Key Insights
Essential data points from our research
73% of marketers believe that their efforts through social media marketing have been somewhat effective or very effective for their business
Facebook is the primary content distribution channel for marketers today
90% of Instagram users follow at least one business on the platform
68% of online experiences begin with a search engine
SEO drives 1000%+ more traffic than organic social media
46% of all Google searches have local intent
For every $1 spent on email marketing, the average return on investment is $42
81% of small businesses rely on email as their primary customer acquisition channel
Welcome emails have an average open rate of 82%
Google Ads results receive 65% of the clicks that start with buying keywords
The average small business using Google Ads spends between $9,000 and $10,000 per month
41% of clicks on a search results page go to the top 3 paid ad spots
29% of small businesses do not have a website
It takes about 0.05 seconds for users to form an opinion about your website
57% of internet users say they won’t recommend a business with a poorly designed website on mobile
Digital Advertising & Budgeting
- 1Google Ads results receive 65% of the clicks that start with buying keywords
- 2The average small business using Google Ads spends between $9,000 and $10,000 per month
- 341% of clicks on a search results page go to the top 3 paid ad spots
- 4Small businesses allocate an average of 1% of their revenue to advertising
- 5PPC visitors are 50% more likely to purchase something than organic visitors
- 665% of small-to-mid-sized businesses have a PPC campaign
- 7Search ads can increase brand awareness by 80%
- 8The average Cost Per Action (CPA) in Google Ads across all industries is $48.96
- 9Mobile advertising spending is expected to surpass $240 billion
- 10Retargeting ads are 76% more likely to get clicks than regular display ads
- 1196% of marketers have used the Google Ads Display Network
- 1240% of small businesses do not use paid ads at all
- 13Digital ad spending worldwide is predicted to reach over $645 billion by 2024
- 14The legal industry has one of the highest Costs Per Click (CPC) at over $6
- 1533% of people click on a paid search ad because it directly answers their search query
- 16Businesses make an average of $2 in revenue for every $1 they spend on Google Ads
- 17Influencer marketing ad spend is expected to reach $15 billion recently
- 18Display advertising has a lower average CTR (0.35%) compared to search advertising (1.91%)
- 1977% of marketers plan to increase their digital advertising budgets next year
- 20Programmatic advertising accounts for over 85% of total digital display ad spending
Interpretation
Taken together, these statistics paint a clear but nuanced picture: paid search is where intent meets ROI, with buying-keyword ads and the top three paid spots capturing a disproportionate share of clicks and buyers, PPC visitors 50% more likely to purchase than organic and retargeting 76% more likely to get clicks, mobile and programmatic channels driving exploding ad spend while display lags with a much lower CTR, average CPAs around $48.96 and legal CPCs above $6 meaning costs vary widely, many small businesses spend $9,000 to $10,000 a month on Google Ads despite typically allocating just 1% of revenue to advertising, and even as global digital and mobile ad spending surges into the hundreds of billions and most marketers plan to increase budgets, about 40% of small businesses still avoid paid ads—so there’s a big, evidence-backed opportunity for those who invest strategically.
Email Marketing & Automation
- 1For every $1 spent on email marketing, the average return on investment is $42
- 281% of small businesses rely on email as their primary customer acquisition channel
- 3Welcome emails have an average open rate of 82%
- 4Personalized emails deliver 6x higher transaction rates
- 5Segmented email campaigns have an open rate that is 14.31% higher than non-segmented campaigns
- 649% of consumers said that they would like to receive promotional emails from their favorite brands on a weekly basis
- 7Marketing automation drives a 14.5% increase in sales productivity
- 877% of ROI comes from segmented, targeted, and triggered campaigns
- 9Mobile clients account for 41.6% of email opens
- 10Adding videos to your email can increase click rates by 300%
- 1135% of marketers send their customers 3-5 emails per week
- 1280% of business professionals believe that email marketing increases customer retention
- 13Cart abandonment emails have a 45% open rate
- 14Interactive email content increases the click-to-open rate by 73%
- 1520% of marketers use automated email marketing campaigns
- 1699% of consumers check their email every day
- 17Emails with emojis in the subject line have a 56% higher open rate
- 18Tuesdays and Thursdays are often cited as the best days to send marketing emails
- 1959% of respondents say marketing emails influence their purchase decisions
- 20Testing your subject lines can increase open rates by 40%
Interpretation
Treat email like your best salesperson and you’ll see why every dollar spent returns about $42: 81% of small businesses rely on it for acquisition, welcome messages enjoy an 82% open rate, personalization boosts transactions sixfold and segmentation increases opens by about 14.31% while accounting for roughly 77% of ROI, automation lifts sales productivity by 14.5% even though only 20% of marketers use it, 41.6% of opens happen on mobile, adding video can triple click rates and interactive content raises click-to-open by 73%, cart-abandonment messages still get 45% opens, emojis and subject-line testing can increase opens by 56% and 40% respectively, 99% of consumers check email daily, about half want weekly promos, and marketing emails strongly influence purchases and retention.
SEO & Content Marketing
- 168% of online experiences begin with a search engine
- 2SEO drives 1000%+ more traffic than organic social media
- 346% of all Google searches have local intent
- 472% of consumers who did a local search visited a store within 5 miles
- 5Content marketing generates over 3x as many leads as outbound marketing and costs 62% less
- 660% of marketers create at least one piece of content each day
- 7Companies that blog generate 67% more leads per month than those that do not
- 8Updating and republishing old blog posts with new content and images can increase organic traffic by as much as 106%
- 953.3% of all website traffic comes from organic search
- 10The average Google first page result contains 1,447 words
- 1175% of users never scroll past the first page of search results
- 12"Near me" or "buy now" searches have grown by over 500% over the last few years
- 1370% of marketers are actively investing in content marketing
- 1461% of marketers say improving SEO and growing their organic presence is their top inbound marketing priority
- 15Websites with a blog have 434% more indexed pages
- 16Voice search accounted for 20% of Google App searches recently
- 17Long-tail keywords have a 3-5% higher click-through rate than generic searches
- 1850% of search queries are four words or longer
- 19High-quality backlinks are one of the top three ranking factors for Google
- 2047% of buyers view 3-5 pieces of content before engaging with a sales rep
Interpretation
Treating online marketing as optional is like closing your shop and hoping customers stumble in: 68 percent of online experiences start with a search engine, SEO drives over a thousand percent more traffic than organic social, nearly half of Google searches have local intent with "near me" and "buy now" queries up over 500 percent and 72 percent of local searchers visiting a store within five miles, so smart content is your lifeline—content marketing costs 62 percent less and generates over three times as many leads, companies that blog have hundreds of percent more indexed pages and often produce the long, in-depth posts of about 1,447 words that win the first page where 75 percent of users stop, updating old posts can double organic traffic, long-tail and voice searches are on the rise, backlinks remain a top ranking factor, and buyers typically consume several pieces of content before engaging with sales, meaning you must invest in SEO, consistent high-quality content, and link building or accept being invisible.
Social Media Marketing
- 173% of marketers believe that their efforts through social media marketing have been somewhat effective or very effective for their business
- 2Facebook is the primary content distribution channel for marketers today
- 390% of Instagram users follow at least one business on the platform
- 4Visual content is 40 times more likely to get shared on social media than other types of content
- 5LinkedIn is the top paid and organic social channel for B2B businesses
- 671% of consumers who have had a positive experience with a brand on social media are likely to recommend the brand to their friends and family
- 7There are over 300 million active users on Pinterest making it a viable platform for niche small businesses
- 8Social media advertising revenues are projected to reach over $153 billion annually
- 954% of social browsers use consumers social media to research products
- 1096% of small business owners/marketers use social media in their marketing strategy
- 11User-generated content on social media has a 4.5% higher conversion rate
- 12Tweets with images receive 150% more retweets than tweets without images
- 1380% of social media content is accessed via mobile devices
- 1493% of Twitter community members are open to brands getting involved in conversation
- 15Stories are growing 15x faster than feeds on social media platforms
- 1683% of B2B marketers use social media as a content marketing tactic
- 17Video posts on social media get at least 48% more views
- 18The average person spends about 145 minutes on social media every day
- 1960% of consumers find it annoying when brands clutter their social feeds with too many promotions
- 20Small businesses post on social media an average of 4 times per week
Interpretation
If you're a small business trying to be found and chosen, these statistics say social media is essential: Facebook remains the main distribution hub while Instagram and Pinterest deliver reach and niche audiences, LinkedIn wins B2B, visual and video content plus user generated posts dramatically boost shares, views and conversions, stories and mobile use are exploding, social ads are a booming bet, people use platforms to research and will recommend brands after good interactions but will tune you out if you over-promote, and posting about four times a week while prioritizing great visuals and genuine conversation is the smartest play.
Website & Mobile Experience
- 129% of small businesses do not have a website
- 2It takes about 0.05 seconds for users to form an opinion about your website
- 357% of internet users say they won’t recommend a business with a poorly designed website on mobile
- 453% of mobile site visits are abandoned if pages take longer than 3 seconds to load
- 588% of online consumers are less likely to return to a site after a bad experience
- 6Mobile devices generate 54.8% of global website traffic
- 7If a site isn't mobile-friendly 50% of users will use it less even if they like the business
- 870% of small business websites lack a Call to Action (CTA) on their homepage
- 9Improving website loading speed by 0.1s can boost conversion rates by 8%
- 1038% of people will stop engaging with a website if the content or layout is unattractive
- 11Companies with a mobile-first website design see a 62% increase in sales
- 1244% of B2B buyers will leave a website if there is no contact information or phone number visible
- 1373% of web designers believe that a non-responsive design is a top reason why visitors leave a website
- 1448% of people cited a website’s design as the number one factor in deciding the credibility of a business
- 15Slow-loading websites have a 75% higher bounce rate than fast-loading sites
- 1694% of first impressions typically relate to your site’s web design and navigation
- 17A personalized web experience significantly influences buying behavior for 80% of customers
- 1885% of adults think that a company’s mobile website should be as good or better than their desktop website
- 19Landing pages with 5 or fewer form fields convert at a higher rate
- 20Changing the color of a CTA button can increase click-throughs by 21%
Interpretation
If your website is your shopfront, consider that 29% of small businesses have no storefront and shoppers form an opinion in 0.05 seconds, so a slow, ugly, non mobile friendly site with no contact info, no clear call to action and long forms will drive away traffic, credibility and sales, while a fast, mobile first, well designed and personalized site with concise forms and a bold CTA can measurably boost conversions and revenue.
