Key Insights
Essential data points from our research
73% of B2B marketers use content marketing as part of their overall marketing strategy
40% of B2B marketers have a documented content marketing strategy
65% of the most successful content marketers have a documented strategy
Content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing
Content marketing generates over 3x as many leads as outbound marketing
SaaS companies spend an average of 15% to 25% of their total revenue on marketing
68% of online experiences begin with a search engine
Organic search drives 53% of all trackable web traffic
LinkedIn is used by 96% of B2B content marketers for organic social media distribution
47% of buyers view 3-5 pieces of content before engaging with a sales rep
Strategic landing pages are used by 68% of B2B businesses to acquire leads
80% of business decision-makers prefer to get company information in a series of articles versus an advertisement
91% of businesses use video as a marketing tool
73% of B2B marketers use case studies, making it one of the top content formats
48% of B2B marketers said they plan to prioritize educational content/courses
Budgets & ROI
- 1Content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing
- 2Content marketing generates over 3x as many leads as outbound marketing
- 3SaaS companies spend an average of 15% to 25% of their total revenue on marketing
- 446% of businesses plan to increase their content creation spending in 2023
- 5The median cost to acquire a customer (CAC) for a SaaS company is $1.18 for every $1 of annual recurring revenue (ARR)
- 6Inbound marketing generally delivers a CAC that is 30% lower than outbound marketing
- 7Companies with blogs produce an average of 67% more leads monthly than companies that don't blog
- 872% of marketers say content marketing increases engagement
- 952% of B2B marketers say their content marketing budget has increased over the last 12 months
- 1061% of the most successful B2B marketers measure content marketing ROI
- 11Only 35% of B2B marketers measure the impact of content across the entire buyer journey
- 1282% of marketers who blog see a positive ROI from their inbound marketing
- 13SaaS companies investing in SEO and content marketing see a 179% higher growth rate in leads
- 14High-growth SaaS companies are 2.5 times more likely to use content marketing as a primary growth driver
- 1527% of marketers cite budget constraints as a challenge in content marketing
- 16Email marketing, often fed by content, yields $36 for every $1 spent
- 17Aligning sales and marketing content efforts can lead to 38% higher sales win rates
- 1860% of B2B marketers report that their content marketing budget stays the same year-over-year if goals aren't met
- 19B2B companies that blog generate 67% more leads than those that do not
- 2095% of B2B buyers consider content as trustworthy when evaluating a company and its offerings
Interpretation
SaaS companies that treat content as a strategic asset—invest in blogs, SEO, and email—can cut costs by around 62%, generate over three times the leads with a markedly lower CAC, enjoy up to 179% higher lead growth and $36 back for every $1 in email spend, so underfunding or failing to measure content across the buyer journey is an expensive mistake.
Distribution & SEO
- 168% of online experiences begin with a search engine
- 2Organic search drives 53% of all trackable web traffic
- 3LinkedIn is used by 96% of B2B content marketers for organic social media distribution
- 480% of B2B social media leads come from LinkedIn
- 513.5% of SaaS companies do not have a blog
- 6The top 3 organic results get 54.4% of all clicks
- 7Long-form content (3000+ words) gets 77.2% more links than short articles
- 8Updating and republishing old blog posts with new content and images can increase organic traffic by as much as 106%
- 943.7% of the top-ranking pages have some reciprocal links
- 1094% of content gets zero external links
- 1160% of marketers say that SEO and content creation are very integrated
- 1247% of B2B marketers use Twitter/X for content distribution
- 13Companies that publish 16+ blog posts per month get 3.5x more traffic than those that publish 0-4 posts
- 1471% of marketers use keywords as their primary SEO strategy
- 15Only 5.7% of pages will rank in the top 10 search results within a year of publication
- 1691% of content contains no traffic from Google
- 17The average top-ranking page generally ranks for nearly 1,000 other relevant keywords
- 1875% of users never scroll past the first page of search results
- 1956% of marketers use paid methods to distribute content
- 20Posts with at least one image get 2x as much traffic as text-only posts
Interpretation
Think of search as the front door and LinkedIn as the handshake: with 68% of online experiences starting in search, organic driving 53% of trackable traffic, LinkedIn producing 80% of B2B social leads, and the top three results grabbing most clicks, SaaS teams that do not publish frequent, long, image-rich, keyword-focused posts, refresh old content, build links, and amplify distribution will likely join the vast majority of content that gets no Google traffic or external links.
Lead Generation & Conversion
- 147% of buyers view 3-5 pieces of content before engaging with a sales rep
- 2Strategic landing pages are used by 68% of B2B businesses to acquire leads
- 380% of business decision-makers prefer to get company information in a series of articles versus an advertisement
- 470% of B2B buyers read blog content before making a purchase
- 5Increasing customer retention by 5% can increase profits by 25% to 95%
- 6Nurtured leads make 47% larger purchases than non-nurtured leads
- 763% of customers will stop buying from a company after one bad experience
- 8Case studies are considered the most effective content format for converting leads by 42% of marketers
- 967% of the buyer's journey is now done digitally
- 1087% of B2B buyers say online content has a moderate to major effect on their purchasing decisions
- 11Companies that excel at lead nurturing generate 50% more sales-ready leads at 33% lower cost
- 1293% of B2B buyers start their buying process with an internet search
- 1331% of B2B marketers say their organization is successful at nurturing leads
- 14The average conversion rate for SaaS landing pages is 9.5%
- 15Addressing customer pain points in content increases conversion rates by up to 45%
- 1678% of B2B buyers want case studies when researching purchases
- 17Educational content makes customers 131% more likely to buy
- 1884% of people have been convinced to buy a product or service by watching a brand's video
- 19Lead generation is the primary goal for 85% of B2B content marketers
- 2059% of B2B buyers say they would not do business with a company if they didn't produce relevant content
Interpretation
Together these stats say treat content like your best salesperson: nearly every B2B buyer starts with a search and reads several educational articles, case studies and videos before talking to sales, and when you combine strategic landing pages, pain-point-focused content and steady lead nurturing you win larger, cheaper and more loyal customers, whereas irrelevant content or a single bad experience will send most buyers packing.
Strategy & Production
- 173% of B2B marketers use content marketing as part of their overall marketing strategy
- 240% of B2B marketers have a documented content marketing strategy
- 365% of the most successful content marketers have a documented strategy
- 497% of SaaS companies have a blog on their website
- 536% of SaaS companies educate their customers using a company blog
- 689% of B2B marketers outsource at least one content marketing activity
- 7Writing is the most commonly outsourced content marketing activity at 44%
- 8The average blog post takes 4 hours and 10 minutes to write
- 955% of bloggers update older content
- 10SaaS companies that post 11+ times per month get 4x more leads than those posting 4-5 times
- 1142% of companies have one to three specialists in their content marketing team
- 1224% of SaaS companies have no dedicated person for marketing
- 1380% of B2B marketers believe that content marketing is more effective than traditional advertising
- 14The top challenge for 49% of marketers is creating content that generates quality leads
- 1566% of marketers prioritize their audience's informational needs over their organization's sales message
- 16Only 30% of B2B marketers say their organizations are effective at content marketing
- 1770% of B2B marketers say their organization's content production has increased over the last year
- 18Quality of content is rated the most important success factor by 83% of marketers
- 1969% of successful B2B marketers structure their content marketing teams by topic
- 2050% of B2B marketers say consistency is their biggest content challenge
Interpretation
Nearly every SaaS firm has a blog and most marketers prefer content to ads, yet with only 40% documenting a strategy, a quarter having no dedicated marketer, half struggling with consistency, and quality leads still the biggest pain point, the clear lesson is that winners stop treating content as an afterthought and instead adopt documented, topic-focused strategies, invest in quality and consistent publishing, update existing posts, and outsource smartly.
Trends & Format Preferences
- 191% of businesses use video as a marketing tool
- 273% of B2B marketers use case studies, making it one of the top content formats
- 348% of B2B marketers said they plan to prioritize educational content/courses
- 464% of B2B marketers use webinars/online events as a content format
- 5Articles of over 3,000 words get 3x more traffic, 4x more shares, and 3.5x more backlinks than shorter articles
- 696% of marketers engaged in video marketing plan to maintain or increase their spend
- 751% of marketers are currently using AI tools to help create content
- 861% of consumers prefer companies that create custom content
- 9Listicles get 2x more shares than other blog post formats
- 1086% of businesses use user-generated content (UGC) as part of their marketing strategy
- 11Podcasts are used by 25% of B2B marketers
- 1275% of B2B buyers say interactive content allows them to sample the brand properly
- 13Short-form video is the top trend marketers are investing in for 2023
- 1450% of people are more likely to interact with a poll than a traditional post
- 15Content with infographics gets 12% more traffic than content without
- 1643% of consumers increasingly want video content from marketers
- 1733% of B2B marketers use white papers/ebooks
- 18Marketers who use AI for content creation save an average of 3+ hours per piece of content
- 1971% of B2B marketers review their content marketing metrics at least quarterly
- 2088% of marketers say that video helps increase user understanding of their product or service
Interpretation
Put simply, these stats crown video the reigning platform while long educational pieces and interactive formats win attention and authority, AI and short-form tools speed production, user-generated and custom content build trust, and the marketers who actually measure results are the ones steering budgets to what works.
