Be Found.   Be Seen.  Be Noted.

Recent insights into the behaviour of search engine users illustrate the importance of ranking high on search engines:

• Search engines are very popular:
• 75% of Internet users use a search engine (Nielsen, 2004)
• Over 50% of Internet users use a search engine every day (IProspect, 2004)
• 70% of e-commerce transactions originate from search engines (Internet Advertising Bureau, 2004)
  
  
• Ranking high is fundamental:
• 50.5% of search engine users never go past the first result page (Penn State University, 2002)
  
  
• Search results are more trusted than paid ads:
• 70% of clicks on search engine result pages occur in search results themselves, not in paid ads (IProspect, 2004)
• 72% of Google users think search results are more relevant than ads (IProspect, 2004)
• Frequent Internet users, long-time Internet users, college graduates and full-time employees find search results more relevant than ads (IProspect 2004)
• Leads from search results convert 17% more often than leads from paid ads (MarketingSherpa, 2005)
  
  
• Only the large search engines matter:
• Google, Yahoo and MSN combined provide 88% of search engine referrals, and
• Google alone provides over 50%  (WebSiteStory 2005)
  
  

See also: Why SEO?; SEO Return On Investment.