{"id":702151,"date":"2025-12-05T02:22:27","date_gmt":"2025-12-04T23:22:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/social-media-beats-seo-as-smbs-top-traffic-source-survey-says\/"},"modified":"2025-12-05T02:22:27","modified_gmt":"2025-12-04T23:22:27","slug":"social-media-beats-seo-as-smbs-top-traffic-source-survey-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/social-media-beats-seo-as-smbs-top-traffic-source-survey-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Social media beats SEO as SMBs\u2019 top traffic source, survey says"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3df6522e4f5\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3df6522e4f5\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/social-media-beats-seo-as-smbs-top-traffic-source-survey-says\/#Social_now_leads_search_SMBs_are_frustrated_by_AI_summaries_and_most_visibility_still_depends_on_the_homepage\" >Social now leads search, SMBs are frustrated by AI summaries, and most visibility still depends on the homepage.<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"subhead\" itemprop=\"alternativeHeadline\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Social_now_leads_search_SMBs_are_frustrated_by_AI_summaries_and_most_visibility_still_depends_on_the_homepage\"><\/span>Social now leads search, SMBs are frustrated by AI summaries, and most visibility still depends on the homepage.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"bialty-container\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Social media<\/a> now drives more traffic to small and medium-sized businesses than search, and many SMBs are beginning to track AI-generated referrals. They also see competitors showing up in AI summaries as an emerging threat, according to new survey data published today by WordStream by LocaliQ.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why we care.<\/strong> Small businesses now see AI summaries as an emerging and important channel. These summaries shape buyers\u2019 early decisions and can steer them toward competing products. AI referrals have also become clear and trackable, convincing businesses that they can \u2013 and should \u2013 optimize for them.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Google traffic losses rise.<\/strong> Forty percent of SMBs say they\u2019ve lost traffic from Google updates and AI-driven search. Larger companies felt the hit hardest, with nearly half reporting declines. Still, most SMBs (72%) said their SEO is \u201ceffective.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Social surpasses search.<\/strong> Sixty-four percent listed social as a main traffic driver, beating organic search at 52%. <\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Solopreneurs and micro-businesses\u00a0ranked social first. <\/li>\n<li>35% of businesses without a website said social and marketplaces give them enough leads that they don\u2019t need one.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>AI attention rising.<\/strong> AI search isn\u2019t a top driver yet, but it\u2019s on the radar of SMBs:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>50% monitor AI referrals and mentions.<\/li>\n<li>70% of larger SMBs do the same.<\/li>\n<li>GEO awareness is rising across business sizes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The biggest frustration for SMBs is seeing competitors show up in AI summaries instead of them, but the upside is that these models often pull from sites beyond Google\u2019s top 10, giving smaller brands a rare chance to get visibility they wouldn\u2019t normally earn.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Core webpages are vital.<\/strong> Among SMBs tracking AI traffic, the most cited pages are:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Homepages (57%)<\/li>\n<li>Product or service pages (48%)<\/li>\n<li>Contact pages (34%)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>How SMBs are adapting.<\/strong> The top actions to boost AI visibility overlap with SEO fundamentals:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Use clear, de<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">script<\/a>ive headlines (35%)<\/li>\n<li>Improve readability (26%)<\/li>\n<li>Fix technical basics like speed and mobile performance (24%)<\/li>\n<li>Larger SMBs build external brand mentions (33%) and add structured data (30%) <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>About the data.<\/strong> WordStream by LocaliQ surveyed 300+ U.S. small businesses across 24 industries. Responses came from companies with and without websites, from sole proprietors to 100-employee organizations.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The report.<\/strong> <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wordstream.com\/blog\/smb-website-trends-report-2026\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Big SMB Website Trends Report: SEO, GEO, &amp; the Future of Traffic<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" >Technology<\/a><\/span> category.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/social-seo-traffic-smb-survey-465661\" target=\"_blank\" >Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Social now leads search, SMBs are frustrated by AI summaries, and most visibility still depends on the homepage. Social media now drives more traffic to small and medium-sized businesses than search, and many SMBs are beginning to track AI-generated referrals. They also see competitors showing up in AI summaries as an emerging threat, according to&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-702151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/702151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=702151"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/702151\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=702151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=702151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=702151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}