Organic Search Vs Paid Search, Key Differences, How To Measure Results

Organic Search vs Paid Search: Search engines like Google help businesses reach customers online, increase website traffic, and grow brand visibility. Whether you’re a small business or a global company, having a strong search marketing strategy is essential. To get started, it’s important to understand the two main types of search results: Organic Search and Paid Search.

Organic Search refers to the free listings on a search engine results page (SERP). These rankings are earned through good SEO (Search Engine Optimization), high-quality content, and relevant keywords. Paid Search, also called PPC (Pay-Per-Click) advertising, involves paying to appear at the top of search results.

This guide provides detailed information about Organic Search vs Paid Search, how to measure results, key search marketing metrics, and more.

Table of Contents

What is Organic Search?

Organic search refers to the unpaid search results that appear on search engines like Google and Bing based on how relevant and useful a webpage is to a user’s search query. Search engines use advanced algorithms to determine which pages to display, considering factors such as keyword relevance, content quality, user experience, and backlinks from other reputable websites.

Organic search plays an important role in digital marketing by driving high-quality traffic to websites. It builds trust with users over time, as people tend to trust organic results more than paid ads. As a result, organic traffic often leads to better engagement and higher conversion rates.

For businesses, focusing on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategies is key to improving organic rankings and achieving long-term online visibility and success.

What is Paid Search?

Paid search is a type of digital advertising where businesses pay search engines like Google or Bing to show their ads at the top of the search engine results pages (SERPs). These ads appear when users search for specific keywords, making it a powerful way to reach people actively looking for related products or services.

Paid search mostly works on a Pay-Per-Click (PPC) model, where advertisers only pay when someone clicks their ad. The cost-per-click (CPC) depends on how competitive the keywords are and how relevant the ad is. Google Ads is the most widely used paid search platform.

Paid search gives businesses instant visibility, targeted traffic, and the ability to track results with analytics. When planned well, it can deliver a strong return on investment (ROI) and support marketing goals effectively.

Difference Between Organic Search and Paid Search

Organic search means getting traffic through SEO (Search Engine Optimization) without paying for ads. Paid search means showing ads on search engine results pages (SERPs) by paying for clicks or impressions.

The table below highlights key differences in Organic Search vs Paid Search, covering important factors like cost, visibility, traffic quality, click-through rate (CTR), and targeting. It helps businesses and marketers choose the right Search Engine Marketing (SEM) strategy based on their goals.

Organic Search vs Paid Search
Feature	Organic Search	Paid Search
Definition	Unpaid listings shown in search results based on relevance and SEO efforts.	Paid ads that appear on top or bottom of search results when users search keywords.
Cost	No cost per click, but needs time and effort for SEO (content, links, etc.).	You pay every time someone clicks your ad (Pay-Per-Click or PPC model).
Speed of Results	Slow – takes time to build rankings and trust.	Fast – ads can show up almost instantly after setting up.
Position on SERP	Appears below ads; placement depends on quality and SEO.	Appears at the top or bottom, marked as “Ad” or “Sponsored.”
Traffic Quality	High-quality and more trusted by users.	Good for quick traffic, but users may not always be highly engaged.
Credibility & Trust	Viewed as more trustworthy and unbiased.	Some users skip ads, so trust level may be lower.
Click-Through Rate	Often higher for top results due to trust and relevance.	Can be high with good targeting, but varies depending on ad quality.
Longevity	Long-term visibility with consistent SEO.	Short-term – visibility ends when the budget is spent.
Control	Less control – depends on how search engines rank your content.	Full control – choose your keywords, audience, and how much you spend.
Targeting Options	Based on keyword relevance and content quality.	Advanced targeting by location, age, device, time, and more.
Analytics & Data	Offers data on organic traffic and search behavior.	Detailed insights like clicks, conversions, and cost per click.
Scalability	Grows with ongoing SEO work; takes time to scale.	Easily scalable by increasing budget or adjusting settings.
Strategy Type	Best for long-term growth and authority.	Best for fast results and short-term campaigns.
Affected by Algorithms	Rankings can change due to search engine updates.	Less affected by SEO algorithms, but ad platform rules still apply.

How to Measure Organic and Paid Search Results on Google?

Measuring paid and organic search results on Google involves analyzing how often your website appears in both paid text ads and organic search results. Google Ads provides reporting tools to track your ads’ performance, such as how often your ads appear and which keywords trigger these impressions. The Paid and Organic Report is a predefined report in your Google Ads account that shows you both your organic search results and the performance of your paid ads.

By using the Paid and Organic Report, you can better understand:

How paid ads and organic search results work together to attract customers.
Which search terms trigger organic results and paid ads.
The overall effectiveness of your online presence, in terms of views and clicks.

How to Use the Organic and Paid Report?

To use the Paid and Organic Report, you first need to link your Google Ads account with Google Search Console. Google Search Console is a free tool from Google that provides insights into how your website appears in search results. Once the accounts are linked, you can view the paid and organic search results side by side in your Google Ads account. The Paid and Organic Report only tracks the performance of text ads, not Shopping ads or click-to-download ads.

The following are three key ways you can use the report:

1. Discover Additional Keywords

Use the report to find search queries where your site only appears in organic results but not in paid ads. These queries can reveal new, valuable keywords for your Google Ads campaigns. You can filter for queries with zero ad impressions (i.e., where you didn’t run ads) to identify keywords with potential.

2. Optimize Presence on High-Value Queries

Use the report to find important queries where your site shows up in organic search results, but your paid ads are missing or not performing well. Target these queries with ads to strengthen your paid search presence and increase your visibility.

3. Measure Changes

As you make changes to your website or ads, the Paid & Organic Report helps you measure how these changes impact both paid ads and organic results. For example, you can see how adjusting your keyword bids or improving your website’s content affects overall clicks and traffic from both organic and paid sources.

Note: This report only includes text ad data, not Shopping or app download ads.

Key Metrics in the Google Paid and Organic Report

The following are the key metrics in the Organic Search vs Paid Search Report, divided by category:

Ads (Paid Search Metrics)

Ad Clicks: Number of times users clicked on your Google text ads.
Ad Impressions: How often your ads were shown on the search page.
Ad CTR (Click-Through Rate): Percentage (%) of ad views that turned into clicks.
Ad Avg. CPC (Cost-Per-Click): Average cost you paid per ad click.

Organic (Organic Search Metrics)

Organic Clicks: Clicks on your website’s unpaid listings from search results.
Organic Queries: Number of searches that displayed your site.
Organic Clicks/Query: How often users clicked your organic listing per query.
Organic Listings/Query: Average number of times your site appeared per search.

Combined Ads and Organic

Ads and Organic Clicks: Total number of clicks on either ads or organic results.
Ads and Organic Queries: Searches that triggered either your ad or organic result.
Ads and Organic Clicks/Query: Total clicks (ads + organic) per search query.

Important Point: You can also add extra columns to view data by keyword, ad group, or campaign to better analyze performance.

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Organic Search vs Paid Search FAQs

What is the difference between organic search and paid search?

Organic search involves unpaid listings based on SEO efforts, while paid search includes ads that businesses pay for to appear in search results.

What is paid search in marketing?

Paid search is a form of digital advertising where businesses pay for their ads to appear in search engine results when users search for relevant keywords.

What is the difference between Adwords and organic search?

AdWords (now Google Ads) is a paid search advertising platform where businesses bid on keywords, while organic search relies on SEO to appear in unpaid search results.

Is SEO the same as organic search?

Yes, SEO (Search Engine Optimization) refers to optimizing a website to appear in organic search results, aiming for higher visibility without paying for ads.