What is Organic Search

How developing organic search will increase traffic to your website

Aaron Levenstadt CEO & Founder at Pedestal Search

Aaron Levenstadt CEO & Founder

August 17, 2022 | 5 Min Read

Article updated on October 4, 2022

Whether consumers are buying online or off, 87% of shoppers start their product searches online, and that means that businesses both online and off need to understand what makes search engines tick in order to attract as many of those inquiries as possible—and this includes terminology like ‘Organic Search.’ In this article, we look at organic search and how you can use organic search to attract more traffic to your website.

Organic search definition

Organic search refers to the unpaid listings that come up on search engine results pages (SERPs) as opposed to paid returns.

If you enter ‘dancewear’ into google search and scroll down past the advertisements, you’ll find the list of vendors begins. Each business has its own ideas on the kind of content that’ll encourage their prospective consumers to click through to their sites:

serp example

Marketing aside, these listings are showing because their content aligns closely with the search made.

Natural search vs organic search

In the food industry, natural and organic are very similar terms but with some significant differences in processing. So, what about in online marketing? You’ve probably heard the terms organic search and natural search. What is natural search? Natural search and organic search are essentially the same: they both refer to search engine results based on website content.

What is an organic result in SEO?

An organic result in search engine optimization (SEO) is just that: a result on SERPs that appears because of the relevance of the listing to the words (keywords) used by the prospective client in the search. Search engines determine relevance by assessing your site to determine its purpose. From that analysis, the search engine determines what keywords are included in your page and shows that page in results when those keywords are entered into their search engine.

Benefits of organic SEO

The critical benefit of organic search engine optimization is visibility. Having your page listed early in the search engine results means your clients see it more often when they are looking for your type of product or service.

What is organic ranking?

Organic ranking refers to where your page appears in the list of organic listings – the closer to the top, the better. Again, this ranking cannot be influenced by paid advertising but depends on the page’s relevance to the searched keyword. If the search engine decides your page’s content is close to what the user is looking for, it’ll display your page at the top of the organic listings.

How to improve organic search ranking

Search engine optimization (SEO) will improve organic search rankings of your website pages. Using keyword research on your product and your competitors will reveal opportunities and keyword gaps. Keywords gaps are keywords in use that your competitors are ranking better than you. Obvious? True. But you may discover niche words that are performing well that you need to address.

Organic search vs paid search

Organic and paid search Internet users seem to trust organic listing more than paid lists. 80% of users ignore paid aids and scroll straight to organic listings. So if you can be at the top of the organic listings, you’ll get more and more meaningful clicks to your website.

However, there is a surprising correlation between organic search and paid ads. When the two are used in conjunction, and the organic rank is high, the click-through rate for both increases. There is a synergy that results in the one boosting the other.

What is organic search in Google Analytics?

In Google Analytics, an organic search refers to traffic that reaches your website from unpaid listings on SERPs. Again, this traffic is unaffected by any paid advertising and is dependent on the

How to find organic search traffic in Google Analytics

Organic search results are typically displayed in Google Analytics under the Acquisition section, in Channels under All Traffic.

How to find organic search traffic in Google Analytics

How to find organic search terms in Google Analytics

Though Google Search console is your strongest keyword analysis tool, Google Analytics will report on a short list of keywords being used to find your site. Look under the Acquisition section in All Traffic. Click on Source/Medium and then click on the Keyword tab at the top.

How to find organic search traffic in Google Analytics

How to improve your website’s performance in organic search

Take these steps to improve your organic search results:

Competitive Analysis

Start by identifying your competitor’s highest performing pages and the keywords that bring their customers to those pages. An organic search agency will have the organic traffic analysis tools and the know-how to understand the data. From this investigation, you can take advantage of these four general opportunities:

  1. Keyword Gaps – as discussed, keyword gaps are keywords your competitors are performing better with

  2. Link Gaps – are sites that link to your competitors but don’t link to you

  3. Keyword Cannibalization – when two pages on your website are ranked for the same keyword (and compete against each other)

  4. Content Improvement

Use keyword gaps to improve content

If you’re the same dancewear retailer and you notice that your competitors are ranking on “competitive dancewear” and you’re missing that opportunity, you can write a blog that includes these keywords to improve your rankings. The same can be done for every keyword gap. Alternatively, you can better optimize existing content to include these critical keywords. An organic search consultant will easily produce a list of keyword gaps for your team to tackle.

Build supporting content for top keywords

Supporting or satellite content will boost the effectiveness of that keyword topic for organic search results. You can also incorporate long tail keywords into this supportive content. Long tail keywords are phrases that are more likely to be used in verbal searches or when a consumer is closer to a purchase.

Build backlinks to improve domain authority

Starting with your identified link gaps and once your content is updated, start to work on developing backlinks. Backlinks are links to your content from other websites and are critical to improving your domain authority or your standing with Google. Sites with a higher domain authority rank higher on SERPs. Your SEO agency will have various methods for connecting with your larger community and creating backlinks.

Optimize for the “People Also Ask” section on a SERP

Content appearing in the People Also Ask (PPA) section of a SERP receives increased traffic and an authority benefit from having your content appear twice on the first page. Test your important keywords and find out what questions appear in the PPA. Ask that specific question and answer it in your website content.

If you want to see your site’s organic traffic increase, start with these basic SEO techniques that’ll take your site to the next level. Using an SEO agency will make this process easier, faster, and more effective. Contact us today for a demonstration of the power of improving your organic search.

 
Organic Search FAQ

What is organic search marketing?

Organic search refers to the unpaid listings that come up on search engine results pages (SERPs) as opposed to paid returns. Organic searches are influenced by the relevance of the content keywords compared to the search term. If online content relates strongly to the keywords used to search, it has a better chance of ranking higher on SERPs.

How does organic search work?

Search engines will analyze content to find the most relevant pieces to show a user. The keywords used to make a search inform the search engine of what to look for. For a business to have its content appear in these search results, it must use long-tail keywords in its content that mimic the ones its target audience is using. Organic search relies only on what’s in the content and the metadata, unlike paid search.

What is natural search?

Natural search and organic search are essentially the same: they both refer to search engine results based on website content. The terms are synonymous. They both provide more accurate and credible search results since they are generated by significance and content, as opposed to a paid search which can display any result so long as it’s been paid for.

Categories:

SEO, SEO Basics

Aaron Levenstadt CEO & Founder at Pedestal Search

Aaron Levenstadt

CEO & Founder

Aaron Levenstadt completed his degree in Statistical & Data Science at Stanford University. That focus has given him an unparalleled data-driven approach to search engine digital marketing. Prior to founding Pedestal Search, Aaron worked at Google at the company’s headquarters in Mountain View California. At Google he worked on the Organic Search, Paid Search and Google Analytics products, which equipped him with extensive knowledge of the mechanisms driving Google’s algorithm and other internet search engines.