Today’s tech-savvy consumers make it essential to integrate your online business. 90% have three internet devices, and they switch constantly between desktops and tablets to access the internet. Companies need to know how search engines function to put their brand in front of customers. Google has a 74.8 market share of all online users. It is because they have an algorithm that delivers the most relevant information to its users.
Understanding the basic principles of this algorithm is crucial to maximizing your online presence. Google’s ranking algorithm uses over 200 factors to determine which websites should be on the first search results page. Searchers only look at the first page, which is why it’s so important to rank on the first page. 94% don’t. This blog post will explain the differences between paid search (paid ads) and organic (results that are based on relevance but without payment) so you can use this information to grow your business online. Google has different algorithms for paid and organic results. We’ll go over these differences and conclude with some steps your business can implement to use both paid and natural channels.
Paid search
Paid search is advertising that companies pay to have their website appear on Google. Power Digital”>advertise on Google, but for this example, we’re going to focus on Paid Search. You may have noticed the paid ads on top and side of Google SERPs. Refer to the image below.
These ads are generated by companies using Google Adwords, Google’s advertising platform. Google’s core mission is to provide relevant content for its users. As a result, they have developed an algorithm that only displays ads that are related to a search query. Companies compile keywords to trigger your ad. Google created the term “Ad Rank” to help determine which ads are relevant and should be displayed. Ad Rank is a combination of Max CPC (Maximum cost per click – how much you are willing to pay to see an ad) and quality score. Ad Rank is based on the maximum cost per click (the most you are ready to pay) and quality score (how relevant your ad is to the search query).
Google would not display the ads if realtors from Los Angeles were willing to pay more for ads in San Diego. Google would not display ads even if Los Angeles realtors were willing to pay a higher price to have their ads appear in San Diego. Google is only paid when an ad is clicked. Google would not get paid if people searching “realtor San Diego” didn’t click the ads that had Los Angeles. Google’s success in the United States is largely due to its ability to deliver relevant results.
Google takes into consideration many factors in addition to Ad Rank. These include CTR (Click-Through Rate – how often the ad is clicked), the relevance of the landing page (the page that a user visits when they click on an ad), and other factors. We’ll now move on to the organic side of Google, which is not paid.
Organic Search
Organic search is different from paid advertising because it refers to results that are displayed in Google based solely on relevance. Google does not pay for these spots; instead, the site is optimized. You’ll see that when you search for a keyword in Google, there are ten or so websites featured beneath the paid ads. Refer to the image below.
To appear in the organic spots, companies must know how Google reads websites. Google crawls and indexes web pages about twice a month. Google crawls the web and indexes websites about two times a month. Google searches its database for the most relevant websites to display each time a user types in a search. Search engine optimization (also known as SEO) comes into play. Google considers two factors when choosing the most relevant site: the content of the page and its backlinks. This is called “On Page” and “Off Page,” respectively, in SEO.
On-Page Search Engine
On-page SEO is the term used to describe the content of a website. Google categorizes websites by looking at the content of a web page. Google’s database will be searched for relevant websites, such as those that have “homes in San Diego,” “buy homes in San Diego,” or “sell homes” in San Diego. The use of variations on keywords and great content are the best ways to optimize a website. Google’s algorithms are very complex and penalize sites that overuse keywords. Google is able to read the context of a page. The more detail you provide, the higher you will rank. Google looks at many factors in addition to the content of a site. These include copy length, time spent on area, number of pages viewed, and more.
Off-Page SEO
Off Page is the other facet of SEO. Off-page SEO is focused on link building, which increases the authority of websites. Domain authority is a metric that measures the authority of a website. Domain authority is a ranking from 1 to 100, with 100 being at the top. This authority is created through links. Some of this authority is transferred when a website links to another website. If a website links to CNN (CNN’s domain authority is 100), some of the link authority will be transferred to the linking website. Google will take note of a website that is linked to a well-known website like CNN.
A high domain authority allows you to rank well for search terms that have a large volume of searches, meaning more people can click on your website.
How To Get Started
After you’ve gained a basic understanding of what Google is looking for when it comes to organic and paid search, let’s discuss how your business can integrate this knowledge into its business and implement it. If you want to drive immediate traffic to your site, paid search is the way to go. Paid search can bring people to your site as soon as your ads are launched. SEO, on the other hand, can take up to 2-3 months for you to see any results.
It is best to begin with paid advertising while optimizing your site for SEO. While the SEO is being developed, advertisements will bring immediate traffic. In a few short months, both organic and paid channels will start to drive traffic to your website. Understanding the basics of how Google decides which websites to display will help you achieve your online goals.