Search engine optimization (SEO) is pretty much a numbers game. That may sound like an oversimplified explanation, but it is the truth. SEO is about driving traffic and converting it. And as any SEO agency can tell you, success is measured in raw numbers.
Speaking of numbers, SEO experts rely on a long list of metrics to measure the effectiveness of what they do. You can call them data points, key performance indicators (KPIs), or just plain statistics. They are all the same thing. The key is to measure the right metrics. If you are measuring metrics that don’t have any real bearing on what you’re doing, you are just chasing numbers for the sake of it.
With all that said, let us talk about three metrics rarely discussed in the SEO world. They are the top three statistics every SEO agency should live by:
1. 59.3% of All Internet Users Are Looking for Information
The April 2023 Global Snapshot from Data Report clearly shows that searching for information is the number one reason people use the internet. And in fact, 59.3% of the people survey reported doing so.
Many business owners whose knowledge of SEO is limited put all sorts of information on their websites that is irrelevant to their customers. They publish blog posts that few people ever read. They write product, service, and even company descriptions that don’t offer anything of value. And so, their SEO suffers.
The better choice is prioritizing content that educates and informs alongside CTAs that can work for your business objectives. Your site as a business should answer questions not only about your business specifically, but about the industry, as well as relevant global and local news.
2. 51.2% Want to Keep up with News and Events
The second statistic relates to the third most-reported reason for using the internet. It reveals that more than 51% of internet users want to stay abreast with news and events. What does this have to do with SEO? Everything.
You might not think it’s important to tie your products and services into news and events, but your customers think otherwise. Customers do not want to visit your website and read blog posts designed exclusively to sell them something. Sales posts are okay from time to time, but make sure to prioritize educational content and content that fits customers at different levels of the funnel.
Instead, your customers want to know how your products or services relate to them. And the best way to do that is to tie your products and services into news and events – whether they be general news and events or industry-related.
3. 48% Want to Know How to Do Things
Finally, 48% of internet users run online searches because they want to know how to do something. A user might want to know how to dig post holes for a fence. Another one might want to know how to take a modern end table and refinish it in such a way as to make it look old and distressed.
We should point out that Google’s Helpful Content update from last summer talks about this very thing. Google wants content creators to create their content around users rather than search engine algorithms. One of their suggestions is to create content that answers a specific question or explains how to do something.
You probably noticed that all three statistics are related to how people use the internet. In SEO, that’s what matters most. You need to know how people are using the internet if you expect to reach them with your message. Otherwise, you are chasing metrics and hoping for the best.
