Essential Statistics

• 38% of people heard about a brand through direct traffic or a friend, and 43% made a purchase through this channel.
• Organic search drove 19% of brand discovery but only 5% of purchases.
• Paid search caused 4% of initial discovery but led to 17% of conversions.
• Social media (organic + paid) generated 18% of awareness but only 15% of buying actions.
• Email had minimal impact, with just 1% discovery and 3% conversions.

Key Takeaways

• Direct/referral traffic is the highest converting channel overall.
• Paid channels, especially search, convert well but don’t generate as much discovery.
• Organic search is essential for top-of-funnel visibility but doesn’t close as many deals.
• Social media is more about awareness than action.
• Email drives very little discovery or conversions in this study.

Actionable Insights

Double down on referral traffic and direct sources.

These channels drive the highest conversions and should anchor your bottom-funnel strategy.

Treat SEO as a visibility engine, not a closer.

Organic search builds awareness, so follow up with retargeting to capture conversions.

Reposition social as a nurture channel.

Use social media to educate and engage—not to sell directly.

Use paid search for bottom-funnel targeting.

Focus ad spend on high-intent queries that drive immediate action.

Rebalance your attribution model.

Give more credit to awareness-stage sources that influence buyer journeys indirectly.