Is Organic Search Better than Paid Search in 2020? Find Out!

For most Internet users, Google is the go-to search engine when it’s time to answer life’s toughest question: What’s for dinner?

Google will line up list after list of the best and most-reviewed restaurants. And they implement both organic and paid search.

Organic search

Whenever you ask Google a question, a list of a thousand pages appears right below the ads. These are called “organic results,” and they appear in rank based on the quality of the website’s content.

Among marketers, organic traffic is considered the most valuable traffic source because:

• Even though there are several search engines out there, Google is the leading and most trusted source by online users.
• When you rank in the top 5 of Google searches, that means you have high-quality content.
• It takes time to improve your ranking, but once you’re at the top, you’ll enjoy the benefits of your hard work for a long time.
• The top 10 results on the first page of Google get 92% of all search traffic. 
• The first link in Google receives 33% of search traffic.

There was a time when ranking on Google was as easy as A-B-C. The competition was low and writing a few articles here, and there was enough.

Now that many businesses own a website and have a good grasp of how SEO works, the World Wide Web is now oversaturated with information. Pair this fact with Google cracking down on websites that stuff their content with keywords.

Don’t get discouraged, though. Instead, let this inspire you to work harder on creating high-quality content. SEO plays a significant role when it comes to lead generation, and online users are more inclined to rely on finding things organically.

Paid search

This, on the other hand, is all about users clicking an ad or sponsored listing a brand paid for to appear at the top of the results page.

Even though it clearly says “Ads,” these paid results fit perfectly and less noticeable. 

In recent years, this strategy has grown in popularity and is more competitive. Paid search lets you skip the wait of your SEO to gain momentum. Your page appears instantly on Google.

Google AdWords is the leading pay-per-click (PPC) ad program. Around 70% of Google’s profits come from AdWords. Businesses bid on keywords for their ads to appear on Google’s results page. You only pay when a user clicks your ad.

So, is organic search more preferable than paid ones? It takes about half a year to see the fruits of your organic search strategy, but paid ads provides results immediately.

If you’re measuring their pros and cons, talk it out with your team and define your strategy, timeline, and budget.

Looking for instant results? Paying for ads is the way to go. Want a more cost-effective strategy? Go organic! Have the time and money to try both? Then make organic and paid search work for your business.

Need help understanding what suits your business’ needs better? We have your back. Send us a message, and we’ll talk about how we can guide you in the right direction.