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Organic SEO is the practice of improving your website to maximize its chance of appearing at or near the top of the unpaid web search results.
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When people talk about marketing via search engine optimization (SEO), they’re usually referring to ways to generate website traffic from search engines like Google without paying for ads.
Paid search engine marketing can bring you a lot of traffic in a short period of time, but the cost of all those clicks adds up. What’s more, users may view websites that rank organically as more trustworthy and authoritative compared to those they encounter via paid search results. A 2025 study found that 39.8% of searchers clicked on the first organic link on a search engine results page (SERP). Meanwhile, the click-through rate (CTR) of the first paid search result hovers in the low single digits.
That’s what makes organic SEO so powerful. For most business owners, it can make more financial sense to boost search engine rankings by making consistent improvements to their website rather than paying for search ads. Businesses of all sizes can make organic SEO work for their websites and ecommerce stores, and avoid the expense of paid search.
Here’s how to implement an organic SEO strategy for your own business.
Organic SEO is the practice of improving your website to maximize its chances of appearing at or near the top of the unpaid search results of search engines like Google. This is in contrast to paid search ads, which appear at the top of users’ SERPs with a label that reads “Sponsored.”
An organic SEO strategy focuses on making your website naturally appealing to search engine algorithms through various on-page and off-page techniques. The goal is for Google and other search engines to match your website to the user’s search intent when they type in a search query. When that happens, your site will rank higher in organic search results. Higher ranking can, in turn, expose more potential customers to your website, generating more brand awareness and potentially more traffic.
There is such a thing as paid search campaigns, but to call that “paid SEO” would not be entirely correct. The term “SEO” traditionally refers to efforts to improve a website’s ranking in search results. You might pay someone to do that work, but the clicks you get from those efforts are free. Here’s a breakdown of organic SEO versus paid search:
Organic. This type of SEO focuses on improving your site’s visibility in unpaid search results by developing high-quality content, improving your site’s technical performance, and cultivating high-quality backlinks.
Paid. When people say “paid SEO,” they really mean paid search campaigns. This involves paying for ads to appear in search results, typically above the organic listings, using tools like Google Ads. This usually takes the form of a pay-per-click (PPC) ad campaign, meaning you pay each time someone clicks on your ad.
Both organic SEO efforts and paid search campaigns can drive traffic to your website. However, organic SEO can be a better long-term traffic driver because you don’t pay for every click you get. Paid search campaigns offer immediate exposure but only last as long as you pay for ads.
For many small businesses, organic SEO makes a lot of financial sense, especially in contrast to the ongoing bills that come with PPC campaigns. But how do you boost your SEO rankings so that your website appears on the first page of a user’s organic results? Here are some factors that the Google search algorithm considers when matching websites to a user’s search query:
Google prioritizes content that clearly matches the search intent of a query. Pages that provide helpful, original, and well-organized information using relevant keywords tend to rank higher. This includes answering users’ questions directly and covering the topic thoroughly.
Search engine algorithms reward keyword optimization, a process where you find and leverage the right target keywords in strategic places—like your page titles, headings, first paragraph, meta descriptions, and image alt text. Including commonly searched keywords in your content helps Google understand what your web page—and site as a whole—is about.
The Google algorithm favors text that is informative, comprehensive, accurate, trustworthy, and engaging. As a content creator, this means you should refrain from keyword stuffing, the practice of cramming all the terms from your keyword research into your copy. Including targeted keywords helps, but your first priority should be serving your readers’ needs.
This category covers a website’s technical aspects, and it’s a key ranking factor for organic search. The Google algorithm looks for things like a proper sitemap URL, a well-structured website, secure HTTPS, an SSL certificate, and no significant hindrances (e.g., broken links, 404 errors) that prevent search engine crawlers from accessing and indexing your site. Search algorithms also favor pages with fast load times and overall site speed.
Google favors sites with clear navigation and relevant internal links. These elements are perceived to improve the user experience, and Google wants to direct its customers to sites that are easy to use.
With so much web traffic now flowing via mobile devices, your website must function smoothly on smartphones and tablets. Using responsive web design tactics, like having images automatically rescale to fit mobile browser windows, can help your site function and retain the same site speed on desktop and mobile devices.
Google, Bing, and other search engines want to present their users with reputable websites that they can trust for accurate information. Backlinks from other websites—especially authoritative, trustworthy ones—serve as a major ranking factor for search algorithms.
Here are seven organic SEO techniques that may lead to increased search volume and more exposure to potential customers:
Step one is to make sure that every search engine—especially Google—knows that your website exists and that they can properly crawl its pages. Do this by submitting your XML sitemap to Google. Many website builders, including Shopify, already do this for you.
If you aren’t sure whether your sitemap is accessible, set up an account on Google Search Console and check there. This free tool can tell you whether a page is indexed, along with details about any issues that might prevent indexing.
The most important thing you can do to attract more search traffic is create authoritative, comprehensive, and well-written content for your target audience. Your product descriptions should be detailed and clear. Your blog posts should give readers expert-informed insights that they can’t get anywhere else.
As you outline your content marketing strategy, place yourself in the mind of your audience, and ask what kind of content you would like to read. This will inform your writing process. You can distinguish yourself from the pack by adding visual elements like comparison charts or explainer videos. If you run a blog with a comment section, participate in the discussion. This helps you connect with loyal customers as well as new ones.
As part of your quality monitoring efforts, watch out for duplicate content. Google doesn’t explicitly penalize duplicate content, but it’s filtered out and can make it harder for Google to understand which page to rank. This can hurt the rankings of whichever URL does eventually get ranked.
Your website’s content should be informed by what your target audience searches for and what type of language they use when they search. You can do this quickly and efficiently by using a keyword research tool to discover what keywords your site currently ranks for, as well as what other websites in your industry rank for. You will then have a list of relevant keywords you can work with as you draft content. These keywords can appear anywhere on your web pages, but they’re particularly effective when placed in page titles, section headings, and meta tags.
One popular SEO tactic is leveraging long-tail keywords. These are longer and more specific phrases that indicate a more defined user intent. For example, instead of using the broader keyword “used books,” you might try a long-tail keyword like “used hardcover books in good condition.” People who type long-tail search queries are often further along in the buying cycle or have a very specific information need. By populating your website with these keywords, you may attract qualified leads with a more immediate purchase intent.
You can get started with a simple free tool like Google Trends or comprehensive, paid tools like Semrush and Ahrefs.
Keyword research provides a window into your business competitors, but to turbocharge your organic SEO efforts, consider conducting an SEO competitor analysis. This is a systematic review of websites similar to yours, in which you investigate:
What types of content do they publish?
How authoritative is their content, and how do they signal authority?
Which keywords do they rank for?
How fast do their pages load?
Which sites link back to them?
You can borrow their tactics to improve your own site’s on-page SEO, and hopefully join these competitors near the top of search results pages.
Search algorithms analyze a website’s technical aspects, including:
Site speed. Search algorithms favor websites that load as fast as possible on both mobile and desktop. Optimize your site speed by leveraging a content distribution network (CDN), compressing images to reduce their size, and minimizing HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files. All of these steps help pages load faster.
Site security. The most secure websites use the HTTPS protocol as the standard for a browser and website to interact. To fully authenticate your site’s identity and establish a secure connection, install an SSL certificate.
Site architecture. The most search-optimized websites have a logical structure, where all pages are just a few clicks away from the homepage. Not only does this make it easier for crawlers to navigate your site, but it also helps your customers find what they want quickly.
Active links. Audit your site for broken links and redirect them to active pages. Google Search Console can help you find these broken links.
Mobile friendliness. An organic search-optimized website will be fast, responsive, and navigable on mobile devices. Design elements such as text, buttons, and links should be legible and functional on all screen sizes.
Off-page SEO covers actions beyond your own site to improve organic rankings, especially via high-quality backlinks (links from other websites). Some common off-page SEO strategies include guest blogging, crafting statistic round-up pages that other brands can link to, publishing tools or resources (like calendars specific to an industry), implementing PR-driven link strategies (i.e., digital PR), or contacting sites that mention your topic but don’t yet link to you. These tactics don’t directly boost your organic ranking, but they can increase non-search traffic to your site and signal authority, which may in turn increase your standing with search engines.
You can’t expect shoutouts from other websites unless you have high-quality content to offer. So, before you begin networking, populate your site with blog posts, product pages, white papers, infographics, and informative videos that make your site worth linking to.
Local SEO is a subset of organic search optimization that’s intended to help local businesses reach nearby customers. If you offer in-person services or operate your business out of a brick-and-mortar store, a local SEO campaign might be a smart way to spend your digital marketing budget.
Local SEO tactics include setting up a Google Business Profile (GBP)—a primary factor that will influence your local rankings on Google Maps and local search. You can also list your business on local search platforms like Yelp and Angi (formerly Angie’s List). And you can leverage citation management tools like Uberall, Moz Local, and Bright Local, which list your business details on a wide array of local directories.
Paid search campaigns involve paying a platform like Google or Bing to display pay-per-click (PPC) ads on a search engine results page (SERP). Local SEO involves optimizing a website to show up in local search results. Organic SEO covers an array of unpaid tactics that help your website turn up and rank higher in search results.
Yes, in the sense that organic SEO does not involve any payments to search engines. However, it takes time and effort to create a website that is well-optimized to rank in organic search. In many cases, businesses pay people to help them do this.
An example of organic SEO is conducting keyword research and drafting website content that naturally and coherently contains keywords related to the site’s focus, purpose, or areas of expertise.
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