The Essential List of Content Marketing Statistics and Data

Knowledge is power — but only if your knowledge is actually based on accurate information. Finding reliable content marketing statistics and data on which you can base your marketing decisions can be difficult — but it’s not impossible.

Use this list of research and data to help you make wise and informed content marketing decisions.

Content marketing statistics for blogs

1. The average blog post takes just under four hours to write. (Orbit Media)

2. The number of articles published with 3,000+ words in length has more than doubled from 2014 to 2019 in major industries. (ClearVoice)

3. A full 3 in 5 consumers say they enjoy reading brand content when it is relevant. (Demand Metric)

4. The average amount of time a reader takes with a web article is about 37 seconds. (NewsCred)

5. Companies with blogs see an average of 67 percent more leads than those without blogs. (Demand Metric)

6. Two-thirds of bloggers who report “strong results” publish blog content daily. (Orbit Media)

7. More than one-third of all sites on the web are powered by WordPress. (W3Techs)

8. More than 70 percent of B2B buyers consume blog content while on their buyer journey. (Content for Demand)

9. More than 70 million new posts are published on WordPress each month. (WordPress)

10. B2B marketers are more likely to use blog content in their marketing efforts than B2C marketers. (Social Media Examiner)

11. A full 86 percent of content marketers use blogging as part of their marketing strategy. (SEMrush)

12. Using the 20/20 rule for refreshing pillar, long-form blog posts periodically can increase average organic search traffic 143%. (Conductor)

Content marketing statistics for SEO

1. 93 percent of online experiences begin with a search. (Junto)

2. More than 90 percent of smartphone users search on their device each year. (eMarketer)

3. Of all web searches in the United States, clicks on search ads occur less than 3 percent of the time. (Jumpshot)

4. SEO leads to 20 times more traffic opportunities than pay-per-click on desktop and mobile devices. (Moz)

5. A full 15 percent of the searches Google sees every day are searches the company has never seen before. (Google)

6. The average content length of articles at the very top of web search query results is 2,416 words. (serpIQ)

7. More than half of search traffic comes from mobile devices. (statcounter.com)

8. More than 85 percent of U.S. web users search online at least once a month. (eMarketer)

Content marketing statistics for local search

1. Searches with the phrase “near me” are growing faster than comparable searches without this added phrase. (Google)

2. More than 80 percent of potential customers prefer to use smartphones for local search. (Brandify)

3. A full 61 percent of smartphone users want ads customized to their current location. (Search Engine Watch)

4. More than half of consumers are likely to visit a location the same day after searching. (Brandify)

5. “Near Me” searches have risen 900 percent since 2015. (Advice Local)

6. More than 3 in 4 consumers use Google Maps when searching for nearby businesses. (Brandify)Searches with the phrase 'near me' are growing faster than comparable searches without this added phrase. #searchmarketing Click To Tweet

Statistics for content strategy

1. More than 1 in 4 adults report they are almost always online. (Pew Research)

2. The world’s overall global digital population is just more than 4 billion people. (Statista)

3. Nearly two-thirds of organizations have not documented their content strategy. (Content Marketing Institute)

4. One-third of marketers say that their content workflow is either poor or fair. (Content Marketing Institute)

5. More than 90 percent of people on Twitter plan to make a purchase from a business they follow. (Twitter)

6. More than 3 in 4 organizations use personas to assist in their content strategy efforts. (Content Marketing Institute)

7. Nearly half of Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 report to be online almost constantly. (Pew Research)

8. A full 85 percent of adults in the United States between the ages of 18-49 use multiple devices at once. (Google)

9. Three in five webinar registrations happen in the week before the webinar. (GoToWebinar)

10. Nearly 60 percent of webinar registrations are a result of email marketing. (GoToWebinar)

11. Time spent on mobile devices accounts for nearly 70 percent of all time spent online. (Comscore)

12. Nearly 79 percent of marketers say white papers are the content they are most likely to share with colleagues. (Curata)

13. Roughly one-third of marketers rate their company’s content marketing level as “mature.” (Content Marketing Institute)

Content marketing statistics for email

1. Companies see $40 ROI for every $1 they spend on email marketing. (SmartInsights)

2. Across all industries, the average email open rate is 17.8 percent. (CampaignMonitor)

3. The best time to send an email is around 10 a.m. (GetResponse)

4. 4.3 billion people — more than half the world’s population — will be using email by 2023. (Statista)

5. 91 percent of marketers rate email as an “important” strategic channel. (Data & Marketing Association)

6. “Welcome” emails experience an average open rate of higher than 80 percent. (GetResponse)

7. Tuesdays see the highest open rates — and the highest unsubscribe rates. (CampaignMonitor)

8. Personalized email subject lines yield a 58 percent higher click-to-open rate. (Data Axle)

9. Triggered emails have a more than 2x higher open rate than newsletters. (GetResponse)

10. Government emails see a 30.5 percent open rate — the highest of any industry. (CampaignMonitor)

11. A total of 80 percent of content marketers use email content to nurture their audiences. (Content Marketing Institute)

Content marketing statistics for social media

1. More than 3.5 billion people worldwide now use social media. (HootSuite)

2. More than two-thirds of adults in the United States use Facebook. (Pew Research)

3. A full 90.4 percent of millennials in the United States are social media users. (eMarketer)

4. 41 percent of social media users say it helps them feel more connected to others in real life. (Global Web Index)

5. Nearly 3 in 4 marketers believe their efforts on social media are effective or very effective. (Buffer)

6. A full 67 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds in the United States use Instagram; 62 percent use Snapchat. (Pew Research)

7. Nearly 3 in 5 fashion and beauty brands use influencers in their social marketing efforts. (Fashion and Beauty Monitor)

8. More than half of Instagram’s one billion daily active users use Instagram Stories. (Facebook)

9. Almost 70 percent of B2C marketers say they have developed social media stories in the last 12 months. (CMI)

10. People spend more time viewing ads on Twitter than other major social platforms. (Twitter)

11. More than 200 million Instagram users visit a business profile at least once per day. (Instagram)

12. More than 72 percent of U.S. adults use at least one social media site. (Pew Research)

13. More than 90 percent of social media marketers use Facebook for advertising. (Invesp)

14. A full 70 percent of marketers use social media listening tactics to research their target audience. (CMI)A full 67% of 18- to 29-year-olds in the United States use Instagram; 62% use Snapchat. #socialmedia #marketing Click To Tweet

Content marketing statistics for YouTube

1. YouTube has two billion active users across the globe. (Statista)

2. More than 1 in 4 people globally use YouTube to discover and access news content. (HootSuite)

3. More than 90 percent of U.S. internet users between the ages of 18-44 say they use YouTube. (Cast from Clay)

4. Mobile devices account for more than 70 percent of YouTube watch time. (YouTube)

5. YouTube users watch more than a billion hours of content every day. (YouTube)

6. Nearly two-thirds of brands publish their video content on YouTube. (Buffer)

7. A full 90 percent of YouTube users say they have discovered new products or brands through YouTube. (Google)

8. Nine out of 10 digital video viewers watch videos on YouTube. (eMarketer)

Content marketing statistics for video

1. A full 92 percent of marketers who use video say video content is an important part of their marketing strategy. (Wyzowl)

2. Web users spend nearly seven hours per week consuming digital video content. (Limelight)

3. Consumers report that video content is their favorite type of content to view on social media. (Animoto)

4. Almost everybody — 96 percent of consumers — have watched an explainer video to learn more about a product. (Wyzowl)

5. A total of 85 percent of internet users in the United States watch digital videos every month. (Statista)

6. Video content is viewed in the United States on smartphones more than any other device. (Limelight)

7. Viewing video ads from brands is the top way consumers learn about a new product before purchasing. (Animoto)

8. 87 percent of marketers say that their marketing efforts have increased their website traffic. (Wyzowl)A full 92% of marketers who use video say that video is an important part of their marketing strategy. #video #marketing Click To Tweet

Content marketing statistics for live video

1. Nearly 60 percent of marketers use live video to market their products and services. (Social Media Examiner)

2. A full 80 percent of consumers would rather watch a live video than read a blog post. (Livestream)

3. Two-thirds of viewers of livestreamed events purchased a ticket to a similar event. (Livestream)

4. Breaking news is the type of live video people watch most, followed by conferences and concerts. (Livestream)

5. 20 percent of Facebook videos are live broadcasts. (Facebook).

6. More than two-thirds of consumers who stream do so at least once per day. (IAB)

7. More than 3 in 5 individuals who have streamed a live video have engaged with a sponsored ad while streaming. (IAB)

8. Twitch doubled the average amount of concurrent live streams on the platform from 2018-2020. (TwitchTracker)

9. More than 40 percent of individuals say they watch TV less because of more digital livestreaming options. (IAB)

Marketing statistics for mobile

1. More searches now occur on mobile devices than on desktop computers. (GlobalStats)

2. 10 percent of Americans can only be reached through smartphones. (Pew Research)

3. A full 96 percent of 18- to 29-year-old Americans own a smartphone. (Pew Research)

4. Americans spend more than 3.5 hours per day on their mobile devices. (eMarketer)

5. The leading mobile app category is digital audio, with Americans utilizing 50 minutes on mobile apps per day. (eMarketer)

6. More than 90 percent of millennials have compared online deals on a mobile device. (Statista)

7. More than half of shoppers have completed an online purchase from a mobile device. (Pew Research)

8. Users spend nearly 70 percent of their media time on their smartphones. (Comscore)

9. More than half of mobile users claim they use mobile devices to discover new products and brands. (BrightEdge)

10. Three in four smartphone users expect to receive immediate information while using their devices. (Google)

11. Sixty percent of smartphone users have contacted a business directly from results from a search query. (Google)

The leading mobile app category is digital audio, with Americans utilizing 50 minutes on mobile apps per day. #digitalaudio Click To TweetContent marketing statistics for lead generation

1. Email marketing and event marketing are the two most commonly used B2B lead generation strategies. (DMN3)

2. A full 85 percent of content marketers claim lead generation is their most important content marketing goal. (CMI)

3. Four in five customers say that a company’s customer service is as important as a company’s products. (Salesforce)

4. Nine out of 10 customers say that seeing a video helps them make purchasing decisions. (Forbes)

5. Webinar presentations are the most likely pieces of B2B content to be behind gated registration forms. (BrightTALK)

6. Nearly two-thirds of customers say that they are more likely to buy after seeing a video. (Forbes)

7. Almost half of podcast listeners listen to podcasts while at home. (Edison Research)

8. LinkedIn lead generation is successful for nearly two-thirds of B2B companies. (LinkedIn)

9. A lack of funds, staffing, and time is the biggest obstacle for 3 in 5 marketers. (BrightTALK)

10. Four in five B2B marketers say that their efforts are only somewhat effective or slightly effective. (BrightTALK)A full 85% of content marketers claim lead generation is their most important content marketing goal. #leadgen Click To Tweet

Statistics for advertising

1. Facebook and Google receive more than half of all digital ad spend dollars annually. (eMarketer)

2. B2B marketers are more likely to use LinkedIn in their marketing efforts than B2C marketers. (Social Media Examiner)

3. Facebook generates more than 21 billion in digital ad spend in the United States annually. (eMarketer)

4. B2C marketers are more likely to use Facebook ads than B2B marketers. (Social Media Examiner)

5. Google generates nearly 40 billion in digital ad spend in the United States annually. (eMarketer)

6. Digital ad spend has now surpassed traditional ad spend. (eMarketer)

7. A full 70 percent of marketers utilize Facebook ads. (Social Media Examiner)

8. Two in five marketers utilize Instagram ads in their social media marketing efforts. (Social Media Examiner)

9. Facebook is the ad platform more marketers want to learn about, with 72 percent responding so. (Social Media Examiner)

10. More than 1/3 of marketers agree the reach of their organic marketing efforts has decreased. (Social Media Examiner)

11. The average click-through rate for a PPC ad is two percent. (WordStream)

Marketing statistics for messaging apps

1. The United States has 25 million WhatsApp users. (Statista)

2. WhatsApp has more than 2 billion monthly active users. (Statista)

3. WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and WeChat each have more monthly active users than Instagram. (DataReportal)

4. More than 3 billion people worldwide use mobile messaging apps. (eMarketer)

5. A full 87 percent of smartphone users utilize a mobile messaging app at least one time per month. (eMarketer)

6. More than 21 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds in the U.S. never use group chat functions of SMS and messaging apps. (Statista)

7. Nearly 70 percent of internet users in the U.S. who make more than $100k per year use Facebook Messenger. (Statista)

8. The average time spent on mobile messaging apps in the United States is 24 minutes per day. (eMarketer)

9. Snapchat is the world’s fifth-largest messaging app, behind WhatsApp, Messenger, WeChat, QQ, and Telegram. (Statista)

10. The U.S. is one of only a few countries that doesn’t predominantly use WhatsApp (Messenger is top). (MessengerPeople)

11. The most-used mobile messaging features for U.S. adults are group chats and sending media. (Statista)

12. Only about 1 in 10 U.S. adults report that gaming is their most-used mobile messaging app feature.  (Statista)WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and WeChat each have more monthly active users than Instagram. #smm #marketing Click To Tweet

Marketing statistics for podcasts

1. A full 20 percent of Americans listen to audiobooks. (Pew Research)

2. About 15 percent of Americans listen to a podcast at least once per week. (Edison Research)

3. Almost half of podcast listening occurs in the home. (Podcast Insights)

4. More than 30 million podcasts episodes are available to listen to. (Podcast Insights)

5. A full 86 percent of Americans between the ages of 12-34 listened to online audio in the last month. (Edison Research)

6. Online audio users in the United States spend more than 15 hours per week consuming audio content. (Edison Research)

7. Nearly 4 in 5 people who listen to podcasts through smart speakers listen alone. (Nielsen)

8. A full 3 in 4 Americans are now familiar with the concept of podcasting. (Edison Research)

9. More than 3 in 5 people are more willing to consider purchasing products or services they learn about in a podcast. (IAB)A full 86 % of Americans between the ages of 12-34 listened to online audio in the last month. #podcasting #marketing Click To Tweet

More helpful articles to better inform your content marketing:

1. Top 25+ Content Marketing Studies and Research Reports

2. Word Count Trends in 25+ Industries: VoiceGraph Study of 24 Million+ Articles

3. How to Use Data in Your Storytelling

4. Top Content Marketing Trends (With Examples)

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