The Difference Between Paid and Organic Search

When you suggest a person use Google or any other search engine, the results received are the product of paid or organic search factors.

How often do you suggest to another person to “Google It” as a form of looking up information and doing research? When you suggest this, are the results received the product of paid or organic search factors on Google.  Considering you’re taking a fraction of a second to search for something on Google, Yahoo, or Bing, you might not think about whether or not the results are paid for or they are organic in nature, but you should.

Why Should the Difference Matter to You?

As a normal online user, you probably don’t care at all whether a search is paid or organic in nature. As a business owner and digital marketer, this is something that’s extremely important to you. Within any list of search results, you’ll find a mixture of both organic and paid search results. The difference between them has a lot to do with how they got there and why they are where you see them.

Your Typical Results of Paid and Organic Search

When you choose a term to put into Google and find out information about, you’re going to have a mixture of search results. Typically, the first few at the top are paid results, the middle is filled with organic search results and the bottom of the page has several ads that are related to the search. Let’s take a look at the differences so you understand more about these search results.

Organic Search Results

Just like the name implies, organic search results are the “natural” results found under the ads in the SERPs. These are natural in the sense that the search engine algorithm analyzing all the pages across the web ranked these pages as the most relevant to the information of your search.

The Most Useful Search Results

When you’re performing research regarding a topic, organic search results can often be the most useful. The fact that the search engine chose these sites were the ones with the best information related to your topic makes them some of the most useful for you to review and enjoy. This is why they rank highly for the keywords that were in your search term and why you see them right away.

How can You Optimize Organic Search Results?

As a digital marketer or business owner, it’s important to make sure the search engines find your websites at or near the top of the first page on Google. This means optimizing the SEO techniques using proper keywords and the content that makes the search engine rank your page higher. Ranking with SEO is a long-term process and can take some time to climb through the pages when you use them properly, which means you need to show patience with this process.

Paid Search Results

Paid search results are basically ads paid for by businesses to get their ads above the organic results as quickly as possible. Many marketers invest money into search engine marketing (SEM) to boost their website and be on the top of the first page when a user types in the search for specific keywords when online.

The Google Ranking

For ads that show up on Google, marketers use AdWords to build ads and bid on placement opportunities in an auction for the top spot. The SERP shows you paid results that are distinguished from the organic ones with some visual clues. Paid results will usually appear first on the page and have a small outlined “Ad” label on the left-hand side of the URL. This informs you that these results have been paid for.

Paid Content is Always the Best Content

The ads and pages that do end up at the top of the first page that is paid for aren’t always filled with the content and information you need. The assumption is that whoever pays the most in the AdWords auction will have the best visibility. This may be part of the process, but these pages are still required to have some relevant content for you to use, but the best information will likely be found in the organic results.

Should You Use Paid or Organic Search Methods?

While you know the organic pages that rank high are filled with content that’s highly relevant to what you’re searching for, paid searches show up at the top of the page and are often the first thing users will choose when the results appear. This means you should implement some of both types of search methods in your digital marketing strategy.