meaning, “to search” — “I’ll just Google it,” “can’t you Google that?” “isn’t it on Google?” It’s not an exaggeration to say that when it comes to searching for information online, Google is — by far — the digital frontrunner.

Google also makes efforts to personalize search results, in turn, increasing the chances that users will opt for Google the next time they have a question.

For users that aren’t logged into a Gmail or another Google account, the company uses anonymously stored browser cookies to get a sense of search histories and preferences.

For users signed into their Google account, Chrome’s browser history provides the data necessary for Google to construct a profile based on age, language preference, gender and search preferences, which informs the type of search results returned.

Location offers an easy example of this approach — if users have location services turned on, Google search results will be filtered by geographic location to increase overall relevance.

Now, let’s look at a few of this year’s top Google Search statistics and take a deeper dive into the trending searches that guide your marketing strategy.

Top Google Search Statistics in 2024

Let’s look at how Google influences search with these latest statistics.

• A majority of professionals say their websites have maintained the same amount of traffic or don’t believe that generative AI/LLM AI features in search engines have impacted their site traffic. 41% say their websites are getting more traffic than before. (HubSpot Blog Research)

• Just over ¼ of survey respondents say organic traffic is their top source of web traffic. Paid/search Google ads & paid social media/social media ads take second place. (HubSpot Blog Research)
• Our survey respondents tell us that most of their website pages rank in position 6-10 in SERPs. (HubSpot Blog Research)

• 89% of URLs and 37% of URLs in positions 1-20 rank differently on mobile and desktop. (SEMRush)
• 54% of survey respondents think people use search engines to find answers more often since AI overviews and other LLM search features became available. (HubSpot Blog Research) 

• Professionals ranked Trustworthiness and Expertise as the most important ranking factors in the E-E-A-T framework. (HubSpot Blog Research)
• Experts think how-to, step-by-step guides, and other educational content will perform best with generative AI incorporated into search engines. Personal stories/experiences will be the most negatively impacted. (HubSpot Blog Research)
• Optimizing content for search intent, optimizing on-page content around target keywords, and conducting keyword research are the most effective SEO strategies for ranking highly on SERPs. (HubSpot Blog Research)

• 25% of desktop Google searchers end without a click, and 17% of mobile end without a click (Semrush)
• The average keyword is roughly 3-4 words long. (Semrush)
• Long-tailed keywords get 1.76x more clicks in organic SERPs. (Backlinko)
• In 2020, 500 keywords accounted for 8.4% of all search volume. (Backlinko)
• The average cost-per-click for a keyword is about $0.61. (Backlinko)
• The average cost-per-click in Google Ads in 2024 is $4.66 across all industries. (WordStream)
• 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)
• For every $1 businesses spend on Google Ads, they make an average of $2 in revenue. (Google)
• 55% of people clicking on Google search ads prefer those to be text ads. (Clutch)
• The average conversion rate in Google Ads across all industries in 2024 is 6.96% (WordStream)
• The average CTR for titles with questions is 15.5%. Regular (non-question) titles have a 16.3% CTR. (Backlinko)
• The average click-through rate for first place on desktop is 39.8%. If the top result is a featured snippet, CTR increases to 42.9%. (FirstPage)
• 21% of Google SERPs show images. (Moz)
• 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)
• 50% of U.S. consumers use voice search daily. (UpCity)

With search volumes constantly fluctuating in response to world events and evolving news coverage, it’s worth knowing what searches are trending, how quickly they’re ramping up, and how they tie into similar keyword queries.

While one option is a scattershot approach — simply type a potential trend term into Google and see how many total results are reported — more targeted options often provide an easier path to improved search performance.

Let’s review some of the most useful tools available in the section below.

Review the “Year in Search,” take Google Trends lessons, and see what’s trending now. You can also view the peaks and valleys of topic interest over time, which uncovers seasonality and allows you to plan your marketing calendar accordingly.

Plus, find related topics and queries, and identify sub-regions your topic has been trending to better target your campaigns.

2. Think with Google

Discover articles, benchmark reports, and consumer insights that keep you up to speed on search. From ad bidding strategies to brand jingles, you’ll find interesting content that helps you think bigger while staying educated on how to leverage Google search for your business.