When you need an answer to a question, where do you go? To Google, of course! Its absolute dominance has made it the largest search engine, answering billions of queries every day. Here’s what you should know about the latest Google Search Engine statistics for 2024 ⇣.
Let’s kick off with a summary of some of the most interesting Google search engine statistics and trends:
- Google controls over 91.6% of the global search engine market.
- Google’s revenue was 76.3 billion dollars (as of Q3 2023).
- Google processes over 3.5 billion searches every single day.
- The top search result on Google receives a 39.8% click-through rate.
- Almost nine out of ten users worldwide use Google to search the Internet.
- In 2023, 59.21% of Google users accessed Google through a mobile phone.
- Advertisers make an average of $2 in revenue for every $1 spent on Google ads.
- Customers are 2.7 times more likely to consider your business more reputable if you have a complete Google My Business Profile.
- 20% of the top-ranked websites are still not in a mobile-friendly format, and Google will not prioritize them in search results
Since Google’s launch in 1998, the search engine has dominated its industry like few others in modern history. Almost nine out of ten Internet users worldwide rely on Google to access important information.
The impressive feat is backed by advanced technology. Each user query uses 1000 computers in 0.2 seconds, and the data query travels approximately 1,500 miles to present useful information to the user.
2024 Google Search Engine Statistics & Trends
Here is a collection of the most up-to-date Google search engine statistics to give you the current state of what’s happening in 2024 and beyond.
As of Q3 2023, Google’s revenue was 76.3 billion US dollars.
As of Q3 2023, Google’s revenue was 76.3 billion US dollars.Source: Alphabet ^
As of the third quarter of 2023, Google’s revenue was 76.3 billion US dollars, which is up 6% year on year.
In 2022, its full-year annual revenue was 279.8 billion U.S. dollars, which was its highest value to date, with most of its earnings being powered by advertising through Google sites and its network.
Google processes 3.5 billion searches per day.
Source: Internet Live Stats ^
Google processes over 3.5 billion searches every single day. If you break this incredible statistic down, it means that Google processes, on average, over 40,000 search queries every second or 1.2 trillion searches per year.
In comparison, back in 1998, when Google launched, it was processing over 10,000 search queries per day. In just over 20 years, Google has gone from becoming barely known to an integral part of the everyday life of searchers all around the world.
As of January 2024, Google occupies an 91.6% share of the global search engine market.
Source: Statcounter ^
Nine out of ten users worldwide use Google as their search engine to search the Internet. Its three closest competitors, Bing, Yahoo, and Yandex, represent about 8.4% of the total search engine landscape, dwarfed by Google’s colossal 91.6% market share.
However, Google’s dominance is weakening as Microsoft has added ChatGPT to Bing.
The top search result on Google receives a 39.8% click-through rate.
Source: FirstPageSage ^
Gaining the top spot on Google is worth the effort since it attracts a 39.8% click-through rate. Search position two enjoys an 18.7% click-through rate, whereas the number nine spot is only 2.4%.
If you manage to get the featured snippet (the bold text answer paragraph that appears in search results), the click-through rate is increased to 42.9% for the top spot and 27.4% for the second spot.
Semrush conducted a zero-click survey and found that 25.6% of all Google searches resulted in no click-through.
Source: SEMrush ^
A high-ranking search result listing on Google may not guarantee a click. Google’s search results increasingly show more and more instant answers, featured snippets, knowledge boxes, etc.
As a result, ¼ of all searches made on Google on desktop computers ended without a click to any web property in the search results. For mobile users, this figure was 17.3%.
Thanks to Google’s Multitask Unified Model (MUM) update, nailing user intent has been a key focus for Google SEO experts.
Source: SearchEngineJournal ^
Google updated its AI algorithm to help its ranking systems better understand language. As a result, getting the user intent right has become vital for getting web pages to rank.
This means you must consider what users find useful when viewing content and take a holistic approach to create it. In terms of marketing, you need to consider the specific consumer stage during the buyer’s journey.
An image is 12 times more likely to appear on a Google mobile search.
Source: SEMrush ^
Create a mobile-friendly website if you want your product or the image to appear on the Google search engine results page. Compared to desktop users, a picture is 12.5x times more likely to appear in front of the user using a mobile. Similarly, a video will appear 3x times more often on mobile.
In contrast, getting better results for videos on a desktop may be more cost-effective. Videos appear 2.5x times more often on Google desktop results than mobile searches.
Desktop search is also better in utilizing featured snippets, which are likely to occur twice as often on a desktop.
In 2023, 59.21% of Google users accessed Google through a mobile phone.
Source: Similarweb ^
In 2023, 59.4% of all web traffic came from mobile devices, and 59.21% of those individuals are using Chrome to browse online. Safari is the second most popular browser at 33.78%.
In 2013, the mobile phone only contributed 16.2% of traffic, gradually increasing to 59.4% in 2023 – a whopping 75.84% increase.
It costs 38% less to advertise on Google search engine than Google display network.
Source: WordStream ^
The average cost per conversion on the Google search network is $56.11. The conversion rate is much better than the Google display network, which costs advertisers $90.80 per conversion. The automobile and travel industry converts at a much lower rate at $26.17 and $27.04, respectively.
Research suggests that the Google search network offers much better rates across all sectors except leisure and finance. Advertisers in the leisure and financial industries often get better results through the Googe display network.
The average conversion rate across Google Ads is 4.40% on the search network and 0.57% on the display network.
Source: WordStream ^
The average cost per conversion on the Google search network is $56.11. The conversion rate is much better than the Google display network, which costs advertisers $90.80 per conversion.
Furthermore, the conversion rates are much better for Google Search Network at 4.40%. This is compared with 0.57% for Google Display Network.
Research suggests that the Google search network offers much better rates across all sectors except leisure and finance. Advertisers in the leisure and financial industries often get better results through the Googe display network.
Advertisers make an average of $2 in revenue for every $1 spent on Google ads.
Source: Google Economic Impact ^
Google’s chief economist, Hal Varian, says that if search clicks brought in as much business as ad clicks, it will generate $11 for every $1 spent on Google Ads rather than the $2 revenue gained from ad clicks.
In theory, this makes search clicks 70% more valuable than ad clicks.
46% of users on Google search engines seek local information.
Source: SocialMediaToday ^
Nearly half of Google users seek local information on the Internet. More importantly, almost 30% of Google mobile users start their search inquiries looking for a product near their homes. Two-thirds of consumers who search for local businesses end up visiting stores within five miles of their homes.
For local businesses, it is essential to share their locations because 86% of people use Google Maps to locate a business address. Almost 76% of people will visit the store within one day, and 28% will purchase the desired product.
Improving the online Google star rating from 3 to 5 stars will generate 25% more clicks.
Source: Bright Local ^
Consumer reviews and Google star rating plays a critical role in the success of a business. The latest trends indicate that you will get approximately 13,000 more leads by increasing the star rating by 1.5.
The star rating on Google is also critical because only 53% of Google users consider using a business with fewer than 4-stars. Only 5% of companies on Google have a rating less than 3-stars.
15% of all searches on Google are unique (never searched for before).
Source: BroadBandSearch ^
Every day, Google processes 15% unique, never-searched for before keywords. On average, a user will perform four to five searches per day. Google Image makes up 20% of all search inquiries, which shows that people are getting more educated about search engine usage.
For advertisers, the increase in Google Image search means they can create content around images and visual data to gain top ranking on Google.
URLs that contain a keyword gets a 45% higher click-through-rate in Google.
Source: Backlinko ^
According to recent research covering more than 5 million search queries and 874,929 pages on Google, a keyword in the title will encourage users to click on a page. The high CTR rate is based on the entire search query. It means that website owners should try to include the entire keyword in the URL.
Google search engine algorithm considers high CTR a reflection of web page’s quality. Using a keyword in the title will likely generate more traffic and help a website rank higher.
Backlinks are among the most critical ranking factor to get a high position on the Google search engine.
Source: Ahrefs ^
Experts from Google revealed that backlinks are among the three most essential factors in achieving a higher rank. Therefore, if you want to gain maximum visibility and get a higher position in Google, try to incorporate as many high-quality backlinks as possible.
Generally, the more backlinks the page has, the more organic traffic it gets from Google. Website owners should also do link building because it allows websites to get traffic from other high-ranking websites.
2023’s most popular (family-friendly) keywords was “Facebook,” with an average of 213 million searches per month.
Source: SiegeMedia ^
Despite having ultra-simple URLs, people still take to Google when they want to find their favorite websites. “Facebook” is the most searched term on Google, with 213 million monthly searches.
“YouTube” is next on the list (143.8 million monthly searches), then “Amazon” (119.7 million monthly searches). “Weather” commands 95.3 million monthly searches, and Walmart takes the 5th spot with 74.4 million.
According to Ahrefs, these were the top 10 searches on Google globally:
| Search term | Number of searches | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cricbuzz | 213,000,000 |
| 2 | Weather | 189,000,000 |
| 3 | 140,000,000 | |
| 4 | Whatsapp web | 123,000,000 |
| 5 | Translate | 121,000,000 |
| 6 | Amazon | 120,000,000 |
| 7 | Clima | 100,000,000 |
| 8 | Sarkari result | 90,000,000 |
| 9 | Walmart | 82,000,000 |
| 10 | Wordle | 75,000,000 |
This data is slightly skewed as this is the family-friendly version. There are adult-rated words that command much higher search volumes, but we won’t disclose them here.
Customers are 2.7 times more likely to consider your business reputable if you have a complete Google My Business Profile.
Source: Hootsuite ^
Having a complete Google My Business profile is vital for local businesses to thrive. Customers are 2.7 times more likely to consider you if you have everything complete and up to date.
Furthermore, 64% of consumers have used Google My Business to get contact details for a business and are 70% more likely to visit your location. Additionally, your Google My Business listing can gain up to 35% more clicks to your website.
Displaying your Google star rating on the results page can improve your CTR by up to 35%.
Source: Bidnamic ^
Consumer reviews and Google star rating plays a critical role in the success of a business, as consumers see star ratings as a seal of quality and reliability. For best results, your rating must be 3.5 stars or above.
79% of shoppers state that they trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations, so it’s definitely worth asking your customers for them.
Title tags between 40 to 60 characters have the highest CTR at 33.3%.
Source: Backlinko ^
To increase the chance of someone clicking on your website, you should have a title of between 40 – 60 characters. This equates to a CTR rate of 33.3% and an 8.9% better average CTR than other title lengths.
Titles with six to nine words are also well received and have a CTR of 33.5%. Short titles of three words or less fare the worst, with a CTR of just 18.8%, whereas titles with over 80 characters also have a low CTR of 21.9%.
Backlinks used to be the most important factor for ranking in Google searches. Now, quality content reigns supreme, and on average, posts with 1,890 words get the top spot.
Source: MonsterInsights ^
Backlinks are still important (the second most essential ranking factor). However, internet users demand high-quality, relevant, and up-to-date content, and Google now places this as the most important thing to get right.
The average post length for top-ranking articles is 1,890 words and will be neatly organized into H1, H2, H3, etc. headings. This ties in with the third most crucial ranking element – user intent. However, as we demonstrated earlier in the article, user intent is fast-rising to become even more vital.
27% of internet users use voice search for general search queries on their mobile devices.
Source: BloggingWizard ^
Currently, 27% of the global online population uses voice search on mobile devices. In the US, this figure rises to 41% of US adults and 55% of teens.
Despite these figures, using voice to search is currently ranked as the sixth most-used voice-based activity after making a call, texting, getting directions, playing music, and setting a reminder. However, voice search is the second most popular method of performing searches after browser search.
20% of the top-ranked websites are still not in a mobile-friendly format, and Google will not prioritize them in search results.
Source: ClearTech ^
70% of searches made on mobile phones lead to online engagement; however, 61% of users will not return to a website if it is not mobile-optimized. Moreover, Google recognizes the frustration non-optimized websites cause its users and prioritizes mobile-friendly websites in search results.
This is bad news for the remaining 20% of top-ranked websites that still need to optimize their sites for mobile browsing.
Sources:
- https://abc.xyz/investor/static/pdf/2023Q3_alphabet_earnings_release.pdf
- https://www.statista.com/statistics
- https://www.internetlivestats.com/google-search-statistics/
- https://www.statista.com/statistics/216573/worldwide-market-share-of-search-engines/
- https://firstpagesage.com/seo-blog/google-click-through-rates-ctrs-by-ranking-position/
- https://www.semrush.com/blog/zero-clicks-study/
- https://www.searchenginejournal.com/2022-seo-trends-podcast-2/432620/
- https://bloggingwizard.com/voice-search-statistics/
- https://www.monsterinsights.com/google-ranking-factors/
- https://www.cleart.com/will-i-lose-my-google-rankings-non-mobile-website.html
- https://economicimpact.google.com/methodology/
- https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2019/08/19/conversion-rate-benchmarks
- https://www.siegemedia.com/seo/most-popular-keywords
- https://blog.hootsuite.com/google-my-business/
- https://localiq.com/blog/google-my-business-benefits
- https://backlinko.com/google-ctr-stats
- https://www.bidnamic.com/blog/resources/adding-star-ratings-to-your-google-ads
- https://www.oberlo.com/statistics/mobile-internet-traffic
- https://www.similarweb.com/browsers/worldwide/mobile-phone/
