"Mastering Google Organic Listing Optimization"

 Google Organic Search

"Organic search" refers to searches performed by search engines such as Google that are generated through natural processes.

To put it simply, it means " ordinary searches performed on search engines ", but we call it organic search to distinguish it from searches that are influenced by advertisements (paid searches).

When analyzing sites with tools such as Google Analytics, you will often come across the term “organic search”.

This article explains:

•  Basic meaning of organic search
•  Points to analyze organic search with Google Analytics
•  Tips to increase the number of accesses from organic search

As well as solving the question "What is organic search?", you can also input information you want to know as a step ahead. Let's take a look.

Contents [ Hide ]

• 1. What is organic search? basic knowledge
  • 1-1. Search not affected by ads (generally purely algorithmic)
  • 1-2. The antonym of organic search is “paid search”
  • 1-3. Difference between organic search and paid search
  • 1-4. The main purpose of SEO is to expand “organic search”
• 2. Organic Search in Google Analytics
  • 2-1. Preparation: Google Analytics
  • 2-2. GA4 default channel group
• 3. Three points to analyze the organic search of your site
  • 3-1. View the ratio
  • 3-2. View trends
  • 3-3. View search keywords
• 4. How to increase traffic from organic search
  • 4-1. Decide what percentage to aim for
  • 4-2. Clarify the cause of victory (or loss)
  • 4-3. Strengthen strong areas and treat weak areas
• 5. Tips for working to improve organic search
  • 5-1. Combining methods considering overall benefits
  • 5-2. SEO is a minimum technique and maximum content
• 6. Summary

1. What is organic search? basic knowledge

First of all, let's start with the basic knowledge of what "organic search" is.

1-1. Search not affected by ads (generally purely algorithmic)

“Organic Search” translates to “natural search”.

Organic searches refer to search engine results that are based on search engine algorithms rather than paid advertisements..

For example, below is a search results page for a search on Buzz Club.

Organic searches are generated based on search queries (terms entered by users) and content relevance.

Specifically, it is determined by an algorithm that considers various factors such as the content and quality of the content, site structure, and the number and quality of backlinks.

1-2. The antonym of organic search is “paid search”

The term “organic search” is often used to distinguish it from advertised searches.

The antonym of organic search (search by advertisement) is called “Paid Search” .

Paid search is a mechanism that uses paid advertising services provided by search engines to place advertisements on search results pages.

A typical example is “listing advertisement” . Listing ads are ads that appear on search results pages for specific keywords.

If you see text with the word [advertisement] at the top or bottom of the organic search, it is a listing ad.

1-3. Difference between organic search and paid search

Let's summarize the difference between organic search and paid search.

	organic search	Paid search
overview	Natural search based on search engine algorithms	Displayed in search results through paid advertising
Control by advertising	× cannot	◎ can
Specify link destination URL and description	× cannot	◎ can
Free listing	◎ can	× cannot
Effort required for high ranking	× many	△ less
User trust	◎ Expensive	△ Low

As you can see from the information, organic search and paid search have advantages and disadvantages.

"Which is more effective, organic search or paid search?"

There is no solution for It changes depending on the purpose and situation.

Therefore, many websites do a combination of both rather than picking one or the other.

"SEM marketing" is a method that comprehensively aims to expand overall results while combining measures for organic search and paid search.

1-4. The main purpose of SEO is to expand “organic search”

First of all, I explained the basic meaning of “organic search”.

If you are already working on SEO, as you know well, the main purpose of SEO (search engine optimization) is "to increase traffic via organic search" .

Therefore, in SEO efforts, it is important to grasp the trend of organic search on your site and deal with it appropriately.

In the next chapter, I will explain specifically which indicators and how to look at them.

2. Organic Search in Google Analytics

To check the organic search status of your site, first check "Google Analytics" .

2-1. Preparation: Google Analytics

If you do not know Google Analytics, you will not understand the explanation from here, so you need to prepare in advance.

If you haven't implemented Google Analytics yet, take a look at the article below.

• Google Analytics is an essential tool for site operation.

Google Analytics allows you to analyze site access and collect user behavior data, providing important insights into site operations.

By the way , "GA4" stands for "Google Analytics 4".

"Google Analytics 4" refers to the 4th generation Google Analytics released in October 2020, which is the latest version at this time.

The old version is currently available, but the old version will not be able to measure from July 1, 2023. If you are going to introduce it from now on, be sure to choose GA4.

2-2. GA4 default channel group

If you can introduce GA4, please continue reading.

On the GA4 admin screen, go to Reports > Acquisition > Traffic Acquisition to view traffic by channel group.

Among them is “Organic Search”.

You can check the list in "[ GA4] Default Channel Group Analytics Help " to see what each item indicates.

The main ones are excerpted and described below.

channel	overview	example
Organic Search	Access from non-paid search results pages	Visits clicked from a regular search results page
Paid Search	Access from search results pages with paid advertising	Listing advertisement
Direct	direct access	Enter URL bookmark
Referrals	Access from specific sites	Backlink
Display	Access from paid display ads	Google Ads
organic social	Access from social sites that are not paid ads	Organic (non-advertising) tweets on Twitter
Paid Social	Access from paid advertising social sites	Twitter promotional (advertising) tweets
Email	Access from email	e-mail magazine
Unassigned	no rules match	ー

Start by knowing that you have these channels, and then analyze the situation to see what the numbers are for each channel on your site.

I will continue to explain the points to be observed.

3. Three points to analyze the organic search of your site

When analyzing the organic search for your site, look at the following three points.

• See percentage
• See trends
• See search keywords

3-1. View the ratio

The first is "proportion" .

Calculate what percentage of your total traffic is organic search.

"What percentage is good? (Is it bad?)"

You may want to know the guideline.

It is not possible to generalize because it is a case-by-case basis depending on the characteristics and targets of each site and other measures to attract customers.

On that premise, according to an article in December 2021 by Similarweb, a famous site analysis tool,

<About 14% of traffic in all industries in the past 3 months is organic search>

It is said that

What is the percentage of your site? Let's check it out.

3-2. View trends

The second is “trend” .

See patterns and trends in the number of organic searches over time.

First, simply

“So far, is it decreasing? Is it increasing?”

Let's grasp

On top of that, what are the trends and patterns in the data, such as an increase (decrease) at a particular event, an increase (decrease) at a certain turning point, and what do they mean? Consider.

Visualizing it as a graph makes it easier to make effective discoveries.

If necessary, import the data into familiar tools such as Excel or Google Sheets and view it from various angles.

3-3. View search keywords

The third is "search keywords" .

By examining what keywords are used for organic searches, you can more specifically understand the situation of your site.

Organic search keywords can be checked from "Google Search Console", but if you link GA4 and Search Console, you can also check from the GA4 management screen.

By linking GA4 and Search Console and moving to [Management (gear icon)] > [Library] in the lower left, you can refer to Search Console data.

Click Query to see organic search keywords.

4. How to increase traffic from organic search

Based on the analysis results of Google Analytics, what actions should be taken to increase the number of accesses?

Let's take a look at three approaches.

• Determine what percentage you want to achieve
• Clarify the reasons for victory (or loss)
• Strengthen your strengths and treat your weaknesses

4-1. Decide what percentage to aim for

First, decide what percentage (or number) you want to achieve.

“I want to get 50% of my total traffic from organic search.”

or

“We get 80% from paid search, so we want to secure the remaining 20% ​​from organic search.”

This is because the allocation of budgets and resources will change depending on what you think.

If you draw a goal and the current situation is far from the goal, it will be difficult to reach the goal even if you do the same way as before.

We need to break through the status quo by reviewing and adjusting our strategies, tactics and actions, and by trying new approaches.

We will introduce two contents filled with hints for that, so please read carefully.

• 4-2. Clarify the cause of victory (or loss)

Through trend analysis,

“Access from organic search is growing (or falling)”

If so, what is the reason? Let's identify

How should we move forward by understanding what wins (or loses)? comes into view.

For example, which pages on your site get the most organic traffic?

Let's analyze the winning factor of the page. It's even better if you can have a discussion with your team.

Next, pick the pages with the lowest organic search traffic. Analyze the cause of failure of the page.

It's a simple thing anyone can do right now. However, few people do this. The path will divide depending on whether you do it or not.

4-3. Strengthen strong areas and treat weak areas

By repeatedly analyzing the reasons for victory and defeat, you should be able to see the strengths and weaknesses of your site and the team that manages it.

Let's continue to develop our strengths.

On the other hand, rather than making efforts to improve the weak points, first of all, think about physically addressing them by outsourcing or introducing tools.

For otherwise there is not enough time.

Unless you run a website for a living, in many cases the website is a tool to assist you in your main business.

For example, if you put effort into SEO and it doesn't go well, you can throw it to an SEO company with good taste.

“We will use what we can use as much as possible and efficiently eliminate our weaknesses.”

From this point of view, let's find the optimal solution.

5. Tips for working to improve organic search

Finally, here are a couple of tips for working to improve your organic search.

•  Combining methods considering the overall benefit
•  SEO is a minimum technique and maximum content

5-1. Combining methods considering overall benefits

If you focus on "business profitability", site management that overemphasizes organic search is not always the correct answer.

Users coming from organic search can take longer to convert.

Google Analytics can analyze access including profitability. Consider the overall benefits and combine techniques.

When analyzing, I want to use the analysis information that can be moved from the "Insights" icon.

for example,

"User Revenue from Organic Search vs. User Revenue from Paid Search"

You can find out what you want to know with one click.

5-2. SEO is a minimum technique and maximum content

In this article, I explained organic search from an analytical approach so that even beginners who encounter the term "organic search" in the process of access analysis can easily understand it.

On the other hand, in simple terms,

“Increase organic search = SEO itself”

Ultimately, there are only two things you need for SEO:

•  Minimum techniques to match Google's behavior and rules
•  Maximum content that is valuable to users

Below are recommended articles to learn more about each, so please continue reading.

6. Summary

In this article, I explained the theme of “organic search”. Let's quickly summarize the main points.

Here are some basics of organic search:

•  Organic search is a natural search that is purely generated by an algorithm and is not affected by advertisements
•  Antonym of organic search is “paid search” (paid search by advertisement)

When analyzing your site's organic search, keep these points in mind:

• See percentage
• See trends
• See search keywords

Here are some ways to get more traffic from organic search.

•  Determine what percentage you want to achieve
•  Clarify the reasons for victory (or loss)
•  Strengthen your strengths and treat your weaknesses

As you work to improve your organic search, keep the following in mind:

•  Combining methods considering the overall benefit
•  SEO is a minimum technique and maximum content

An increase in organic search is a sure indicator that a site is growing. Let's work on site management while making a habit of checking and analyzing numbers on a daily basis.

For those who want a deeper understanding of SEO . I packed all the know-how of the buzz department.