Why bother with search engines?

Why bother using search engines? Because search engines represent the single most important source of new Web site visitors.

You may have heard that most Web site visits begin at a search engine. Well,
this is not true. It was true several years ago, and many people continue to use
these outdated statistics because they sound good — “80 percent of all Web
site visitors reach the site through a search engine,” for instance. However, in
2003, that claim was finally put to rest. The number of search-originated site
visits dropped below the 50-percent mark. Most Web site visitors reach their
destinations by either typing a URL — a Web address — into their browsers
and going there directly or by clicking a link on another site that takes them
there. Most visitors do not reach their destinations by starting at the search
engines.

However, search engines are still extremely important for a number of reasons:

At the time of writing, almost 50 percent of site visits begin at the search engines. Sure, it’s not 80 percent, but it’s still a lot of traffic.

Of the over 50 percent of visits that don’t originate at a search engine, a large proportion are revisits — people who know exactly where they want to go. This is not new business; it’s repeat business. Most new visits come through the search engines, making search engines the single most impor­ tant source of new visitors to Web sites.

Some studies indicate that a large number of buyers begin at the search engine. That is, of all the people who go online planning to buy something or looking for product information while planning a purchase, perhaps over 80 percent start at the search engines.

The search engines represent a cheap way to reach people. In general, you get more bang for your buck going after free search engine traffic than almost any other form of advertising or marketing.