A YouTube video appears on Google's first page for 80.3% of roofing searches, four in five, against 34.2% of searches across 24 industries. YouTube is the most common website on Google's first page, ahead of Reddit and Facebook.
Analysis of 30,000 Google results pages · Google US search results, September 2026
Key Findings
- 1.A YouTube video appears on Google's first page for 80.3% of roofing searches, against 9.4% of searches for moving companies.
- 2.A YouTube video appears somewhere on Google's first page for 34.2% of desktop searches and 34.8% of mobile searches, one search in three.
- 3.YouTube holds one of the ordinary top 10 spots on Google for 20.2% of desktop searches, one search in five.
- 4.Google searches that show a local map show a YouTube video on page one 20.5% of the time, about half the 39.8% rate for searches without a map.
- 5.Informational Google searches show a YouTube video on page one 40.9% of the time, almost twice the 21.9% rate for searches from people comparing options.
Summary
A homeowner notices a water stain on the ceiling after a storm and searches "signs you need a new roof". Above and among the websites on Google's first page sit YouTube videos from roofers walking across real roofs, pointing at cracked shingles and explaining what each problem costs to fix. The roofer with the clearest video gets the first look, and often the call.
Google often shows videos on its first page, either as ordinary results or in a video carousel near the top. A video is a way onto page one that does not depend on outranking every other website, and for many local businesses it is one of the most direct.
YouTube is the most common website on Google's first page. A YouTube video appears on page one for 34.2% of searches, one in three, and holds an ordinary top 10 spot on 20.2%. In trades and home services the rate is far higher: 80.3% of roofing searches show a YouTube video, and electrical, home security and HVAC searches all top 60%.
What we measured
On September 23, 2026 we checked 20,000 desktop and 10,000 mobile Google results pages for US keywords across 24 industries and recorded every item on page one. A page counts if it shows a YouTube result anywhere, including the ordinary results, video carousels and short-video features. We also counted separately whether YouTube held one of the ordinary top 10 organic spots, and whether the page showed any video feature at all.
We split the results by industry, by device, by search intent (whether the person wants to learn something, buy, compare options or reach a specific website) and by page layout: whether Google also showed an AI Overview, its AI-written summary above the results, or a local map pack, the map with three nearby businesses.
Trades and home services are video searches
Roofing leads by a wide margin, followed by electrical (69.8%), home security (69.4%), HVAC (63.1%), plastic surgery (61.8%) and pest control (59.8%). These are searches where people want to see a problem or a result before they hire someone: a damaged roof, a faulty panel, an alarm installation, a before-and-after.
Source: Suff Digital analysis of 30,000 Google results pages · Google US search results, September 2026
At the bottom are moving companies (9.4%), real estate (11.1%), insurance (12.9%) and personal injury law (14.2%). Personal injury law jumps to 38.6% on mobile, the widest device gap of these industries, so a law firm that checks its searches only on a computer misses many of the videos its clients see.
One Google search in three shows YouTube
Across all 24 industries, a YouTube video appears on Google's first page for 34.2% of desktop searches and 34.8% of mobile searches. YouTube holds one of the ordinary top 10 spots on 20.2% of desktop searches, and a video or short-video feature appears on 16.4%. In a count of all top 10 results, YouTube holds more spots than any other website, ahead of Reddit and Facebook.
For a business, this means YouTube is part of the competition on page one whether or not it makes videos. On a third of searches, a spot on page one goes to a video, and that video can be one you made.
Local maps push video down, AI Overviews pull it up
The layout of the page matters. When Google shows a local map pack, a YouTube video appears on page one 20.5% of the time, against 39.8% when it does not; the map and its listings take up the space. When Google shows an AI Overview, YouTube appears 41.1% of the time, against 24.8% without one.
Source: Suff Digital analysis of 30,000 Google results pages · Google US search results, September 2026
What the searcher wants matters too. Informational searches, where people want to learn how to do or fix something, show YouTube 40.9% of the time, and transactional searches 38.5%. Commercial searches, where people compare options, show it 21.9% of the time, and navigational searches 23.8%. The best video opportunities are the questions customers ask before they call.
What this means for businesses
Search your top keywords and note which ones show YouTube results. Those are the searches where a short, useful video can win a spot on page one. For a roofer or an HVAC company, that might be "how to tell if you need a new roof" or "why is my AC blowing warm air".
Keep videos plain and helpful: a title that matches the search, a spoken answer in the first 30 seconds, real footage of real jobs, and a link back to your website in the description. Then embed each video on the matching service page, so the page and the video support each other in search.
For trades and home service businesses, video belongs in the same plan as the website. Our seo for contractors work picks video topics from the searches where YouTube already shows up.
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<p style="font:14px/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif">Source: <a href="https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/youtube-google-page-one-share">YouTube Appears on Google's First Page for 80.3% of Roofing Searches vs 34.2% Overall - Suff Digital</a></p>
Cite this study
Suff Digital. (2026). YouTube Appears on Google's First Page for 80.3% of Roofing Searches vs 34.2% Overall. https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/youtube-google-page-one-share
YouTube Appears on Google's First Page for 80.3% of Roofing Searches vs 34.2% Overall - Suff Digital - https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/youtube-google-page-one-share