Benchmark Summary Report

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Client Connection Research™ conducted by Ascend2 and [Research Partner]

SEO Marketing

Benchmark Summary Report

The most challenging obstacles to Search Engine Optimization success

in the year ahead and how marketers plan to overcome them.

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SEO Marketing Benchmark Summary Report

Ascend2 Research Conducted in Partnership with Leading Marketing Solution Providers.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.

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If you’re not on page one of search results, you don’t exist

Today, most purchase decisions begin with an online search. And if you don't appear on page one of the search results, you don't exist. That's why the C-suite is paying so much attention to their organization’s natural search rankings.

But what will be the most challenging obstacles to Search Engine Optimization success in the year ahead and how will marketers overcome them?

To find out, Ascend2 and our Research Partners fielded the SEO Marketing Survey and completed interviews with 442 marketing and sales decision-makers and practitioners from around the

world. We thank these busy professionals for sharing their valuable insights with you.

The charts in this edition of our study, titled the SEO Marketing Benchmark Summary Report, represent the average of all market segments responding to the survey. Specific market segments are reported on exclusively by our Research Partners.

This research has been produced for your use. Put it to work in your own marketing strategy planning and presentation materials. Clip the charts and write about them in your blog or post them on social media. Please share this research credited as published.

Sergio Balegno

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Improving natural search rankings that will increase

website traffic and generate leads are the top objectives

for search engine optimization in the year ahead.

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SEO success is defined by the ability to achieve

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Time is money and SEO is a time-intensive task requiring

a specific skill-set. For many organizations, budget and

skill limitations are the top obstacles to overcome.

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Search engines love quality content, and creating it is

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SEO has become more effective for nearly half (49%) of

all organizations during the past year. It has become less

effective for only 11% of organizations surveyed.

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Mobile and local search optimization are not very

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More than half (56%) of organizations outsource all or

part of their SEO programs, gaining access to expertise

required to execute difficult tactics more effectively.

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Tracking the impact keywords have on search rankings

and the conversion rate of call-to-action offers are the

most useful metrics used to analyze SEO performance.

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Research methodology

Ascend2 Research Surveys are conducted online from a panel of more than 50,000 US and international marketing and sales decision-makers and practitioners

representing a range of contact roles, company types, sizes and geographic regions. The questionnaire used is standardized to incorporate these methodologies across all studies while maintaining our proven 3-Minute Survey format. Survey findings are examined in a quantitative context by experienced analysts and reported objectively.

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About Ascend2

Research-Based Demand Generation for Marketing Solution Providers

Marketing agencies, marketing data and marketing software providers partner with Ascend2 to reliably generate new business opportunities. Our integrated research, content creation and demand generation process is transparent – putting the spotlight on your brand and the interests of your audience.

Learn more at www.Ascend2.com

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Ascend2 generates demand and produces customizable

research reports exclusively for our Research Partners.

White label research reports contain 12-18 pages of research that features your brand and the interests of your target market. To become a partner, all you do is:

1. Choose the topics of interest to your target market:

2. Choose an exclusive research segment for each marketing topic:

• Benchmarks for Success [A comparison of Very Successful and Not Successful segments]

• Benchmarks by Channel [A comparison by or targeting of B2B and/or B2C segments]

• Benchmarks by Company Size [A comparison by or targeting of SMB and/or Large Enterprises]

• Agency Benchmarks [The Agency perspective based on a wide-range of client experience]

• Benchmarks by Resources [A comparison of Outsourced and In-house campaign segments]

• Benchmarks for Europe [The European perspective on marketing practices and performance]

• Benchmarks by Revenue Attainment [A comparison of performance by Revenue Targets Attained]

• Content Marketing

• Email Marketing

• Video Marketing

• Organic Search (SEO)

Benchmark Summary Report

SEO Marketing