by Kevin Bradley

Created on: July 05, 2010

Organic search results are the results search engines deem most relevant to a users query. Each search engine uses their own algorithm and therefore evaluates different criteria to determine the best result. If a keyword or keyword phrase is competitive, it is hard to achieve a high ranking organic listing. On the other hand, if you have enough money available for a paid search campaign, it is quicker and easier to obtain a first page ranking.

Paid search results normally show up above and to the right of organic results in a search engine results page (SERPs). Both types of listing can bring in targeted traffic. However, the key difference is paid results cost money every time someone clicks through to the landing page while organic results cost nothing.

Business owners and marketers use paid search engine placement to drive targeted traffic to products and services. The process involves bidding on keywords their target demographic searches for. If the bid is high enough it helps their listing appear on the first page of the SERPs. This is the most valuable results page as the majority of search engine visitors never go beyond the first page.

When a user searches for a keyword which triggers an advert, they may click the advert or click on one of the organic results. If they click on a paid result, the advertiser pays a fee for that visitor. If they click on an organic result, the site receives the visitors free of charge.

Organic search takes more time to deliver results, but with the right keyword research, can make a significant impact on profit. Instead of needing to pay for every single visitor, organic search delivers each visitor free of charge. This can result in similar conversion rates without the traffic acquisition cost. As a consequence, overall profit increases.

There are additional benefits for obtaining a high ranking organic result and they include branding opportunities, improving market share and building customer loyalty. Many users avoid paid listings as they know it is an advertisement and therefore have more trust in the organic results. If your site obtains a stable high ranking organic listing, it immediately helps to build trust in your brand. Likewise, it increases your chance to improve your market position by converting visitors into customers.

Paid search will help get traffic to your site quickly. It costs money for each visitor while organic search brings visitors slowly until you establish a high ranking for a high volume keyword or keyword phrase. It is a trade off between time and money. However, a combination of paid and organic search provides insight into knowing which keywords or phrases you should optimize for organic rankings.

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