BrightEdge, an SEO platform provider just released a report that found that most of the websites studied within its Data Cube data set revealed that “Organic Traffic” is the largest traffic source over Paid Search and Social Media across the sectors studied, according to Search Engine Watch.
The sectors studied include the following and, in these sectors, it was the Organic Channel that is the key traffic driver. The percentage did vary significantly, however, with Business Services indicating the greatest gain from the Organic Search channel:
- Business Services
- Hospitality
- Media and Entertainment
- Retail
- Technology
Paid Search was another area in which the percentage varied, by industry. Retail experienced the greatest traffic from the channel; Social Traffic revealed what Search Engine Watch described as “trivial” variance when compared to other channels across sectors. Organic Traffic drove a significant revenue portion for an array of sectors, including Retail, Business Services Technology, and Hospitality. Media and Entertainment, however, reaped greatest benefits from Paid Search, according to the data. In fact, Paid Search ranked highest in the traffic-to-revenue ratio. “While Organic Search generally drives the most traffic, Paid Search drives significant revenue for the amount of traffic that comes from Paid. When examining the ratio of traffic to revenue, it is clear that the Paid channel more than carries its weight in delivering business results, especially for the Media and Entertainment Industry,” according to the BrightEdge report.
BrightEdge indicated that, with the rapid and growing consumption of content, content has become key in marketing strategies in every business, influencing the way in which consumers act as well as by providing new brand opportunities across various industries. While each brand is a sort of self-publisher, simply generating content does not necessarily drive results nor guarantee top performance. Utilizing its Data Cube repository, a review of billions of pieces of content from across the Internet enables clarity regarding what channels drive traffic and which content types are the best performers.
The BrightEdge report also indicated that no matter what a brand’s position in search results, rich media should be a part of the content strategy so that the best results may be seen. “After all, if consumers aren’t being driven to a company’s content, it doesn’t matter how good that content is, because no one will see it.” To do this, marketing professionals must consider the content’s entire “ecosystem.” This involves first knowing the channels and content types that best perform concerning traffic and revenue when driving consumers and fostering ongoing relationships with those consumers.
Source:
- Search Engine Watch; Organic Search Drives 51% of Traffic to Websites [Study]; by Jessica Lee; September 4, 2014.
- BrightEdge; Cracking the Content Code, A Look Inside the Channels and Content that Perform.