Understanding Organic Keywords: A Comprehensive Guide

Organic keywords are the phrases or terms that individuals enter into search engines like Google or Bing to find information, leading to natural, unpaid search results. These results appear on the search engine results page (SERP) in response to the user’s query.

For businesses, organic keywords play a vital role in optimizing their online presence and increasing visibility to potential customers. By utilizing the correct organic keywords, businesses can enhance their search engine ranking and attract more organic traffic to their website.

How Do Organic Keywords Work?

Complex algorithms are employed by search engines to crawl and index web pages, taking into account various factors such as website content, relevance, and authority. These algorithms enable search engines to identify the most suitable websites that match a user’s query by matching keywords.

• Search engines like Google correlate specific words and combinations with specific intent.
• Successful content targets longer keywords because they are less competitive.
• Optimizing pages for certain keywords with the same intent is important for on-page SEO.
• Different keywords serve different intents, such as local search results or specific commercial needs.
• Conventional wisdom says to aim for ranking for a single keyword on a single page.
• Cornerstone pages can rank for multiple keywords with closely related intent.
• Blogs can rank for synonym keywords.
• Top-level pages and blogs should generally aim for one keyword.
• Using 3-5 keywords for a post that’s 750-1,000 words is recommended.
• Free keyword tools such as Google Keyword Planner and Moz Keyword Explorer can help find relevant, frequently searched, and not too competitive keywords.
• Shorter keywords are broad in intent, while longer keywords carry a specific intent. Organic keywords can be short or long-tail, with longer-tail keywords typically being more specific and targeted.
• Monthly search volume and overall difficulty to rank for a keyword are important metrics to consider when choosing keywords.
• To choose the right organic keywords, you can use free tools like the Google Keyword Planner or the Moz Keyword Explorer to find relevant, frequently searched, and not too competitive keywords that are the sweet spot for your website or web pages.

What is organic ranking?

The term “organic ranking” refers to the position of your webpage in the list of natural search results, with a higher position being more favorable. It’s important to note that this ranking cannot be influenced by paid advertising, but rather is based on how relevant your page is to the searched keyword. If the search engine determines that your page’s content closely matches what the user is looking for, it will appear at the top of the organic listings.

To improve your website’s organic search ranking, search engine optimization (SEO) techniques can be employed. Conducting keyword research on your product and competitors can help identify opportunities and keyword gaps. Keyword gaps refer to the use of keywords by your competitors that they are ranking better for than you. By addressing these gaps, you may find niche words that are performing well and can help improve your ranking.

How to Check My Keyword Ranking

Google Search Console can provide useful information about your keyword rankings, such as the number of clicks and impressions a keyword has earned for your site, as well as your position in the search rankings. While the tool takes keywords literally, professional SEO tools like SEMrush can help provide a better understanding of how many searches a keyword is likely to yield. Additionally, Search Console allows for page-by-page analysis to determine which topics and questions resonate with your audience.

How do I get organic traffic?

Organic traffic is generated when your website appears on search engine results pages for relevant search terms. Higher search engine rankings result in increased organic traffic. Many inbound marketing strategies aim to increase search engine rankings and drive organic traffic. SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, also plays a crucial role in driving organic traffic.

An optimized website is more likely to rank higher for search terms that potential customers use on search engines like Google. A case study provides insights into how SEO can help drive significant organic traffic and generate qualified leads.

What is good organic traffic?

Organic traffic accounts for over 75% of total web traffic on the internet, making it a significant contributor to a website’s overall traffic. Although there is no fixed number to measure organic traffic, people often evaluate organic search conversion numbers to determine click-through rates (CTR) and overall revenue, which provide a better indication of the website’s performance.

What is an organic result in SEO?

Organic search results in SEO are based on the relevance of a listing to keywords used in a search, determined by analyzing a site’s purpose and included keywords. This visibility is a key benefit of organic SEO, as appearing early in search engine results means increased exposure to potential clients searching for similar products or services.

How to increase organic search traffic

The essential factor for generating website traffic without cost is through organic search traffic. This refers to visitors coming from search engines without clicking on any paid advertising. Achieving this can be done through SEO techniques such as conducting keyword research, optimizing your content, and building backlinks. Prioritizing organic search traffic can lead to improved search engine rankings and more visitors to your website.

Here are some effective strategies to help you increase your organic search traffic:

• Create original, relevant, and engaging content that caters to the needs of users. Use blogs and web pages with relevant content to drive traffic.
• Follow SEO rules and optimize your content, including the page code, around targeted keywords. Use synonyms and include keywords in your meta-description for better rankings.
• Focus on long-tail keywords that are specific to your business, product, service, industry, and location. This will help you get higher quality traffic as users find exactly what they are looking for.
• Optimize your keywords for local searches by including your city and/or state in your long-tail keyword phrases. This means using location-specific keywords to help your website show up in search results for people searching in your area.
• Optimize your map listings by ensuring consistency across all providers, adding photos and descriptions with keywords, and encouraging customer reviews.
• Use social media to share and promote your content, and engage with your audience. Publishing your blog posts on social media can send social signals to Google, which can improve your search engine rankings.
• Monitor and analyze your website’s traffic and adjust your SEO and content strategy accordingly.
• Optimize Your Title and Meta Description: When your webpage appears in search results, the title and meta description are the first things people see. The meta description is a brief summary of your webpage. It is important to make it engaging and interesting to encourage people to click on your link and read more.
• Long-tail keywords can be used to answer specific questions that users might ask through intelligent assistants like Nitin. By anticipating questions related to your business, you can tailor your content to provide answers. This can include questions like “Where can I find a kidney doctor in Washington?” or “What is organic search traffic?” Think about the questions that you might ask when searching for information, and use them to guide your content creation.
• Don’t neglect the design! A high bounce rate may be due to an unfriendly web interface that overwhelms users with pop-ups and makes it difficult to find the navigation menu. Users are unlikely to have the patience to search for what they need under such circumstances.
• Schema.org is a mark-up language used on websites that helps translate natural language into structured data that is easily understandable by Google. By implementing structured data, Google robots can more easily crawl and index the content, improving its visibility and searchability.

Organic vs Paid keywords

It is crucial to note that organic keywords differ from paid keywords, which are terms or phrases that businesses pay for to appear in the paid search results section of the SERP. While paid search can be effective in driving traffic to a website, it can be costly. Therefore, many businesses prefer to focus on organic search instead.

In contrast, non-organic search results consist of paid search ads. A search result page often includes both paid ads and organic listings, which can be distinguished by the “Ad” label next to the paid ads.

Sometimes, the organic search results may also feature other types of results, such as images, videos, and maps.

To summarize, a typical search result page displays both paid ads and organic listings, with the ads being marked as such with a small “Ad” label.

Difference between organic and direct traffic sources

When someone searches for a website’s exact address in a search engine, it is called organic search traffic. The goal of any website is to attract traffic because more visitors can lead to more customers and revenue.

Direct traffic refers to users who regularly access a website without using search engines. A website’s authority can be improved by offering quality content that keeps visitors on the site for longer periods of time.

Organic vs Other Traffic Sources

Various types of website traffic are classified in Google Analytics and other web analytics tools:

Organic: This traffic comes from search engines and excludes paid ads.

Paid: This traffic comes from clicks on paid ads in search engines, with Google Ads being the largest platform.

Direct: These are visits that come directly to the website, without going through a search engine or link.

Social: Visits from social networks such as Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.

Referral: Visitors that clicked on a link from another site to get to your site.

Email: If you use email marketing, you can tag your links so that the traffic gets labeled as “Email” in Google Analytics.

It is important to note that “direct” traffic may include other traffic sources as well, but the visitors may have been categorized as direct because no referral information was sent with the click. A screenshot from Google Analytics is provided as an example.

Target Keywords – Organic vs Paid

The ‘Target Keywords – Organic vs Paid’ tab offers a detailed analysis of the dependency on Organic vs Paid channels for your target keywords. By using data from Google Search Console (GSC) and Google Ads report exports, you can compare clicks, impressions, CTR, and layer in conversion and revenue data.

Measuring the ratio between the two datasets reveals the reliance and dependency between Organic & Paid search for your target terms, as well as current organic position distribution. This helps to identify large gaps in organic performance, where paid search can fill in and win back market share through additional available clicks. Checking the terms that are winning organically is also crucial.

If there is keyword cannibalization between paid and organic, you can pull budget from those terms to funnel back into areas where organic visibility is low.

What is organic CTR and why does it matter?

Organic click-through rate (CTR) is the number of clicks a search result gets divided by the number of times it is viewed on the search engine results page (SERP), also known as “impressions.” Calculating your organic CTR helps you understand the value of each rank position on your site and estimate organic web traffic. For instance, a drop from position two to eight may result in a 42 percent decrease in traffic for that keyword, depending on your CTR rates.

Organic CTR = Clicks ÷ Impressions

Use this formula to work out your various CTRs.

Using organic and paid search together to maximize your presence on the SERP

Achieving visibility on the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) is crucial for both paid and organic search. By combining these strategies, you can effectively enhance your presence and increase your chances of being seen by potential customers.

• Use consistent language in your organic and paid search strategies to help users recognize your brand across channels.
• Use paid advertising to boost visibility for valuable keywords even if you already have a high organic ranking.
• Use PPC to drive engagement on social media platforms, not just search engines.
• Align your campaigns with user intent, as Google increasingly focuses on deciphering user intent in search results.
• Use market insights to gain a better understanding of user intent and market trends.
• Paid and organic search are both essential tools for increasing your presence on the SERP.
• Understanding how these two strategies interact can help you build stronger campaigns and drive more traffic to your site.
• Consistency in messaging and understanding user intent are key to integrating and maximizing the impact of your organic and paid search strategies.

How to Review Your Organic Keyword Search Traffic Stats

Once you understand the concept of organic search traffic, it is important to know how to keep track of your results. Google Analytics is a widely used free tool for monitoring your organic search traffic statistics. It is likely that most professionally created websites already have it installed. However, if your website does not have it, it is recommended to install it as soon as possible.

By doing so, you can track your organic traffic, identify where it originates from, discover which articles, keywords, and traffic sources attract visitors, and gain a deeper understanding of your website visitor behavior.

Why Is Organic Traffic Important?

Organic Traffic is Important for the following reasons:

• Organic traffic is specifically targeted towards searches related to your website.
• Optimizing your website’s SEO can increase daily visitors and conversions.
• Organic traffic is a long-lasting and free strategy for increasing website visitors.
• Organic search allows for continual flow of web visits without additional costs involved.
• Organic marketing attracts customers naturally and has no end date.
• Focusing on organic traffic is essential for maintaining a competitive advantage in your niche.
• High-volume keywords dominate the market and increase authoritative presence online.
• Organic web referrals have an appealing statistical advantage for resulting in conversions.
• Optimizing websites for SEO should be at the top of every company’s list for online success.
• Top-ranking websites in organic search results have higher credibility than Google Ads.
• Users are more likely to click on top organic search results over Google Ads.
• Organic traffic attracts visitors who are directly searching for something specific, leading to higher conversions.

How Many Organic Keywords Can I Use?

The conventional wisdom is to target a single keyword on a single page to ensure that it serves its purpose effectively. However, there are exceptions, such as cornerstone pages that can rank for multiple keywords with related intent and blogs that can rank for synonym keywords. Advanced strategies may require targeting more than one keyword. Generally, using a keyword 3-5 times for a 750-1,000 word post is recommended, and Yoast SEO plugin can be a useful tool for WordPress users.

How to Find Longtail Keywords

To find organic longtail keywords, using free keyword tools is an obvious but limited method, so paid software may be needed for more accurate data. Another option is to type a question or phrase into Google and view the alternative suggestions at the bottom of the results. While this method lacks related data, it can still uncover the questions your customers are asking. As keywords play a crucial role in on-page SEO and content strategy, these methods can aid in forming initial thoughts about site content, with the potential for further improvement.