Organic Search Engine Optimization (Organic SEO)

Organic search engine optimization (SEO) is the practice of improving a website’s performance in search engine results pages (SERPs) by making changes to the site’s content, source code, and/or architecture.

The purpose of organic SEO is to maintain or increase traffic to individual web pages holistically without relying on search engine marketing (SEM) advertisements.

Key Takeaways

• Organic SEO is a budget-friendly way to build website traffic.
• The goal of organic SEO is to make web pages rank higher in search engine results.
• Users can improve organic SEO by following search engine guidelines and best practices.
• Organic SEO involves on-page SEO, off-page SEO, and technical SEO.
• Search engine algorithms are updated frequently, so organic SEO is an ongoing process.

Why is Organic SEO Important?

Learning how to improve organic SEO is a cost-effective way to build traffic. It makes it easier for search engine bots to crawl content and ensures the overall user experience (UX) is as positive as possible for site visitors.

When users have a positive experience, they are more likely to stay longer, engage with more content, and return in the future. This, in turn, will send positive signals that search engine algorithms use when determining page rank.

How Organic SEO Works

Organic SEO best practices address on-page SEO, off-page SEO, and technical SEO.

• On-page SEO focuses on optimizing web page content and HTML source code.
• Off-page SEO focuses on acquiring backlinks and positive social signals.
• Technical SEO focuses on site usability for both humans and search engine bots.

How Does Organic SEO Drive Website Traffic?

The organic SEO definition encompasses a wide range of strategies, from optimizing on-page elements like keywords and content to building high-quality backlinks and improving website speed.

The ultimate goal of organic SEO is to get search engines to return your content first. The higher a web page ranks, the more likely visitors are to read, view, or listen to the content on the page.

Organic SEO vs. Non-Organic SEO

Organic SEO focuses on improving a website’s visibility by fixing technical issues and publishing engaging content that earns backlinks. In contrast, non-organic SEO involves purchasing ads that will appear at the top of SERPs for specific keywords.

Non-organic SEO, which may also be referred to as “paid search,” provides immediate visibility, but that visibility ends when the ad stops running.

What is an Organic SEO Strategy?

An organic SEO strategy is a plan for building website traffic without relying on paid search. A successful organic strategy requires a commitment to high-quality content and ongoing technical optimization.

Businesses and individuals can use Google’s SEO guidelines to develop their search engine strategy in-house, or they can hire a consulting service to provide professional advice.

Organic search engine optimization services will conduct a site audit and use the analysis to make data-driven recommendations. Some services will also provide implementation assistance.

How to Optimize Your Website for Organic SEO

Organic SEO requires a multifaceted approach that includes:

• Producing high-quality, engaging content that meets users’ search intent.
• Improving the content and structure of individual web pages.
• Ensuring that the website’s architecture and page load times are optimized for desktop and mobile users.
• Identifying the keywords and phrases (long-tail keywords) that target users are searching for and using them in content.
• Earning backlinks from reputable websites to boost the website’s domain authority.

White Hat & Black Hat SEO

White hat organic SEO practices follow search engine guidelines. Black hat organic SEO involves sneaky strategies that try to get around search engine guidelines.

5 Steps to Get Started With Organic SEO

Here are five steps to get you started with organic SEO:

• Register your site with Google Search Console and submit your XML sitemap for indexing.
• Identify the keywords and phrases your target audience is searching for online.
• Use tools like Google Keyword Planner or Semrush to discover which keywords and phrases (long-tail keywords) have good search volume and low competition.
• Create high-quality content that uses those keywords and phrases naturally.
• Post backlinks to the content on social media sites.

Website builders with SEO tools can be incredibly valuable for creating sites that are technically optimized for search engines. If your budget permits, consider hiring an organic seo company to audit your site and provide recommendations for on-page and off-page SEO. Look for companies with a proven track record, positive client reviews, and transparent pricing.

Organic SEO Example

Hubspot is an example of a business-to-business (B2B) site that has invested heavily in organic SEO. The site has high-quality content and offers free services to attract marketing and sales professionals. Along with strong technical SEO, this has helped Hubspot web pages rank high in SERPs and meet user intent for competitive keywords in their industry.

Organic SEO Pros and Cons

While organic SEO offers many benefits, it also has challenges that will continually need to be addressed as search engine algorithms get changed. A balanced approach that combines organic SEO with other marketing strategies can help maximize the advantages of organic SEO while mitigating the disadvantages.

The Bottom Line

Understanding organic SEO’s meaning is important for individuals and businesses that want to attract sustainable, long-term traffic without relying on paid advertising.

If you are wondering how to do organic SEO, start by reviewing Google’s guidelines for search engine optimization. Google is the most popular search engine world-wide and if you learn how to do organic search engine optimization there, your content is likely to also rank highly on other search engines like Bing, Yahoo, DuckDuckGo, Yandex, and Baidu.