Marketing Dictionary
Organic Search Results
Definition
The listings on a search engine results page (SERP) that appear because of their relevance to the search terms, as opposed to being advertisements.
Deep Dive
Organic search results are the listings on a search engine results page (SERP) that appear purely because of their relevance to the search terms entered by a user, as determined by the search engine's complex algorithms, rather than being paid advertisements. These results are inherently trusted by users, as they are perceived as impartial endorsements of valuable and authoritative content. Appearing prominently in organic results is a primary goal of Search Engine Optimization (SEO), as it drives sustained, high-quality, and often cost-effective traffic to a website.
Examples & Use Cases
- 1A search for "best vegan recipes" showing top-ranked food blogs and recipe sites
- 2A local business appearing in the "map pack" and subsequent organic listings for "plumbers near me"
- 3Wikipedia entries or authoritative news articles appearing for searches on historical events
Related Terms
SEO (Search Engine Optimization)SERP (Search Engine Results Page)Keywords