SEO Statistics 2025: 100+ Stats on AI, Keywords, Rankings and More

[TheLegacy]

Want to know what is happening out there on the net with competitors and your website. Often Google changes it's algorithms around causing distress for many but opportunities for some. Here are some key insights for you and if anyone is wanting to supercharge their SEO and traffic feel free to contact me as I'm offering for New Years One month get 2nd month SEO for free.

So here are the stats


SEO is evolving fast. AI-generated answers, zero-click results, and stricter ranking signals are reshaping how we optimize for search. In an industry this dynamic, gut instinct isn’t enough.

To help you stay competitive, we’ve rounded up the latest SEO statistics and trends for 2025. Use these insights to guide your strategy, justify your budget, and spot new growth opportunities.



Key SEO Statistics

1. 70% of all clicks go to the first five organic results. (Advanced Metrics)
2. About 53% of all website traffic comes from organic search. (SEOInc)
3. Only 5.8% of search results now return Featured Snippets. (Semrush)
4. The ROI for SEO spend can be as high as 748%. (First Page Sage)
5. 36% of product searches begin on Google. (SEO AI)
6. Mobile searches account for 61.5% of global search traffic. (Digital Silk)
7. 62% of searchers will disregard a business if they can’t find it online. (Sagapixel)
8. 61% of B2B marketers agree that SEO and organic traffic bring more leads than other marketing approaches. (Hubspot)
9. Google still controls 90% of the search engine market share worldwide. (Hubspot)
10. However, AI is making waves in the organic search industry.

AI in SEO (GEO, AEO, AI Overviews) Statistics


AI is reshaping how search engines work—and how marketers respond. From generative engine optimization to search engine AI overviews and AI content detection, here’s what the numbers say:

1. AI Overviews reduce click rates by 34%. (Ahrefs)
2. 63% of websites are receiving AI-sourced traffic. (Ahrefs)
3. The average ChatGPT user clicks 1.4 external links per visit; Google’s users click 0.6 times per visit. (Momentic Marketing)
4. AI Overviews have already reached 1.5 billion monthly users. (Google)
5. Reddit threads, YouTube demos, and forum posts soak up roughly a third of the traffic that AIO leaves behind. (Growth Memo)
6. 43% of AI Overviews point back to Google. (SERanking)
7. 7 in 10 searchers never read past the first third of an AIO. (Growth Memo)
8. Younger mobile users embrace AI answers and social proof, while older searchers still dig for blue links and authority sites. (Growth Memo)
9. 90% of buyers click through to sources featured in AI Overviews. (TrustRadius)
10. 66% of consumers believe AI will replace traditional search within 5 years. (Search Engine Land)

Not sure if you’re showing up in AI Overviews? Try Keyword.com’s AI Overview Tracker.

Hopefully this is helpful and I do have more statistics on hand if you're interested and don't forget to visit https://ROBERTWARRENSEO.COM and reach out to take advantage of the Buy One and get 2nd Month Free SEO offer for the New Year. NOTE don't forget to use the FREE site analyzer for your score - no email collection or sales funnels - just results.

[Mr Pheer]

Remember posting in my threads, just to be a complete fucking asshole?

I really should return that favor right now.

[Peter Romero]

Every time I do google paid adwords I get flagged and banned for life. If you have a go-around for this I'll hire you forever. PS - where were you 8 years ago when I just spent $500k shooting in Hawaii and was begging to buy traffic or a great SEO guy?

[CaptainHowdy]

Originally Posted by Mr Pheer

Remember posting in my threads, just to be a complete fucking asshole?

I really should return that favor right now.

Here we go again . . .

[TheLegacy]

Originally Posted by Peter Romero

Every time I do google paid adwords I get flagged and banned for life. If you have a go-around for this I'll hire you forever. PS - where were you 8 years ago when I just spent $500k shooting in Hawaii and was begging to buy traffic or a great SEO guy?

I may have an alternative but would need to know a few things first that may have triggered Google to flag you for example circumventing the system - this is the most common "lifetime" ban. It happens if you create a new account while another is suspended, or if your website uses redirects/pop-ups that Google's bot can't follow.. Ive also seen suspicious payment activity like using a virtual credit card (like Privacy.com), a card that isn't in your name, or a card from a different country than your account settings. Finally but not least unacceptable business practices which often hits affiliate marketers or "get rich quick" niches. If Google thinks your site is "scammy" or lacks clear "About Us" and "Contact" pages, they will ban the account instantly.

If none of the above happened then there is a slight chance but possible that your payment method - for example - if you were using the same credit card (or even a different card from the same bank/person) that was on a banned account to even another possible cause is your domain & hosting which is when the website you are promoting was previously flagged, any new account pointing to that domain will be auto-banned. That includes your hardware & IP. Yup your computer’s "fingerprint" (MAC address, browser settings, and IP address) is logged right down to the simplest and at times overlooked when filling everything out is your business info. Matching physical addresses or phone numbers etc. for example.

Now I haven't asked or seen how you did it - much less knew much about the sites you're promoting - but much of the above ideas are common reasons why this can happen. There are other factors but I'd have to know more.

That being said and keeping with the holiday spirit - "yes Virgina there is a way to circumvent all this (btw can I assume since you are not certain as to why - that first you've got the right to drafted and sent a formal appeal letter - where you can ask for what was triggering a "Circumventing Systems" flag. NOTE this has to be done right because you only get one shot at it. Having that in your hand makes it easier to know what to do next - either way we can work this out.

Hit me up with more details and we'll figure the actual cause and solution [email protected]

[Killswitch]

Originally Posted by Mr Pheer

Remember posting in my threads, just to be a complete fucking asshole?

I really should return that favor right now.

I like how he's now ignoring you.

I guess we know who's got balls and who's all bark and no bite now.

[CyberHustler]

Great information, awesome and useful thread 💯

[mopek1]

Can adult be improved upon SEO-wise?

No AI will link to an adult site and Google seems to be showing less adult results and more mainstream-adult pages instead, at least from what I am seeing.

[mrmister]

buying links never fails in my experience, in 20 years of doing it.

[TheLegacy]

Originally Posted by mopek1

Can adult be improved upon SEO-wise?

No AI will link to an adult site and Google seems to be showing less adult results and more mainstream-adult pages instead, at least from what I am seeing.

Adult SEO is one of the most difficult primarily because search engines like Google apply "SafeSearch" filters and restrictive policies that favor established, high-authority "mainstream-adult" sites (like major tube sites or magazines).

You can still move the needle on adult SEO in 2026, regardless of the niche. When I sat on the SEO panel at InterNext in Vegas last year, the big takeaway from the last couple of years was the massive shift in tactics for smart SEO people.

We aren't just trying to 'trick' Google anymore; the goal now is to prove your site is a legitimate entity that search engines can rely on.

Today -- SEO for pretty much all adult fields can absolutely be improved. So I would change your approach from the old days of SEO from "trying to trick the algorithm" to "becoming an entity search engines trust." (NOTE this is why blackhat was abandoned by most SEO people as it was attempting to trick)

Originally Posted by mopek1

"no AI will link to an adult site and Google seems to be showing less adult results and more mainstream-adult pages instead"

was your comment

In 2026, the "Invisibility" you’re describing is exactly what we discussed at the InterNext panel in Vegas. You've hit on the two biggest hurdles: AI Censorship (the link barrier) and SafeSearch Sanitization (Google favoring "mainstream" sites).

To "humanize" the strategy for the current landscape, you have to stop trying to force Google to show your content and instead make Google unable to ignore your brand.

[TheLegacy]

Part 2

Keyword and SEO Strategy Statistics
Please note these statistics often include mainstream SEO information

Keywords are foundational to SEO. Here’s what current data reveals about their performance and user behavior:

1. 8% of search queries are phrased as questions, including words like who, what, where, why, and how. (SEOCopilot)
2. 91.8% of all search queries contain long-tail keywords. (Backlinko)
3. Every day, 15% of Google searches are brand new. (WP Beginner)
4. Pages that are on the first page of Google SERPs typically have about 66 characters on their URLs. (On The Map)
5. Long-tail keywords deliver around 2.5× higher conversion rates compared to short-tail terms. (Profitworks)
6. 56% of buyers use queries of 3+ words, with only 7% using one-word searches. (Wordstream)
7. When hunting for specific products or services, online shoppers usually add “near me” and “where to buy” to their queries. (My Codeless Website)
8. Title tags with 15-40 characters (short tags) have a higher click-through rate (CTR) of 8.6% than those with longer tags. (On The Map)
9. Title tags that contain a question word receive 14.1% more clicks (CTR) than those that don’t. (On The Map)

Pro tip: If your content centered around short-tail keywords is underperforming, target long-tail variants to capture higher intent and conversions.

SEO and Content Marketing Statistics

Which marketing approach should your business focus on: organic SEO, pay-per-click (PPC), or both? Let the data tell you the advantages of SEO, including its return on investment (ROI) rate.

1. 53% of all website traffic originates from online searches, compared to 15% from paid search. (Bright Edge)
2. SEO campaigns can recoup the investment as early as six months, with peak results in the second and third years of the campaign. (First Page Sage)
3. B2B SaaS businesses can enjoy their SEO investment in 7 months, and ecommerce businesses in 16 months. (First Page Sage)
4. 70% of marketers believe SEO generates better results than PPC campaigns. (Databox)
5. 86.5% of SEO experts use PPC data to set up SEO campaigns. (Startup Bonsai)
6. 90% of organizations have a content marketing strategy (Statista)
7. Content marketing creates three times as many leads as traditional marketing and costs 64% less (Showpad)
8. High-quality content is the most effective SEO strategy according to 59% of B2C marketers (Forbes)

SEO Agency Statistics

Many businesses are willing to spend a hefty budget to boost their SEO rankings. But how much is the market price for SEO services today? Get the latest insights below.

1. 25% of companies (including mainstream) have a $10,000 – $25,000 budget for in-house SEO. Interestingly, the other 57% (aggregate) only allocate less than $10,000. (Aira)
2. Most SEO agencies charge $100-$149 per hour, and the higher-end SEO agencies charge $150-$199 per hour. This contributes to an average $3,594 monthly fee for hiring an SEO agency. (Expert Market)
3. An SEO expert with 2+ years of experience usually asks 40% more per hour than one with less experience. And for a one-off project, they typically ask 275% more. (Payscale)
4. SEO professionals managing the global market usually cost 130% more than those managing the local market. (Comrade Web)

[mrmister]

25% of companies (including mainstream) have a $10,000 – $25,000 budget for in-house SEO. Interestingly, the other 57% (aggregate) only allocate less than $10,000. (Aira)


90 percent of people here don't make that in a year

Have you seen the chatutbate thread when it's pay day?

[TheLegacy]

Originally Posted by mrmister

25% of companies (including mainstream) have a $10,000 – $25,000 budget for in-house SEO. Interestingly, the other 57% (aggregate) only allocate less than $10,000. (Aira)


90 percent of people here don't make that in a year

Have you seen the chatutbate thread when it's pay day?

statistics are taken in that particular case from

https://aira.net/state-of-link-build...fic-questions/

and yes - compared to adult - mainstream companies do spend much more on SEO people plus keep in mind there are a lot of expenses maybe you haven't thought you such as Google ad keywords purchasing. I've seen people/companies easily spent 11k per month just on that and SEO in the industry. Mind you most of them were working in the gay division of the porn industry selling toys etc.

Working with mainstream companies as well frankly these numbers are pretty close - now have you considered companies like PornHub and how much they pay??

These places are not on chaturbate affiliate payday money - so we need to compare apples to apples

[TheLegacy]

BTW don't forget to read the YNOT overview and others out there coming shortly

https://www.ynot.com/robertwarrenseo-bogo-promo/

[CaligulaDrusilla]

Originally Posted by mrmister

buying links never fails in my experience, in 20 years of doing it.

How does this work exactly? Do you pay monthly, yearly or is it one time payment?

What if the webmaster screws you over, takes the money and run?

And how can you find out what value a backlink have to let's say a website getting a million unique clicks per month compared to a website getting half a million?

[TheLegacy]

Originally Posted by CaligulaDrusilla

How does this work exactly? Do you pay monthly, yearly or is it one time payment?

What if the webmaster screws you over, takes the money and run?

And how can you find out what value a backlink have to let's say a website getting a million unique clicks per month compared to a website getting half a million?

I may not be the best to answer this but I'll try

How does this work exactly? Do you pay monthly, yearly or is it one time payment?

The payment structure depends entirely on the type of link you are buying but the One-Time Payment is pretty much the most common out there.

What if the webmaster screws you over, takes the money and run?

This is a common risk in the adult industry. To protect yourself, use these strategies. You can use Escrow & Marketplaces: Use platforms like SEOClerks, Rankifyer, or Fiverr (though Fiverr is strict on adult content) - Established Agencies and finally (most common) is PayPal using their Goods and Services section

And how can you find out what value a backlink have to let's say a website getting a million unique clicks per month compared to a website getting half a million?

Evaluating Value: 1 Million vs. 500k Clicks

A website with more traffic isn't always better. You should evaluate the "Link Juice" using these three factors: Traffic Relevancy - Outbound Link Ratio- Geographic Match

When I say Traffic Relevancy this is Google's way of shutting down the blackhat SEO techniques used a few years ago that has since stopped. For example - a link from a site with 500k clicks in your exact sub-niche (e.g., adult gaming) is worth more than a link from a 1M click site that is a generic porn tube.