Why bother using search engines? Because search engines represent the
single most important source of new Web site visitors.
You may have heard that most Web site visits begin at a search engine. Well,
this is not true. It was true several years ago, and many people continue to use
these outdated statistics because they sound good — “80 percent of all Web
site visitors reach the site through a search engine,” for instance. However, in
2003, that claim was finally put to rest. The number of search-originated site
visits dropped below the 50-percent mark. Most Web site visitors reach their
destinations by either typing a URL — a Web address — into their browsers
and going there directly or by clicking a link on another site that takes them
there. Most visitors do not reach their destinations by starting at the search
engines.