It’s not everyday you hear that things may actually be better than they look, but in the case of organic SEO, this may actually be true. A recent study by BrightEdge reported that the majority of websites studied within its Data Cube data set showed organic traffic was the largest source of traffic over paid search and social media.
Is it possible that the organic channel is bringing more traffic to your site than you previously thought? With so much focus on paid search and social media, it’s no surprise that many marketers overlook the importance of simple organic traffic and the impact it can have. Let’s take a closer look at the BrightEdge study and what it may mean for your brand.
BrightEdge analyzed the following sectors:
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Business Services
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Hospitality
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Media and Entertainment
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Retail
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Technology
Within each sector, the data showed that the organic channel was the main driver of traffic. The percentage of traffic coming from this channel varied greatly among the sectors, however, with business service showing the most gain. Paid search also varied by industry, with retail showing the most traffic from this channel. Media and entertainment benefitted most from paid search. Social traffic was minute compared to the other channels across sectors.
BrightEdge reports that 51% of website traffic comes from organic search and that over 40% of revenue is captured by organic traffic. It is worth noting, though, that when examining the ratio of traffic to revenue, the paid channel does carry more weight in delivering business results, especially for the media and entertainment industry.
What does all of this mean for your business? Organic traffic still matters. Paid search and social media are getting all the attention these days, and marketers can’t help but put their time and money into these channels. The fact is that your site still sees plenty of organic traffic – probably more than you think – and so you must still rely on the traditional organic channel to supply your brand with quality leads.
