Although there are many different search engines, most of us tend to rely on Google when we have a question that requires a digital answer.
Likewise, for people who are running a business, Google is a key traffic source.
When you’re running a business, Google is one of the many ways to increase traffic to your website, but it’s important to be able to identify how that traffic was directed to your page in the first place.
Your website will encounter Google organic traffic when people click your placement in search results, below Google’s ad listings.
Obtaining organic search traffic takes time and needs a consistent approach to search engine optimisation (SEO). Therefore, if you’re receiving decent levels of high-quality organic traffic, you should certainly see that as a good sign and a direct relation to your hard work.
High volumes of Google organic search traffic usually means that your site is doing well and you have high quality, relevant content for your audience, but there are exceptions – particularly when it comes to the relevancy of those visits.
A high visitor number isn’t necessarily a good thing if most of them are unlikely to ever become customers, which is why it’s important to pay attention to the pages they’re landing on and the bounce rate (i.e. how quickly people hang around).
If you’ve noticed an increase in site traffic based on search results and keywords from Google, then it’s likely that your site is achieving high rankings within natural searches.
Organic search results from Google may indicate a new customer or someone simply looking for help and advice. Those people may have performed a Google search at the beginning of their customer journey, and arrived at your site – and that’s a very good thing indeed.
The key difference between Google paid and Google organic traffic is that your paid advert will appear above organic listings. That’s one of the key benefits of investing in Google Ads.
Google Ads is the tool that helps push your ad to the top of search results. While there are (relatively) clear indications to users that your link is an advert, if you’ve got your keyword strategy right, they’ll usually look beyond any ‘ad’ badges and simply click if it’s relevant to their search.
Google Paid traffic is usually the quickest way to gain site visitors from Google (depending on your budget and keyword strategy), giving you an instant boost within relevant search results. This is why it’s great to combine a paid approach with organic, because paid will offer quick-wins while your SEO gradually improves visits.
Google Ads lets you customise your budget and reach, amongst other great features, but it does have a few downsides. While genuine customers who click on your ad are more likely to be further along the ‘customer buying journey’, it is possible that not all traffic from Google paid will genuine.
For example, rival companies can abuse the pay-per-click (PPC) format Google uses, resulting in you paying for inconsequential visits to your website.
It’s also easy to throw your marketing budget down the drain if you don’t know the intricacies of Google Ads, which is why hiring an expert is a sensible strategy.
It’s important to know the difference between Google organic and Google paid traffic when running your own business.
You can determine where your site traffic derives from, and the ways in which you can improve and increase traffic to your website. Just don’t be afraid to ask for help if you feel it’s needed!