SEO, or search engine optimization, is an essential element to having an online presence today. Because competition for visibility online has become so intense, SEO guides search engines like Google to understand and rank your content. It can then display your content accurately for specific search queries, benefitting both you and the user. So, what is organic SEO?
You may have heard the term organic SEO, but how does organic SEO compare to paid SEO, what are the benefits, and most importantly, how do you get those benefits? Let's delve a little deeper.
Table of Contents
How SEO Works
Stripped down to the basics, SEO works by making your content and website more search engine-friendly. Meta descriptions explain the content, keywords help a search engine to understand the topic, and schema markup makes it even easier for search engines to read.
When search engines can read your content (also called crawling), they are able to index it. Once your page is indexed, a search engine can find it, and the algorithm determines how to display it, depending on the search query and search intent of the user.
Pages and content that are not search-engine-optimized are simply not as visible online. Around 90% of blogs online get absolutely no organic traffic from Google. That’s a whole lot of wasted opportunity that you could utilize if you use SEO.
When SEO is done right, it ensures that your website appears in search results when users seek information or solutions related to your product or business.
Organic SEO or Paid SEO
When you ask yourself, what is organic SEO you'll hit two sources of search engine traffic – organic searches and those coming from paid advertising. Organic SEO is the process of optimizing content and the technical aspects of a website, as well as targeting keywords, in order to have the page rank highly in the SERPs.
In comparison, paid SEO, or pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, revolves around you paying for placement in the SERPs.
The process of optimization is slow, and it can be equally as slow to yield results, so it may seem like the easy solution to opt for PPC. However, we assure you, there are some very valid reasons to bother with organic SEO.
Benefits of Organic SEO
Not surprisingly, organic SEO offers numerous benefits. Otherwise, what would be the point of spending all that time optimizing every inch of your content and site? Firstly, organic SEO often results in higher click-through rates as compared to paid advertisements.
It’s thought that this is because users have a tendency to trust organic search results more, as they are seen as being more credible. Google has a notoriously high standard for website quality, so if your website has a high ranking in Google search results, then it must have made the grade.
Cost Benefit
Another reason organic search is favored by online businesses and marketers is because it’s incredibly cost-effective. While it does require some initial investment in time and money, the ongoing costs are lower, the ROI typically higher, and the benefits simply last longer.
Because organic SEO focuses on optimizing a website's content and structure, it means the framework and processes are continuously working. This is precisely the reason behind the long-term success and sustainability of organic SEO. Once established, it can continue to generate organic traffic without significant ongoing costs.
Organic SEO also adds value because the traffic it brings to your site is of high quality. This means it attracts users who are actively searching for information or solutions related to your products or services. High-quality traffic is more likely to convert into customers or leads – so again, a better ROI.
Ongoing Competitiveness
Search engines are frequently changing algorithms and evolving, and a well-executed organic SEO strategy can adapt to these changes. By staying up-to-date and assessing your strategy’s performance, you can ensure your website remains competitive.
With organic SEO, you are able to effectively target both a global and a local audience, which offers huge benefits to business growth.
Relationship Building
Websites that are search engine optimized also end up providing a far better user experience. These improvements to site structure, page load times, and mobile responsiveness enhance the overall user experience. This reduces bounce rates and increases engagement, which keeps your customers coming back for more.
Organic SEO efforts continue to provide value over time. As your website's authority grows, the benefits of your content compound, further solidifying your online presence and boosting site traffic.
Content Marketing Tools: DropInBlog
One of the best ways to get SEO benefits is through content marketing or blogging. However, the tools you use can have an impact on how effective your content marketing is.
Not all blogging platforms enable you to implement all the SEO changes you should make, and that’s why you need to do your research.
DropInBlog offers a solution to many problems. It’s easy to integrate with a wide variety of platforms and website builders. Its WordPress-style editor is simple to navigate and familiar to most people.
However, it also includes a built-in SEO Analyzer tool. So, not only can you create and manage all your blog content from the DropInBlog dashboard, but you can also perfectly optimize the content. This SEO tool displays a helpful SEO score and recommendations for further content optimization to bring the score up.
Organic SEO Fundamentals
For the best results, you’ll need to look at both the on-page SEO and technical SEO aspects. Here’s a quick guide to organic SEO fundamentals.
Keyword Research
Starting with keyword research, you need to identify relevant keywords and phrases that your target audience is most likely to use when searching for your products or services. There are many keyword research tools available, and the best keywords will have a high search volume and low competition score.
On-Page SEO
On-page SEO actually starts with the quality of your content. Always aim to write for people – not algorithms. Craft high-quality, relevant, and engaging content that readers would find helpful. If your content includes specific information and dates, make sure you update those when required.
You can then optimize your on-page content by incorporating target keywords, as well as including a meta title and meta description. Adding heading tags throughout the text is also considered good practice for SEO because it makes your content more readable.
Technical SEO and User Experience
We highly recommend optimizing the technical aspects of your website, including URL structure, site speed, and adding schema markup. Technical issues that affect a search engine's ability to crawl and index your pages are particularly detrimental to SERP ranking. In order to improve your site speed, the main culprit is, more often than not, large images. Compress images as a starting point for optimizing page loading speed.
It may seem like a minor issue, but organizing your site structure in a logical manner is also good for SEO. An organized site structure helps both users and search engines navigate your site more effectively.
Part of good website SEO is the ease of use. If your page has a high bounce rate, this indicates users are leaving quickly without reading much or exploring your site – and that’s a problem. The vast majority of internet users today will browse the web from a mobile device, and most pages are not automatically mobile-friendly. Ensure your pages are mobile-responsive and fast-loading to give the best possible user experience.
FAQs
Why is organic SEO better?
Simply put, organic SEO gives a longer-term benefit and is more cost-effective. It results in quality traffic and more sustainable relationship building, which often leads to higher conversion rates and customer loyalty. Organic SEO might be a slower process, but your patience pays off over time.
How does organic SEO work?
Organic SEO works by optimizing your website's content, structure, and online presence to match the current search engine algorithm. The outcome is credibility and helpful information provided to users that builds a reputation and ranks well in SERPs over time.
How long does it take to see results with organic SEO?
As a general rule of thumb, SEO experts suggest it can take anywhere between three to six months to see results from your SEO efforts. In some cases, it may even take up to twelve months. The reason for this is the compounding effect SEO has and the time it takes to build up against the competition, but it’s well worth the effort in the long run.
Final Thoughts
In contrast to paid SEO, organic SEO is a cost-effective and sustainable way to drive organic traffic, which means site visitors who are genuinely interested in what you have to offer. It's also better at building credibility and trust than paid SEO. Users are more likely to overlook paid advertisements and will often perceive top-ranking websites as reliable sources.
Of course, the downside to organic SEO is that it’s not a quick fix. It takes strategy and time to see results, but once it takes effect, it snowballs, unlike paid SEO, which presents a quick fix but often produces short-lived results.
In essence, organic SEO isn't just about optimizing for search engines. It's about enhancing the overall user experience, which means increased engagement, conversions, and long-term success.
