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Organic Search Improves Ability
to Map to Consumer Intent:
ORGANIC CHANNEL SHAREEXPANDS TO 53.3% OF TRAFFIC
Organic Search remains the dominant source of trackable
web traffic and the largest digital channel

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At a Glance

Organic and Paid Search
together dominatewebsite traffic
Organic Search shareof traffic increased to53.3% on average acrossindustries

In B2B Combined Search
averages 76% of traffic

B2B Companies generate
2X more revenue from
Organic Search than any
other channel

Organic Search usage andshare is outpacing growthin other channels

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Introduction
New BrightEdge Research unveiled findings on the performance ofOrganic and Paid Search as a marketing channel. The strength of searchmarketing - Organic Search and Paid Search - is clear.

Visualizing Search’s Dominant Channel Share
65
4

Combined Search
Other

5

CombinedSearch

2.5X

3212

Other0BrightEdge Research found that Organic and Paid Search dominate websites’
traffic in 2019 - 68% of all trackable website traffic is sourced from Organic andPaid Search, vastly exceeding all other channels, including Display and Social
Media. The Organic Search figure at 53% is up from the 51% found in the 2014
research, the first year that BrightEdge Research conducted the analysis.

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Visualizing Search’s Dominant Channel Share

15%

SEO

5%

Other

53%
27%

PaidOrganic Social

Organic Continuesto Dominate
Organic Search remains the dominant source of trackable web traffic andin the dominant position as a channel. Paid Search continues to grow.
Organic Social Media is flat since 2014 at 5%, and though ubiquitous,
contributes on average 1/3 as much traffic as Paid Search and just 1/11
as much as Organic Search.
Despite several seismic shifts in consumer behavior, the rise of mobilesearch, and the dramatic changes to the Search Engine Results Page (SERP)
layouts, including Local 3-Pack, Knowledge Graphs, Videos, and QuickAnswers, which push more organic searches below the fold, Organic Searchis the channel that delivers the most traffic to web sites by a wide margin.

Despite several
seismic shifts
in consumer
behavior...
Organic Searchis the channel
that delivers themost traffic toweb sites

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5B2B Combined Search Traffic Is 76% of Trackable Traffic
Vertical Segments

Avg
Organic Visits

Avg Other
Channel Visits

Avg Paid
Search Visits

Avg
Social Visits

Retail & eCommerce

41.0%

23.2%

23.6%

5.1%

Media & Entertainment

53.0%32.7%

6.2%

8.2%

B2B

64.1%

20.6%

12.3%

3.0%

Technology

59.8%

27.8%

9.7%

2.7%

Travel & Hospitality

41.4%

30.7%

23.4%

4.6%

Average

53.3%

27.0%

15.0%

4.7%

Search24%

Others76%

Channel Share of Revenue
Share Within Industry Cluster
In terms of revenue results, Organic Search is also the largest channel at
44.6%, but here the difference from the other channels is less dramatic.
This could be due to the fact that Organic Search plays a major role in
the initial discovery process where people explore solutions to a need.
People may be more likely to use other channels when they have a better
understanding of the problems, solutions, and providers available.

In terms ofrevenue results,
Organic Searchis also thelargest channel

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B2B & Technology Companies Generate 2X More Revenue From
Organic Search than Other Channels

Vertical Segments

Avg of Organic
Share of Revenue

Avg of Other
Share of Revenue

Avg of Paid Search
Share of Revenue

Avg of Social
Share of Revenue

Retail & eCommerce

36.4%

32.2%

30.2%

1.2%

Media & Entertainment

34.7%

25.8%

38.9%

0.7%

B2B

52.7%

23.4%

22.9%

0.9%

Technology

58.8%

29.4%

11.7%

0.2%

Travel & Hospitality

40.6%

23.8%

34.2%

1.4%

Average

44.6%

26.2%

27.6%

0.9%

23%

1%

Other

53%
23%

SEO

PaidOrganic Social

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Why Did Organic Search
Grow Share?
Over the last 5 years Google has invested significantly in enhancing
the user experience by providing increasingly accurate and relevant
search results and at the same eliminating from the SERPs distracting
intermediaries using techniques that attempt to game the Google
algorithm. With the advent of Google’s RankBrain, its ability to map
Internet content to search query intent has improved even further. As aresult, consumers trust Google and rely on it even more and are using at arate that exceeds the growth of display and organic social.
The market appears to have shifted share away from Display in favor of
Paid Search and Organic Search.

Consumers
trust Google andrely on it evenmore and areusing at a ratethat exceeds
the growth ofdisplay andorganic social

Fraud has become an increasing
concern in Display with someestimates of fraudulent impressions
and clicks at 48%, according toMediaPost .

Yet, Google and YouTube top theMorning Consult list as a most-loved
brands and are a highly trusted andfavored brand among consumers who
rely on them more.

Fortune reports Facebook eliminateda staggering 2.2 billion dubious bot
accounts in 2019 alone.

The Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB)
estimates fraud at over
$8 billion annually.

The Growth Marketing movement has
increased emphasis on earned andowned media and away from paid. AndSEO is far and away the largest earned/
BrightEdge | 989 E. Hillsdale Blvd, Suite
300, media
Foster City,CA 94404 | tel: 800.578.8023 | info@brightedge.com
ownedchannel.

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What Does this Meanfor Marketers?
Organic and Paid Search continues to dominate website traffic for nearly every industry. However,more and more changes in the search landscape are on the horizon that will impact organic traffic
if marketers are not prepared. Marketers will need a full suite of technology to stay ahead of thosechanges in the marketplace.
Below are some of the major changes the marketers must prepare for in the coming months.

Content Marketing.
It is working extremely well toattract web site visitors and future
customers.

Smarter Content.
Companies need to focus on content that is
1) Discoverable, 2) Optimized, 3) Measurable
and 4) Profitable.

Access to the Best Data.
SEO requires rich, relevant, real-time data.
Without it, marketers may be unable tokeep pace with changes in the market,consumer presences and competitivepressures.

Establish the Baseline. Every organizationmust have a comprehensive single systemof reporting for the organic search channel.

SERPs, Visibility, and Keyword Prioritization. As SERP layouts evolve,marketers must understand the relationship between position, visibility, andtraffic. Choosing the right keywords relative to the range of SERP layouts
becomes more important than ever.
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How and when the was data obtained
BrightEdge Research sourced the data in May 2019 from thousandsof domains and tens of billions of sessions to develop these findings.
BrightEdge excludes Direct traffic from the analysis

About BrightEdge
BrightEdge, the global leader in enterprise organic search and content
performance, empowers marketers to transform online content
into business results such as traffic, conversions, and revenue. The
BrightEdge platform is powered by a sophisticated deep learning engine
and is the only company capable of web-wide, real-time measurement ofcontent engagement across all digital channels, including search, social,and mobile. BrightEdge’s 1,700+ customers include global brands, suchas L’Oreal, Cleveland Clinic, and Microsoft as well as 57 of the Fortune
100. The company has eight offices worldwide and is headquartered in
Foster City, California.

If you would like a demo of BrightEdge’s
industry-leading platform, contact us atsales@brightedge.com.

BrightEdge | 989 E. Hillsdale Blvd, Suite 300, Foster City, CA 94404 | tel: 800.578.8023 | info@brightedge.com