Website traffic is an indispensable factor for a brand looking to grow on the internet. The quality of your content and the design of your website are of little use if you can’t attract visitors. Gaining relevance and authority is straightforward as more users visit your website.
Both organic traffic and paid traffic are excellent alternatives for attracting more visitors. When talking about website traffic, it’s impossible not to open a debate about which strategy is the best. Each one focuses on different aspects, but they simultaneously pursue the same goal: becoming visible to your future users.
For that reason, we explain what each type of traffic consists of and how to increase traffic to your website. Furthermore, we present how you can combine them to improve website statistics, boost your results, and grow exponentially.
Understanding Organic and Paid Traffic
When we talk about organic traffic or organic SEO, we refer to visits generated without paid advertising. These are natural visits coming from search engines. The creation of a content strategy is the cornerstone of this approach. Growth is gradual, but you gain qualified visitors interested in your products or services.
On the other hand, paid traffic makes your website more visible through advertising payments. You can create advertising campaigns on social networks or search engines. This strategy allows you to target the audience you want to direct your campaigns to. This way, you’ll get more immediate results and increase website traffic.
Using one or the other type of traffic depends on your goals. Organic traffic is more focused on brand positioning. Professionals combine SEO strategies with creating original content on resources such as blogs and videos.
Paid traffic is more aimed at closing sales. Marketing agencies use sales funnels to send prospects to a landing page. Paying for ads is a cost-effective strategy, but it depends on your budget and marketing plan.
Benefits of a Combined Approach
Now that you know the difference between organic and paid traffic, it’s time to discover the characteristics of each type of traffic. This way, you’ll know how to combine them and benefit from both.
Organic Traffic
Long-term strategy
SEO positioning offers very positive results, but you must be patient. Scaling positions in Google’s search pages is a time-consuming process. Patience is key to achieving your goals.
Requires high-quality content, understanding the audience, and keyword research
Creating high-value content is not easy. First, you need to understand the search intent of your audience. It’s essential to know how your prospects search and the terms associated with your niche.
Consistent growth in traffic, conversions, and return on investment (ROI)
Doing good SEO work on your website will contribute to increasing your return on investment. Marketing specialists rely on organic search engine optimization strategies to make a brand visible. Continuous optimization will help you achieve your set goals.
Establishes the company as a thought leader in the industry
Reputation is crucial on the internet. Organic positioning allows you to make yourself known to your future prospects. It also helps build your company as an authoritative figure.
Paid Traffic
Offers faster returns
Paid SEO campaigns or SEM allow your ads to be the first thing users see. By gaining greater visibility, you can reach your target audience quickly and easily.
Ideal for short-term promotions or product launches
Paid traffic provides almost immediate results because it has a broader reach. By getting qualified visits, it’s easier to direct traffic to the website.
When you set up a campaign, you ensure the visibility of your products in a short period.
Greater control over audience segmentation
In an SEM campaign, you can set criteria to locate your ideal customer. This way, you can connect with the right people at the right time and achieve greater campaign effectiveness.
The difference between organic and paid traffic lies in immediacy. On the other hand, the cost of a SEM campaign depends on its duration and cost per click (CPC) of the keyword to be positioned. Additionally, you’ll get precise metrics such as impressions, conversions, and the number of clicks to evaluate the success of your campaigns.
Organic Traffic Data and Statistics
Now that you understand the basics of organic traffic, if you still have doubts about the benefits and potential of this strategy, we’ll show you some data to consider.
Google’s Market Share
According to Statista, Google has a market share of 92.07%. Furthermore, Google processes an average of around 63,000 visits per second.
Difference in Traffic Between Organic Search and Social Organic Search
Organic traffic consists of users visiting your website through search engines. In contrast, organic social media searches occur when a prospect comes from social networks and is redirected to your website. Only 5% of visits come from social media.
Characteristics of Google Searches
Google searches depend on user needs. However, there are other characteristics important to the algorithm, such as:
- Search length
- Keywords
- Voice searches
- Search phrases
- Search uniqueness
Understanding the characteristics of Google searches is often complex because it depends on how the user expresses themselves. The algorithm can refine its results based on the user’s phrase composition.
Benefits of Maintaining a Blog to Increase Visitors, Inbound Links, and Indexed Pages
Blogging is one of the most effective strategies for creating an engaged audience. According to HubSpot, having blog websites is essential for the following reasons:
- A company with a blog receives 55% more website visits
- 97% of visitors are redirected from other links to your website
- Indexed pages generate an average of 434% more visits
- 67% of brands attract new customers through their blog
Data on Click-Through Rates (CTR) and Ranking in Organic Search Results
According to Backlinko, CTR varies depending on the ranking of the result on Google’s search page. For example, the first result has an average CTR of 31.7%, the second 24.7%, and the third 18.7%. Typically, when a user conducts an organic search, they don’t go beyond the second page of Google’s search results.
Featured Snippets and Content Reach
Evergreen content is the best for appearing in Google’s featured snippets. If Google can position your content in this VIP section, your page’s CTR can increase by 20 to 30%.
Statistics on Local Searches and Their Impact
According to Net Bull Social Media, 97% of users who performed a local search visited the consulted company.
Mobile Organic Traffic Statistics
Increasing ROI of Mobile Search in Ad Clicks and Conversions
According to data from Think with Google, 76% of mobile searches are related to visiting a store on the day of the query.
Predictions on Internet Access via Mobile Devices
According to Statista’s studies, 55.63% of internet traffic in 2023 comes from mobile devices.
Conversion Rates, CTR, and User Behavior on Mobile Devices
The behavior of mobile device users differs from computer users. Here are some characteristics that differentiate the two user groups:
- Most buyers search on mobile devices but make purchases from a computer
- The average time spent by a mobile user is 22 seconds
- Mobile phone queries decrease during working hours
Paid Traffic Statistics
Proportion of Traffic from Paid Search
10% of a website’s traffic comes from ads. According to Clutch, 63% of users are more likely to click on a Google ad.
Forecast of Digital Advertising Spending and Google’s Advertising Revenue
According to Google Ads statistics, a company that pays for paid traffic will have a 200% return on investment. In other words, it will earn two dollars for every dollar invested.
Data on Click-Through Rates (CTR), Cost per Click (CPC), Conversion Rates, and Profitability of Paid Search
45% of clicks on the page go to the top three CPC ads. Furthermore, Google has an average CTR of 3.17%.
Reach and Effectiveness of Google Display Networks and Facebook Ads
The average CTR for search and display ads is 1.9%.
Comparison Between Organic and Paid Traffic
Beyond the substantial differences between one type of traffic and another, both are necessary. SEO aims to generate trust in the prospect. It’s no coincidence that organic prospects have a conversion rate of 14.4%, while paid advertising prospects have an average of 1.7%.
Certainly, paid traffic offers much faster returns on investment than organic website traffic. It’s also true that you need a budget and proper campaign setup to get positive results.
Conclusion
Most marketing professionals feel more comfortable working on organic traffic positioning. However, the competition has stepped up its game; more and more companies are joining the paid traffic wave. This is because they aim to achieve immediate results.
In the end, both approaches are necessary and complementary. If you can combine them correctly, you’ll achieve amazing results. At New Discovery Agency, we understand all the challenges that may arise along the way. Contact us today for more information on how we can help with your website’s positioning.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is organic traffic?
It’s the traffic that naturally flows to a website. In other words, it doesn’t require paid advertising to position a piece of content, product, or service.
How soon can I see results in both organic and paid traffic?
Using proper SEO techniques, you can achieve favorable results in about 6 months. On the other hand, paid traffic provides almost immediate performance. Combining both approaches is always beneficial for enhancing results.