Organic versus Paid Search: How the Two Have Evolved

We are all familiar with the terms organic search and paid search. While organic search is all about unpaid SEO that fetches a company a higher rank in SERPs, paid search involves ad purchases to get higher visibility in SERPs. Given that organic efforts may take time but the results are long-term, paid searches give you immediate visibility with short-term results.

Before we dive deep into the anatomy of both of these searches, let us start with the basics.

Organic Search

Organic search fetches natural results in the SERPs. They are a result of extensive SEO efforts put in by a team of digital marketing professionals over a period of time. The results are solely calculated based on search engine algorithms and are untouched by any paid advertisement tactics. The search engine algorithm will decide which website contains the information closest to the keywords, and so they rank those websites higher.

Paid Search

Paid searches are ads we usually see on the left, right, top, and bottom of SERPs. Businesses pay to go beyond their organic marketing strategy to get results as quickly as possible. In paid search, you pay every time a user clicks your ad. Paid searches are used by companies who want to increase their ranking on the first page of SERP when users type specific keywords looking for their products or services.

How Have Organic and Paid Search Evolved Over the Years?

We may say that organic search precedes paid search, but both have evolved significantly over all these years.

Walking down the memory lane of organic search, we find that it was purely based on the number of times a keyword would appear on a website. Fast forward to today, it has become refined and sophisticated in recent years. Along with the density of keywords, other factors such as the quality of the content, number of backlinks, and user experience determine the website’s ranking in the SERPs.

Similarly, paid searches were only text-based in the early days, but today, they include images, videos, and other interactive content.

Latest SEO Trends you can Leverage for Organic Search

If one thing the digital landscape teaches us is adaptability and versatility. The field is constantly evolving and one must keep a watch on what is going to happen next. Here are the emerging trends in organic search marketing, check them out:

• Mobile-First Indexing: For businesses with two websites for web search and mobile search, Google will start indexing the content on the mobile site first.
• Growing Expanded SERP Features: Search engines deliver beyond 10 blue links like they did in the early days of organic search. As a result, your SEO strategy should have great content combined with technical SEO expertise.
• Personalized SEO: Different users will get different results even when they are searching for the same queries. Continue to write content for your target audience and you will do well.

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Trends to Leverage in Paid Search

• Local Targeting: Marketers need to take their advertising campaigns to new locations according to the preferences of the target audience. Thus, building a highly-localized paid campaign becomes a critical job.
• Flywheel Vs. Funnel Model: While funnel marketing was a go-to strategy a few years ago but is no longer in use today. The modern era calls for flywheel marketing to keep customers happy and turn them into brand ambassadors.
• Machine Learning: Paid search should consider machine learning with numerous options available with Google Ads. ML helps businesses in implementing and enhancing marketing strategies.

Benefits of Organic and Paid Search

Benefits of Organic Search

• Authority & Credibility: No denying that organic search helps businesses earn authority and fetch higher ranks in SERPs. A site with higher authority will rank higher, and as you rank higher, the more authority you gain.
• Long-term Results: Organic search brings long-term prospects for businesses as against the transient success of paid search marketing. Strategized SEO along with optimized content can pay off over time.

Benefits of Paid Search

• Quick Results: Paid searches help you present yourself in front of the audience quickly. All you need to do is to run an ad, and you are visible on the first page of the search engine results page when the user searches for your targeted keywords.
• Offers Keyword data for SEO: Paid search provides a quick and affordable way to test keyword visibility. The keyword data helps you with your SEO approach. When you run paid campaigns, you gain insights on keywords that you can optimize for further content generation.

Choosing the Right One for your Business:

The best approach for your business will depend on your specific goals and budget. Companies looking for a long-term strategy and aiming to drive a lot of inbound traffic must trust organic search, and enterprises that demand immediate visibility may go for paid search campaigns.

No matter what you choose, it is essential to strike a balance. Identify your business goals and use organic and paid searches to target your audience at the right time.

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