What Is Organic Search Traffic?

To improve your site’s organic traffic takes time and effort. You must be willing to put in the time to apply strategies like being present on social media and creating blog-worthy content, in order to help increase your site’s traffic flow.

Understanding Organic Traffic and the SEO Strategies to Increase It

Organic search results are the returned results that appear because of their relevance to any given search query and/or keywords. In contrast to paid results, these results have not been purchased and show up based on their own merit. Organic traffic comes from people clicking on organic search results; paid traffic comes from people clicking on paid search results. 

A 2019 study observing the traffic flow of multiple websites showed that 53.3% of the traffic came from organic search. The remaining traffic sources included paid, direct, social, and a final 27% attributed to “other.” These findings go to show that the biggest single source of trackable web traffic and the largest digital is organic search; This is the type of traffic that all website owners should aim to earn.

Generally, there is no such thing as “bad organic traffic.” However, even with this clarification, you still may be wondering why organic search is the way to go. Let’s take a look at how organic traffic is beneficial for your site and ways to increase it.

Types of Traffic Your Site Can Receive 

There are five main types of website traffic: 

  • Direct Traffic;
  • Organic; 
  • Paid Traffic; 
  • Referral Traffic;
  • Social Traffic.    

We’ve already defined direct, organic, and paid. Now let’s take a closer look at the other two site traffic types. Social traffic “consists of people who found and visited your site through links on social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter, or even email.” Referral traffic happens when “people find your site through external links located throughout the Web,” for example from a press release that refers back to your site. 

Organic Traffic vs. Direct Traffic

Organic traffic comes from visitors clicking on search results, while direct traffic comes from visitors navigating to your site through bookmarks, or by typing in your web address. This can lead to a type of overlap in traffic, when a visitor searches for your site by name, rather than typing your address into their browser.

This can become more common as your brand earns more name recognition, or in the wake of an advertising campaign that spurs people to look up your site in search. Technically, you will see this type of branded search as organic traffic, because that is still where visitors are clicking to enter your site. However, the fact that they are searching for your site by name indicates that they aren’t really discovering your site in search — they are using search to navigate to your site.

This all underlines the importance of understanding searcher intent. When you create content for your site that targets keywords and topics of interest to your audience, you create opportunities for searchers to discover your site as an answer to their queries in search. This type of organic traffic may not lead immediately to a conversion or a customer, but it can help make your site visible. The intent behind these kinds of queries can be called “informational” because the searchers are looking for answers.

When someone searches for a brand by name, their intent is more navigational — they aren’t searching for information, they are just using search instead of entering a full web address. This type of intent may be more likely to convert, and can show the impact your branding, advertising, and other marketing efforts are having for your site.

The Importance of Organic Search for Your Site

When people click on your website because they determined themselves that you have what they need, it shows that there are individuals who value your company — whatever it may be. Aside from feeling a sense of pride, there are numerous reasons that may compel you to create your site in a way that attracts organic traffic. For example, organic search:

  • Allows you to keep up with the competition;
  • Attracts more visitors that are genuinely interested in your site;
  • May attract your ideal target audience to your website.
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How Do You Measure Organic Traffic? 

In terms of measuring organic traffic, it’s simple really. With the help of Google Analytics, users are able to track their website’s performance — everything from their organic search to their site’s SEO. Site owners and operators can access their organic search report in Google Analytics by following the steps listed below:

  • Step One: Sign in to your Google Analytics account;
  • Step Two: Click on the “Reporting” tab at the top of your main screen;
  • Step Three: On the left-hand side of the page, you will need to locate and click on the tab that says “Acquisitions” — once you have clicked on this tab, you will then select “Overview”;
  • Step Four: Here, you should see a graph showcasing a breakdown of the different traffic types.
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Users are able to access more specific organic search information like when their site seems to have the most traffic and how it has progressed over the years.

How to Increase Your Site’s Organic Traffic

Now let’s talk about a few effective techniques to follow to help improve your site’s traffic flow and overall SEO

Continuously Create and Publish Longer Pieces of Content

It is important to design content for both users and search. This is done by writing blog posts that have:

  • A table of contents;
  • Natural page titles and headers (use keywords that are natural and relevant to the page topic. If they aren’t, change them.);
  • Optimization for featured snippets (this is done by answering your queries directly);
  • The right number of calls-to-action (you don’t want too few or too many — it can ruin the intent of your page.). 

Other tips to consider when creating content for traffic includes structuring posts that are:

In order to help increase your presence in organic searches, you must continue to create well-structured content on a regular basis. Aside from increasing organic traffic flow, doing so allows for more internal and external linking opportunities. If you are unsure how to create content capable of earning links, it isn’t a bad idea to reach out and invest in a link-building service.  

If you’re not already, we suggest becoming familiar with the basics of SEO. Once you have an understanding of these basics, it can help improve the quality of your writing, and your website, immensely. If you struggle to comprehend all there is to know about SEO, don’t hesitate to invest in SEO services. The goal of these services is to help your business grow its organic traffic by optimizing your website.