HubSpot's 2025 Web Trends Report + Website Traffic by Industry

How does your website stack up against the competition? Knowing key website KPIs, such as the average website traffic by industry, is vital to understanding your site’s performance — and I’ve got all that and more for you below.

For this report, I’ve pulled from original research from HubSpot and sourced external expertise as well. Let’s dive in!

Table of Contents

• 2024 Website & SEO Benchmarks, According to 300+ Web Professionals
• Average Website Traffic by Industry
• 2024 Website & SEO Trends to Know
• Website Traffic & KPI Benchmarks
• Other HubSpot Research + Website Benchmarks

2024 Website & SEO Benchmarks, According to 300+ Web Professionals

To give you an edge, HubSpot surveyed 336 U.S. SEOs and marketers to uncover how they measure site performance and their strategies to rank higher on SERPs. This Web Strategy Survey was launched in September 2024, but I’ve also pulled data from HubSpot’s 2023 survey for comparison.

• The average website gets 375,773 unique views per month. (Keep in mind the average is easily skewed by a handful of extremely high-traffic sites.)
• Compared to the previous year, only 14% reported a decrease in year-over-year web traffic, while 43% reported an increase.
• The average website gets seven page views per visit. (2023 HubSpot research)
• The average website has a bounce rate of 37%. (2023 HubSpot research)
• The average site has an SEO click-through rate of 13%, while the median comes in at 8%. (2023 HubSpot research)
• The median website gets 20,000 unique visitors per month. (2023 HubSpot research)

Remember, these numbers are self-reported, and many factors play into your performance, including the size and age of your website, how big the team managing it is, and how often you publish content on it.

According to HubSpot’s 2024 survey, 33% of respondents said that their highest-performing pages rank in positions 6-10 on SERPs, while 16% rank in positions 1-5. Moreover, 24% of respondents' pages rank in positions 11-15, 11% in positions 16-20, and 7.7% in positions 21-25.

Assuming the standard 10 results per page on Google, that means 51% rank on pages two and beyond. SEO is definitely a challenge for less established websites or brands that are building their web presence.

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While the data above demonstrates that ranking highly on SERPs is an attainable goal, this likely didn’t happen for our high-ranking participants overnight — and it won’t happen that quickly for you either.

You’ll need to establish your blog or website as a credible and helpful source in the eyes of a search engine for it to rank you highly. That means consistently publishing quality content that is relevant to those who choose to click on your website after searching a question or phrase.

Another crucial component is doing your keyword research.

• 43% of our respondents target keywords with low difficulty.
• 26% go for a mix of high and moderate difficulty.
• 21% aim for medium to moderate difficulty.
• 8% focus on the easiest keywords.
• Only 3% target the hardest ones.

Average Website Traffic by Industry

According to our 2023 HubSpot web survey, 46% of websites get between 1,001 and 15,000 total monthly visitors. Here’s the exact breakdown:

• 1,001-15,000 (46%)
• 15,001-50,000 (19.3%)
• 50,001-250,000 (23.2%)
• 250,001-10 million (11%)
• 10 million+ (0.5%)

Traffic is tricky to talk about, as it fluctuates wildly depending on age, industry, and goals — and it’s not the only metric to measure success. But I get that it’s helpful to have something to benchmark against.

Perhaps you want more details on the average website traffic by industry to answer the question, “How much traffic should my website be getting?”

If so, here are some external stats to help you. According to 2022 data from SEO company First Page Sage, the following is the average organic website traffic by industry, as measured by monthly unique visitors. First Page Sage's data comes from over 50 of its clients, mostly B2B.

It’s fascinating how vastly different website traffic is by industry. Again, take it with a grain of salt, as it’s not the only measure of success.

Now, based on HubSpot’s 2024 Web Strategy Survey, what trends are we seeing in the website world? Let’s go over six of those next.

2024 Website & SEO Trends to Know

1. AI is shaking up search, but SEOs remain optimistic.

When Google’s AI Overviews started rolling out in the U.S. in May 2024, many feared the new feature would demolish website traffic. Has that happened?

When it comes to generative or LLM AI in search engines, our 2024 survey found that:

• 83% of respondents reported that their traffic either increased or was not affected after AI features were implemented. (However, it's important to note that our survey was conducted in September 2024, and Google AI Overviews launched in May 2024).
• Only 8% said their traffic decreased after AI search features were implemented.
• 55% of respondents believe people are using search engines more often since the release of AI search features.
• 37% believe search engine usage has remained the same.
• 9% think people are using search engines less often since AI search features rolled out, which is up slightly from 2023’s survey findings of 6%.

AI in search results is definitely shaking things up, but bloggers predict it could give users a better experience on search platforms, offering more relevant results faster than before. This, in turn, could result in more people using search.

Our 2024 Web Strategy Survey revealed that:

• 65% of respondents believe people will use search engines more often in 2024.
• Only 9% of respondents predicted that people will use search engines less often in 2024.

One concern is that AI in search could negatively impact your traffic if content focuses on answering straightforward queries like “How to Enable Macros in Excel” or “How to Scrape Website Data to Excel.”

AI can answer those questions without users having to visit your website. As people get their questions answered by AI, they might not need to go to these site pages, so monitoring your traffic during this period of change is key.

I recently came across a great post by Margo Mulvihill, founder of WhereDigitalGoes, who says:

“Most businesses are panicking. They‘re building one strategy for Google, another for AI search, and spreading themselves thin. But here’s what they‘re missing: Both systems speak the same language → semantics. AI search vs Google search???! Wrong question. They’re converging at the semantic level.”

She points out that both Google and AI search care about how ideas connect, but they do it in different ways:

• Google analyzes context to understand meaning.
• AI models process relationships between concepts.

She advises creating semantically rich content by using related terms, building clear context, and connecting relevant concepts.

For example, instead of just repeating the keyword “digital marketing” throughout your post, include topics like customer journey, conversion optimization, analytics, and campaign attribution.

Why does this work?

Because Google recognizes comprehensive content, AI detects semantic patterns, and readers get complete information.

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“Stop trying to game two systems. Start speaking their shared language. Your content will rank higher, your AI visibility will soar, and your readers will thank you,” says Mulvihill.

Another way Google is shifting is by changing how it prioritizes standard link-based search results and rankings with its new E-E-A-T (experience, expertise, authoritativeness, trustworthiness) framework.

Key Focus Areas of E-E-A-T:

• One notable “E” in the framework rewards experience — something that AI is incapable of having. It measures whether content “was produced with some degree of experience, such as with actual use of a product, having actually visited a place or communicating what a person experienced.”
• AI also can’t leverage expertise to express a unique point of view or opinion, nor does it have an engaging personality. Content that leverages these will continue to perform well, as it incentivizes searchers to go beyond the AI result and click on your site.

For example, content featuring original data and perspectives from experts could do well in the evolving Google landscape, as it can be difficult to determine when generative AI is giving you wrong information about data or expert quotes (a.k.a “hallucinating”).

Students, professionals, and even consumers in the research stages of the buyer's journey may want to get data or expert insights from direct sources beyond the search page so they can vet legitimacy and trustworthiness.

Free resource: Need to know how your website is performing? Website Grader gives you a quick score that covers speed, security, SEO, and mobile-friendliness. It helps you pinpoint areas for improvement and offers clear suggestions to make your site better, without the guesswork.

2. Bloggers are less confident about AI-assisted content ranking better in search, but they appreciate the time saved.

In our 2023 Web Strategy Survey, 50% of bloggers said they use AI to make content, and in our 2024 survey, 46% of respondents said that doing so helps their page rank higher on SERPs.

However, that number is down compared to 2023, when 65% of survey respondents said using genAI makes their pages rank higher.

Our 2024 Web Strategy Survey also found that:

• 36% of respondents said using generative AI in content creation has no impact on their SERP ranking (compared to 24% in 2023)
• 10% said it makes their pages rank lower on SERPs (compared to 7% in 2023)
• 8% are unsure (compared to 4% in 2023)

Further, 34% said using genAI to assist with website content creation makes their content perform better overall, and 29% said it saves them time.

3. Despite SEO headwinds, organic search is still the top traffic channel.

In 2024, 39% of survey respondents said ranking in the top 10 search results is “somewhat” or “extremely” difficult, up slightly from 35% in 2023.

However, SEOs and marketers are still chasing those page-one rankings. When asked to rank 11 channels based on which ones drove the most to least traffic to their website, Google Search came out on top.

And when given 13 options, respondents put search traffic among the top four most important metrics they use to assess website performance.

Want to see how your brand stacks up in AI-powered search? HubSpot’s AI Search Grader digs into your visibility on tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity, highlighting what’s working and where you can improve your brand’s awareness and sentiment.

4. Even with Google’s 2024 algorithm updates, website traffic is holding steady or growing for most websites.

In 2024, 43% of web analysts saw an increase in year-over-year (YoY) web traffic for their primary website, down slightly from 47% in 2023. 44% reported traffic stayed the same, and only 14% experienced a decrease.

Speaking of Google updates, Mert Erkal, founder of Stradiji, anticipates an interesting change in the search landscape in 2025:

“Gemini 2.0 will require you to focus more on multimodal content in SEO strategies. Optimising your visual and audio content, increasing the speed and performance of your website, and improving the user experience will lead to better rankings in search engines.”

This update, powered by multi-modal AI, promises to handle everything from text to images, video, and audio, making search results faster and more accurate. It’s going to impact SEO, digital marketing, and user experiences big time.

Mert also mentions Google’s launch of the “24-Hour View” in Search Console, a feature that provides real-time content performance tracking with hourly data.

This reduces data latency and helps digital marketers quickly analyze how new content is performing across Google Search, Discover, and News, with insights on queries, countries, and pages.

However, the feature has some limitations — dashed lines for incomplete data and a lack of a UTC option for global businesses, which could lead to confusion. Despite these issues, it will be a valuable tool for faster, data-driven decision-making in 2025.

For a better idea of the changes to come, check out How Search AI Will Revolutionize the Future of SEO.

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5. The top SEO strategies are all about optimization.

We asked web analysts about the most effective strategies they use for ranking on SERPs, and as you can see below, the top two revolve around optimization:

• 21% say optimizing for search intent is the most effective strategy for ranking higher on SERPs.
• 20% prioritize optimizing on-page content with target or LSI keywords.
• 20% focus on conducting thorough keyword research.
• 19% emphasize optimizing websites for mobile.
• 19% are leveraging AI to improve SEO performance.
• 18% recommend using visual content like videos and infographics to increase dwell time

Adding visual content to your blog posts, like videos or infographics, is another strategy that can increase the time users spend on your page, which lets search algorithms know your content is valuable and potentially increases your ranking.

6. When it comes to tracking performance, web analysts focus on the bottom line.

We asked web analysts which three website metrics were the most important for assessing performance.

Sales, leads, and conversion rates came out on top, followed by total monthly visitors, and search traffic.

Pro tip: To get a detailed view of your website performance, try HubSpot’s analytics tool.

Website Traffic & KPI Benchmarks

So, which website traffic metrics and KPI benchmarks should you be tracking? Let’s take a look at five of the top KPI benchmarks according to our 2024 survey respondents. These are crucial if you’re trying to assess your website performance.

Sales, Leads, and Conversion Rates

I love that “sales, leads, and conversion rates” was the most important website metric for two years in a row in our web strategy surveys. Because you can chase traffic all you want, but if that traffic doesn’t end up helping your bottom line — what’s the point?

This metric becomes even more important as AI search features grow and many speculate about the future of SEO. Even if search engines no longer favor your site, boosting conversion rates keeps your business resilient in the face of unexpected traffic dips.

Search Traffic

Search traffic refers to any traffic (paid or organic) that comes from a search engine, namely Google, but it could also include others, such as Bing or DuckDuckGo. As we saw in HubSpot’s 2024 survey, Google Search is still the number one traffic driver for websites.

Traffic From Social Media

This metric refers to users who came to your website from a social media platform, such as Instagram, Pinterest, or Facebook. As ranking in Google becomes less predictable and more challenging, diversifying your traffic sources to visitors coming from social media is wise.

Unique monthly visitors

This metric refers to each unique individual who visited your website during that month.

So, if 100 people visit your website in August, but one of those people (let’s call her Amelia) visits your website 20 times that month, Amelia would account for one unique monthly visitor and 20 monthly visits.

Unique monthly visitors is important because it tells you how many potential customers you can capture and doesn’t inflate your numbers with repeat visitors.

Click-Through Rate

Click-through rate (CTR) is crucial because you can’t get conversions without getting clicks.

To calculate the click-through rate of a link on a webpage, divide the number of times a link was clicked by the number of times it was viewed (visits to that specific webpage). Then, multiply by 100 to get a percentage.

To calculate the click-through rate of a paid ad, divide the number of times the ad’s link was clicked by the number of impressions the ad got. Then, multiply by 100 to get a percentage.

Other HubSpot Research + Website Benchmarks

Here are some stats we still think are important to keep in mind from the Web Strategy Survey we ran in 2024:

Web & SEO Performance

• 37% of websites publish new content multiple times a day (the most popular publishing schedule among our respondents). Second place was multiple times a week, with 25% reporting that as their frequency.
• 21% believe optimizing content for search intent is the most effective SEO strategy.
• 20% think conducting keyword research is the most effective way to rank highly on SERPs.
• In 2024, 33% of SEOs and marketers met 51-75% of their lead generation goals.

Visitor Behavior

• Mobile devices are the preferred way to view websites, with 53% of SEOs and marketers ranking them as the most used device by their visitors.
• Google Search is still king, with 26% of respondents ranking it as the number one driver of traffic to their site. Paid social media and paid search tied for second place at 10%, and YouTube came in third at 9%.

Analytics & Tools

74% rely on Google Analytics, followed by 33% using Salesforce Analytics Tools, 21% using Squarespace Analytics Tools, and 21% using HubSpot Marketing Hub Analytics.

Next Steps for Building a Great Web Experience

If you read this post, you’re likely highly focused on optimizing your website performance. But, I understand I threw a lot of data at you.

My recommendation for an easy next step to implement these optimization tips? Test your site with our free Website Grader.

It’ll quickly deliver a report of all the areas you’re excelling at — and the places you can grow — along with tactical next steps.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in March 2022 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

HubSpot's Free Website Builder

Create and customize your own business website with an easy drag-and-drop website builder.

• Build a website without any coding skills.
• Pre-built themes and templates.
• Built-in marketing tools and features.
• And more!

Get Started for Free