SEO glossary · Updated
Organic search: what it is and how to grow it
Organic search results are the unpaid listings a search engine ranks by relevance and usefulness, as opposed to paid ads.
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Organic search means the unpaid results on a search engine. Google ranks them with its ranking systems based on relevance, quality and usefulness, and you can't pay for a better position. Organic traffic is the visitors those results send you.
| Organic results | Paid results | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost per click | None | You pay, usually per click |
| How ranked | Google's ranking systems | Ad Rank: bid, quality, context |
| Label | None | Sponsored |
| When you stop investing | Usually declines slowly | Stops immediately |
Organic keywords
Organic keywords are the searches your site appears for in organic results. Search Console's Performance report shows your real ones, with clicks, impressions and average position. Third-party tools estimate them for any site, which is useful for competitors but less accurate.
How to grow organic search traffic
- Make sure your important pages can be crawled and indexed.
- Improve pages that already get impressions but few clicks.
- Create pages for the questions and needs your customers search for.
- Earn links and mentions from relevant sites.
- Keep content accurate and up to date.
"Organic SEO" just means SEO; the word organic emphasizes that it's unpaid. The full picture is in what is SEO.
FAQ
Is organic search the same as SEO?+
Organic search is the channel (the unpaid results); SEO is the work of improving your visibility in it.
Does Google Ads affect organic rankings?+
No. Google says it doesn't accept payment to rank sites higher in organic results.
What are organic search engine rankings?+
The positions your pages hold in the unpaid results for each query. They vary by location, device and person.
Sources
- In-depth guide to how Google Search works — Google Search Central (2025-12-18)
- Performance report (Search results) — Search Console Help
- About Ad Rank — Google Ads Help
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