When most people think of things that are organic, they think of fresh pesticide free foods and healthy living. But for webmasters and internet business owners, organic has a different meaning. Organic search results are the results of a search on any search engine based on the keywords and content on a given website. Most search engines have sponsored ads included with search results as well, but the natural results that are based on site content and keyword relevancy are considered organic search results. Most website owners try hard to optimize their websites with content and keywords so that they rank high in organic search results. Being ranked high in a search engine’s organic search results is important because it means more traffic for a website.

Web users who are looking for information or products online often use search engines to find what they need. Most internet users can easily discern organic search results from search engine ads, and are much more likely to click on an organic listing than an ad when searching for something online. This is because people trust organic search results because they are based on a sites content and relevance to the keywords they searched for. Paid ads may or may not be related to what they were looking for and many times take web users to websites that are just trying to sell them something, not a valuable website with valuable information. Organic search results have greater click through rates than the ads displayed with them, as users trust search engines to give them relevant websites through organic listings.

Organic search results also help a company’s image and branding. Users expect to see popular brands in organic search results when they search for common products and services. If these companies are absent from organic search results, users may begin to doubt their value. Likewise, if a smaller less known company consistently appears high in organic search results, users will begin to equate them with the product they sell. Performing well in organic search results is a great way for smaller companies to compete with larger rivals.

The best thing about organic search results is that they are free. If a web site is properly optimized, they will be able to draw a lot of traffic form web searches alone. Users know that ads are commercially driven and are often hesitant o click on them, whereas organic search results are usually much more useful. It is free to submit your site to search engines and even if you don’t, as long as you use keywords well your site will eventually be indexed by most major search engines. Paying for search engine advertisements will only mean that your ad will be seen, no that it will get clicked or that your website will get any traffic from it. Ranking high in organic listings will mean more traffic from your website as most internet users turn to search engines and their organic results to find what they are looking for.