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Marketing 2026

Content Marketing Statistics & Data

Essential data on content marketing strategy, ROI, SEO, social media, and B2B/B2C content trends from leading marketing research organizations.

39 curated statistics with source citations

$600B
Global Content Marketing
70%
Marketers Investing
3x
More Leads
62%
Lower Cost

Content marketing has become a cornerstone of modern business strategy, with organizations investing heavily in blogs, video, podcasts, and social content to attract, engage, and convert audiences. These statistics offer a data-driven view of industry spending, effectiveness, and emerging trends.

Data is sourced from the Content Marketing Institute (CMI), HubSpot, Semrush, Demand Gen Report, Statista, and other leading marketing research platforms. Each statistic includes its source and publication year.

Whether you are building a business case for content investment or optimizing an existing strategy, these benchmarks provide context for data-driven decision-making.

Market Size & Investment

How much organizations are spending on content marketing.

$600B

The global content marketing industry is projected to reach $600 billion by 2027.

70%

Seventy percent of marketers are actively investing in content marketing.

26%

The average B2B company allocates 26% of its total marketing budget to content marketing.

62%

Content marketing costs 62% less than traditional outbound marketing while generating more than three times as many leads.

45%

Forty-five percent of content marketers plan to increase their content budgets in 2025.

$72.1B

US content marketing revenue was estimated at $72.1 billion in 2023.

10.6%

The content marketing industry is growing at a CAGR of approximately 10.6%.

Content Strategy & Effectiveness

How effective different content strategies are.

3x

Content marketing generates three times more leads per dollar spent than paid search advertising.

72%

Seventy-two percent of marketers say content marketing increases engagement and lead generation.

60%

Sixty percent of marketers report that content marketing generates demand and leads as their top benefit.

82%

Eighty-two percent of consumers feel more positive about a company after reading custom content.

47%

Forty-seven percent of buyers view 3-5 pieces of content before engaging with a sales representative.

67%

Sixty-seven percent of B2B marketers say their content marketing is more successful than the previous year.

88%

Eighty-eight percent of the most successful content marketers prioritize audience needs over sales messages.

SEO & Organic Search

The intersection of content marketing and search engine optimization.

53%

Fifty-three percent of all website traffic comes from organic search.

75%

Seventy-five percent of users never scroll past the first page of search results.

434%

Companies that blog regularly have 434% more indexed pages and 97% more inbound links.

68%

Sixty-eight percent of online experiences begin with a search engine.

1,890

The average first-page Google result contains approximately 1,890 words.

14.6%

SEO-generated leads have a close rate of 14.6%, compared to 1.7% for outbound leads.

49%

Forty-nine percent of marketers report that organic search delivers the best ROI of any marketing channel.

Video & Visual Content

The growing dominance of video and visual formats.

91%

Ninety-one percent of businesses now use video as a marketing tool.

87%

Eighty-seven percent of video marketers say video has directly increased sales.

72%

Seventy-two percent of consumers prefer video to text when learning about a product or service.

2x

Video content is shared two times more than any other type of content on social media.

54%

Fifty-four percent of consumers want to see more video content from brands they support.

66%

Short-form video (under 60 seconds) is used by 66% of marketers and delivers the highest ROI among all formats.

Social Media Marketing

How content marketing intersects with social media.

4.9B

There are 4.9 billion social media users worldwide, representing over 60% of the global population.

77%

Seventy-seven percent of marketers say social media marketing has been effective for their company.

43%

Forty-three percent of consumers use social media to discover new products and brands.

2h 23m

The average internet user spends 2 hours and 23 minutes per day on social media platforms.

68%

Sixty-eight percent of B2B marketers say LinkedIn is the most effective social platform for content distribution.

54%

Fifty-four percent of social browsers use social media to research products before purchasing.

AI & Content Marketing

How artificial intelligence is transforming content creation and strategy.

58%

Fifty-eight percent of content marketers have used AI for content creation or ideation.

44%

Forty-four percent of marketers use AI to generate initial content drafts, which are then edited by humans.

67%

Sixty-seven percent of small business owners and marketers use AI for content marketing or SEO.

35%

AI-powered personalization in email marketing can increase click-through rates by up to 35%.

73%

Seventy-three percent of marketers believe AI will significantly change the content marketing landscape in the next two years.

41%

Forty-one percent of marketers report that AI has saved them time on repetitive content tasks.

Methodology

Statistics are compiled from the Content Marketing Institute, HubSpot, Semrush, Demand Gen Report, Demand Metric, Grand View Research, and Statista. All data points reference the most recently published reports and studies.

We update this page regularly as new industry reports become available. Each statistic includes the source name and publication year for verification.

Frequently Asked Questions

How effective is content marketing for lead generation?
Content marketing generates three times more leads per dollar spent than paid search and costs 62% less than traditional outbound marketing.
What percentage of marketers invest in content marketing?
Seventy percent of marketers actively invest in content marketing, and 45% plan to increase their content budgets in 2025.
How important is SEO for content marketing?
Very important — 53% of all website traffic comes from organic search, and SEO-generated leads have a 14.6% close rate compared to 1.7% for outbound leads.
Is video content important for marketing?
Yes, 91% of businesses use video as a marketing tool, and 87% of video marketers say it has directly increased sales.
How are marketers using AI in content creation?
Fifty-eight percent of content marketers use AI for content creation or ideation, and 44% use AI to generate initial drafts that are then edited by humans.
What content formats deliver the best ROI?
Short-form video (under 60 seconds) delivers the highest ROI among all formats, used by 66% of marketers. Blog content also remains highly effective for SEO.
How much should a company spend on content marketing?
The average B2B company allocates 26% of its total marketing budget to content marketing. The optimal investment depends on business size, goals, and competitive landscape.
Last updated: February 9, 2026

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