Is SEO worth it UK: Organic Search Traffic Share
The Organic Search Traffic Share carries 17 published figures read from 7 sources' own pages; the 7 published figures given by industry run from 24 to 54 percent, read 29 October 2026.
- 40 to 11
- 11 to 23
- 523 to 34
- 234 to 45
- 445 to 57
- 257 to 68
Bands
| Bucket | Value |
|---|---|
| 0 to 11 | 4 figures |
| 11 to 23 | 0 figures |
| 23 to 34 | 5 figures |
| 34 to 45 | 2 figures |
| 45 to 57 | 4 figures |
| 57 to 68 | 2 figures |
7 of the 8 named sources read in full publish a figure; 1 publish none, read 29 October 2026.
By publisher and channel and time and industry
| Breakdown | Median | Range | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| publisherBrightEdge | 53.3% | 53.3 to 53.3% | 1 |
| publisherConductor | 33% | 33 to 33% | 1 |
| publisherContentsquare | 9% | 9 to 9% | 1 |
| channelAI referrals | 0.64% | 0.2 to 1.08% | 2 |
| channelsearch (organic+paid) | 65% | 65 to 65% | 1 |
| channelorganic+paid search | 68% | 68 to 68% | 1 |
| channelorganic search | 33% | 33 to 33% | 1 |
| time2014 | 51% | 51 to 51% | 1 |
| industryRetail | 32% | 32 to 32% | 1 |
| industryMulti-Channel retail | 38% | 38 to 38% | 1 |
| industryOnline-only retail | 24% | 24 to 24% | 1 |
| industryTravel | 47% | 47 to 47% | 1 |
| industryTravel - Hotels | 34% | 34 to 34% | 1 |
| industryTravel - Tickets & Tours | 54% | 54 to 54% | 1 |
| industryHealth Care | 42.4% | 42.4 to 42.4% | 1 |
Every figure, with its source
One row per published figure: the figure as the source's own page publishes it, the page, and the day it was read. A figure that is not on a page we read is not on this one.
The sentence each figure was read from (17)
- BrightEdge - Organic share of traffic increases to 53%, read 2026-10-29:
Released as part of its annual Share Conference, BrightEdge Research found that Organic and Paid Search dominate websites’ traffic in 2019 - 68% of all trackable website traffic is sourced from organic traffic and Paid Search, vastly exceeding all other channels, including Display and Social Media.
- Wolfgang Digital - E-Commerce KPI Report 2020, read 2026-10-29:
Search (still predominantly Google) continues to make the World Wide Web go ‘round generating 65% of website traffic and a stonking 67% of website revenue on a last click basis.
- Wolfgang Digital - E-Commerce KPI Report 2020, read 2026-10-29:
Travel - Tickets & Tours 54% 19% 15% 1% 5% 1% 4% 1%
- BrightEdge - Channel Report 2019 (PDF), read 2026-10-29:
EXPANDS TO 53.3% OF TRAFFIC
- BrightEdge - Organic share of traffic increases to 53%, read 2026-10-29:
The Organic Search figure at 53% is up from the 51% found in the 2014 research, the first year that BrightEdge Research conducted the analysis.
- Wolfgang Digital - E-Commerce KPI Report 2020, read 2026-10-29:
Travel 47% 19% 17% 1% 4% 2% 7% 2%
- Conductor - 2026 AEO / GEO Benchmarks Report, read 2026-10-29:
Organic search traffic remains a key traffic pillar, particularly in sectors like Health Care (42.4%), Communication Services (39.6%), and Industrials (33.8%).
- Wolfgang Digital - E-Commerce KPI Report 2020, read 2026-10-29:
Multi-Channel 38% 24% 13% 13% 8% 1% 1% 2%
- Wolfgang Digital - E-Commerce KPI Report 2020, read 2026-10-29:
Travel - Hotels 34% 20% 21% 2% 3% 5% 12% 3%
- Conductor - 2024 Organic Search Traffic Benchmarks Report, read 2026-10-29:
on average, organic search produces 33% of overall website traffic for these seven key industries
- Wolfgang Digital - E-Commerce KPI Report 2020, read 2026-10-29:
Overall 33% 32% 12% 9% 8% 2% 2% 2%
- Wolfgang Digital - E-Commerce KPI Report 2020, read 2026-10-29:
Retail 32% 33% 12% 9% 8% 2% 1% 2%
- Wolfgang Digital - E-Commerce KPI Report 2020, read 2026-10-29:
Online Only 24% 46% 10% 4% 9% 5% 2% 1%
- Contentsquare - AI is rewriting how consumers discover brands (release), read 2026-10-29:
organic search traffic declined –9%
- Conductor - 2026 AEO / GEO Benchmarks Report, read 2026-10-29:
AI referral traffic accounts for 1.08% of all website traffic
- Conductor - 2026 AEO / GEO Benchmarks Report, read 2026-10-29:
Overall, AI referral traffic makes up 1.08% of all website traffic across the 10 industries we analyzed.
- Contentsquare - 2026 Digital Experience Benchmark: traffic, read 2026-10-29:
However, visitors from this source still make up a very small percentage of overall traffic, at just 0.2%.
Read in full, publishes no figure
1 named source were read in full on the dates shown and print no usable figure. They are counted, never filled in.
- BrightEdge Research - 2019 Channel Share Report, read 2026-10-29: every candidate on the page was refused
Methodology
Every row is a verbatim sentence read from the named source's own page through our fetch service on the date shown, hash-pinned to the stored read (the sha of the page's visible text; the raw page is mirrored to R2).
7 of the 8 named sources that could be read published a usable figure; 1 published none and are recorded as not published, never filled in; 1 could not be read (blocked, dead or unreachable) and count nowhere.
The headline figures (median, minimum, maximum, quartiles) are over ONE figure per source for each breakdown it prices, in % (a source's median where its page yielded several accepted sentences for one breakdown), so a page that gives figures for several breakdowns gives one for each and N counts 16 figures, never sentences; 156 candidate sentence(s) were refused by a reviewer with the reason recorded.
The fuller derivation this dataset is chartered to grow into (not yet what the figures above are; they are each source's own published figure as read): every published reading of organic search's share of site traffic laid side by side with its publisher, date, method and sample: BrightEdge's 2019 Channel Report (53.3% of trackable traffic, up from 51% in its 2014 first edition, 'from thousands of domains and tens of billions of sessions'; organic plus paid search 68% of trackable traffic), Wolfgang Digital's 2020 e-commerce KPI study (search 65% of traffic and 67% of revenue, organic 32% in retail), Conductor's 2024 benchmarks (33% across seven industries), Contentsquare's 2026 Digital Experience Benchmark (organic search traffic down 9% year on year over 99 billion sessions) and Conductor's 2026 AEO/GEO benchmarks (AI referrals just over 1% of visits); the spread between readings (33% to 53% on the same question), the newest reading, the direction since 2019, and a date on the two figures publishers still quote from that one 2019 study - the '53% of all website traffic' and the '68% of online experiences begin with a search engine', the second of which is organic PLUS paid search's share of trackable traffic, not a share of 'online experiences'.
No UK-only reading was found in the harvest; each reading's market is stated beside it
156 candidate sentences on these pages were refused by a reviewer; each refusal and its reason is recorded in the review ledger.
Sources (9)
- BrightEdge Research - 2019 Channel Share Report(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- BrightEdge - Organic share of traffic increases to 53%(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- BrightEdge - Channel Report 2019 (PDF)(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Conductor - 2024 Organic Search Traffic Benchmarks Report(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Conductor - 2026 AEO / GEO Benchmarks Report(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Contentsquare - 2026 Digital Experience Benchmark: traffic(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Contentsquare - AI is rewriting how consumers discover brands (release)(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Wolfgang Digital - E-Commerce KPI Report 2020(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- conductor.com(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
Cite or embed this figure
The Organic Search Traffic Share carries 17 published figures read from 7 sources' own pages; the 7 published figures given by industry run from 24 to 54 percent, read 29 October 2026.
7 of the 8 named sources read in full publish a figure; 1 publish none, read 29 October 2026.
Organic Search Traffic Share, publisher BrightEdge: median 53.30 percent across 1 source, read 29 October 2026.
Organic Search Traffic Share, publisher Conductor: median 33 percent across 1 source, read 29 October 2026.
Organic Search Traffic Share, publisher Contentsquare: median 9 percent across 1 source, read 29 October 2026.
Organic Search Traffic Share, channel AI referrals: median 0.64 percent across 2 sources, read 29 October 2026.
Organic Search Traffic Share, channel search (organic+paid): median 65 percent across 1 source, read 29 October 2026.
Organic Search Traffic Share, channel organic+paid search: median 68 percent across 1 source, read 29 October 2026.
Organic Search Traffic Share, channel organic search: median 33 percent across 1 source, read 29 October 2026.
Organic Search Traffic Share, time 2014: median 51 percent across 1 source, read 29 October 2026.
Organic Search Traffic Share, industry Retail: median 32 percent across 1 source, read 29 October 2026.
Organic Search Traffic Share, industry Multi-Channel retail: median 38 percent across 1 source, read 29 October 2026.
Organic Search Traffic Share, industry Online-only retail: median 24 percent across 1 source, read 29 October 2026.
Organic Search Traffic Share, industry Travel: median 47 percent across 1 source, read 29 October 2026.
Organic Search Traffic Share, industry Travel - Hotels: median 34 percent across 1 source, read 29 October 2026.
Organic Search Traffic Share, industry Travel - Tickets & Tours: median 54 percent across 1 source, read 29 October 2026.
Organic Search Traffic Share, industry Health Care: median 42.40 percent across 1 source, read 29 October 2026.
Cite as: "costseo.co.uk Organic Search Traffic Share", updated 2026-10-30, https://costseo.co.uk/datasets/organic-search-traffic-share/.
Download the CSV (17 rows, computed 2026-10-30)
Questions this data answers
What share of a website's traffic comes from organic search, reading by reading, and is that share rising or falling as AI answers take clicks?
The Organic Search Traffic Share carries 17 published figures read from 7 sources' own pages; the 7 published figures given by industry run from 24 to 54 percent, read 29 October 2026.
Where do the figures in the Organic Search Traffic Share come from?
Every figure is quoted from its source's own page and dated (last read 29 Oct 2026). 8 named sources were read and 7 publish a figure; the 1 that publish none are recorded as not published, never estimated.