Some 91% of online content receives no organic traffic from Google search, according to recent research from Ahrefs.
The report was based on an analysis of more than 920 million webpages. The researchers used Ahrefs’ Content Explorer Tool to determine how many of these pages receive organic visits from Google and why or why not they are getting search traffic.
Some 90.88% of the webpages examined receive no Google search traffic each month, and 4.5% receive fewer than 10 Google visits each month.
Only 0.30% of the webpages examined receive more than 1,000 visits from Google search each month.
Why does the vast majority of content receive no organic traffic from Google search?
In part it may be because most pages are not being linked to from other sites. Some 55% of webpages have no referring domains pointing to them, and 30% have three or fewer backlinks, the analysis found.
However, backlinks are not the only cause. Many pages are linked to by 10 or more referring domains but still receive no organic traffic from Google search, the analysis found.
After manually reviewing some of these pages with some backlinks but no search traffic, the researchers noticed two trends: many use link-building tactics that may be penalized by Google and/or they cover topics with low Google search volume.
About the research: The report was based on an analysis of more than 920 million webpages. The researchers used Ahrefs’ Content Explorer Tool to determine how many of these pages receive organic visits from Google and why or why not they are getting search traffic.
Ayaz Nanji is an independent digital strategist and a co-founder of ICW Content, a marketing agency specializing in content creation for brands and businesses. He is also a research writer for MarketingProfs. He has worked for Google/YouTube, the Travel Channel, AOL, and the New York Times.
LinkedIn: Ayaz Nanji
Twitter: @ayaznanji