What Percentage of Experiences Start With Search Engines in 2024?

There are 5 billion Internet users worldwide, and the majority of their online experiences begin in a search engine. With 175 zettabytes of data available on the Internet, search engines have become a powerful tool for finding information.

Aside from data acquisition, search engines help businesses in their sales and operations. By leveraging the search engines, businesses’ online presence will be enhanced. The consumer’s buying experience will be improved as well.

Continue reading to learn how search engines help consumers and marketers. This article will also uncover the facts and figures of the different search engine’s usage and unveil its future in the market.

What Percentage of Experiences Start With Search Engines Key Findings

1. Over 90% of experiences start with a search engine.
2. Eighty percent of searches are informational, while 20% are transactional and navigational.
3. Over 99% of searches only look at Google’s first search results page.
4. SEO pushes 1,000% more traffic than social media marketing.
5. Google is the biggest and most competitive search engine, with only 0.07% of websites getting 1,000+ visits.
6. With the rise of AI generative tools, websites are at risk of dropping a quarter of their traffic volume by 2026.

Almost All Experiences Begin With Search Engines, the Majority of Which Happens on Google

In today’s modern world, 90% of experiences start with a search engine. Outdated statistics show that used to be 68% of online experiences begin with a search engine.

Consumers have become more reliant on quick and direct answers from the Internet. Google spearheads this effort, generating almost 63,000 search queries per second. As a result, almost all experiences are set in motion by search engines.

As the leading search engine, Google picks up 8.5 billion daily searches. It’s also the number one search engine in the market with a share of 86.99% as of April 2024.

Meanwhile, Bing, the search engine runner-up, only has a 5.8% market share. At the same time, it only receives 900 million searches per day. That daily search volume is only 0.11% of Google’s volume.

Other search engines where experiences start are:

• Yahoo!
• Baidu
• Yandex
• DuckDuckGo
• Ecosia

Billions of people worldwide rely on search engines for various objectives. The following sections will break down the statistics related to the search engine user intent.

What Specific Experiences Start on Search Engines: Study Shows That 80% of Searches are Informational

What Specific Experiences Start on Search Engines Statistics

• 80% of queries on search engines are informational.
• The remaining 20% of search engine queries are equally split between transactional and navigational.

Search engines see diverse searches daily. People look up what to eat, where to go, what to do when issues about certain situations arise, and more.

The three main search intents are:

• Informational
• Transactional
• Navigational

According to a Penn State study reported that 80% of these searches are informational in nature. Ten percent are navigational, while the other 10% are for transactional intent.

Read on to explore these search intent and what they mean for all Internet users.

Informational Search Queries on the Internet Give Rise to Learning Experiences

The Internet is a plethora of information. As a result, 8 out of 10 searches are informational, prompting users to a learning experience online.

These informational queries are often phrased as questions. Moreover, most of them begin with:

• What
• When
• Where
• Why
• How

Some common categories of informational searches include:

• News and current events: People nowadays receive the latest news updates, locally and internationally, just by using related keywords on search engines or typing in “latest news.” Search engine algorithms can use the consumer’s location to determine relevant local news.
• Entertainment: Details about pop culture, including TV shows, movies, music, and lifestyle are popular informational topics for some Internet users looking for entertainment.
• Tutorials and how-to guides: People turn to the Internet to learn new things; from home repairs, cooking recipes, DIY projects, troubleshooting, and more.
• Health and medical information: Looking up medical conditions, symptoms, and treatments, and finding healthcare providers is a prevalent practice on the Internet.
• Jobs and other career-related information: Job searching and building connections are made easier with the Internet. Job seekers and professionals can easily look up job listings, career advice, company information, and more.
• Finance: Budgeting tips, investment and savings advice, and financial planning are popular searches among Internet users who are determined to manage their finances.

With the amount of information that the Internet has to offer, it’s easier for people with access to it to learn. In America, 87% of adult Internet users admit that the Internet has improved their learning abilities.

There are 2.64 Billion Digital Buyers on the Internet Who Use Transactional Search Queries within Search Engines

The growing dependence on the Internet pushed e-commerce into a trajected growth. As of 2023, 32.8% of the worldwide population are digital buyers. In line with that, 10% of all search engine queries are transactional.

Users looking to purchase something online make transactional queries. Most of the time, the queries are about the product itself including verbs like “buy”, “order”, or “download.” Other times, the searches are very specific, including information like a brand name or product model.

The Top Five Keyword Searches in Google are Navigational, with YouTube as the Top Search with a 137.5 Million Search Volume

Users need search engines to navigate through the Internet and get to the website they need to be. Thus, giving rise to navigational searches that make up 10% of all search queries.

According to the same study by Penn State, navigational searches refer to queries that help direct users to a certain website. If a consumer is looking to open Facebook, they simply need to type “facebook.”

As of 2024, the most searched keyword on Google is “youtube.” According to Ahrefs, “youtube” had a search volume of 137.5 million. The others that make up the top five most-searched keywords on Google search are the top websites on the Internet.

Nearly 100% of Internet Searchers Begin Online Experiences in the First Page of Search Results, Giving Rise to Competitive Search Engine Marketing and Optimization

First Search Results Page Statistics

• Less than 1% of searchers look at Google’s second search results page.
• According to 57% of B2B marketers, SEO drives more leads than any other marketing venture.
• Companies spend 5% to 7% of their revenue on digital marketing, including search engine marketing and SEO.

Due to 90% of experiences beginning with search engines, businesses took it as an advantage to expand their market. Search engines became a marketing vessel for exposure and expansion in various companies.

With over 99% of searchers only looking at the first page of Google results, the goal is clear: to appear on the first search results page (SERP) of a search engine. Thus, search engine marketing and search engine optimization have become crucial tactics in digital marketing.

• Search Engine Marketing: Refers to paying for advertisements to appear on search engine results pages.

• Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Refers to the strategy of improving website and content quality to boost organic traffic and sales.

The following sections will tackle the success of these strategies through the latest statistics.

Statistics on Search Engine Optimization and Marketing: SEO is The Marketing Venture That Drives Better Leads, as Agreed by 57% of B2B Marketers

Search engine optimization has become a top priority in the marketing industry. It drives 1,000% more traffic than organic social media marketing. At the same time, SEO leads promise a 14.6% close rate.

With the benefits of search engine marketing, most companies allocate 5% to 7% of their revenue to digital marketing. If a company earns $1 million in revenue, it spends $50,000 to $70,000 on digital marketing.

On the other hand, 55% of Internet users don’t even know that some results on their SERPs are pay-per-click (PPC) ads. This statistic means most people are unaware their search results are engineered for them to check out and spend on.

Overall, search engines have become a powerful tool for companies to easily and more effectively reach more customers.

Google SEO Statistics: Businesses Experience a 200% ROI in Google Ads

Google is the most popular search engine. It leads in terms of global search volume, market share, and traffic volume. As the most favored search engine in the world, Google’s SEO market is the most competitive of all.

Unfortunately, 96.55% of pages on the Internet get zero traffic from Google. Meanwhile, only 0.07% of websites get over 1,000 visits from Google.

The most cut-throat place on the Internet is Google’s top result spot on its first search results page.

When a page is top-ranking in Google, it gets the most search traffic 49% of the time. The rest goes to other pages that appear on the first page, yet traffic is still unguaranteed when you’re not number one on Google.

On the other hand, only 0.63% of people open the second page of Google’s search results page.

Furthermore, the most popular online advertising platform is Google Ads. It is used by 80% of businesses globally.

According to reports, businesses experience an average of 200% ROI on Google Ads. That means for every $1 spent, they get $2 as a return.

These statistics show how Google dominates the search engine industry, justifying its competitive nature. With this, Google plays a critical role in people’s everyday lives and the whole digital ecosystem.

The Future of Search Engine Experiences is Likely to Take a Toll Due to the Rise of AI Tools

The statistics above have made it clear that search engines are not just a starting point for 90% of Internet searchers. It is also a lucrative market for marketers and companies’ market holy grail.

Due to the increasing competition within search engines, the industry’s technology and complexity continue to evolve. Along with this advancement, SEO and search engine marketing will only get more in demand.

However, when it comes to providing the start of online experiences, search engines have found a worthy opponent: AI generative tools.

Gartner’s study predicts that, in 2026, websites may experience a 25% drop in traffic volume due to the rise of AI generative tools like ChatGPT. These tools will “steal” traffic, and potentially sales and revenue, from websites and search engines as people rely on straightforward answers from AI.

Regardless, search engines have been improving their algorithms and rules to ensure that consumers get the answers they need from their searches. With that, search engines will highly survive their competition and remain a starting point for daily experiences.