Organic Traffic in the Reference to Internet Means? | Digital Marketing & SEO

In the context of the internet, traffic refers to two things: 

First, there is “search engine traffic” which refers to the number of people who use a search engine such as Google or Bing. 

Second, there is “web traffic” which refers to the number of unique visitors that visit a particular website. 

There are many factors that influence search engine traffic and web visits; for example, one factor that influences search engine traffic is how often and how well a website ranks in result pages for different keyword searches.

The web visits generated by a website relate closely to its content and its prominence online.

to what does the term, traffic, refer to when used in conjunction with the internet?

Digital Marketing Glossary

Traffic: 

Web traffic, also known as website traffic, refers to the number of people visiting a website. 

For search engine optimization purposes, it is important for a website to have good web traffic because this increases its authority and popularity. 

All keywords that a potential visitor might use in conjunction with their search engine to find a particular website are called organic or natural keywords and they help determine web traffic as well. 

 Moreover, web visitors who find a useful webpage tend to click on external links on that page which increases web traffic for those external sites. 

 In the context of digital marketing, web visitors can be potential buyers or customers, and good web traffic is important for a website from a commercial standpoint. 

 Incidentally, sometimes the term traffic can be used to reference organic search engine traffic.

Search Engine Traffic: 

Search engine traffic refers to the number of people who use a search engine such as Google or Bing. 

In most cases, it is important for a website to have good search engine traffic because this increases its authority and popularity. 

All keywords that a potential visitor might use in conjunction with their search engine to find a certain website are called organic or natural keywords and they are very useful in determining search engine traffic.  

Moreover, if a person finds your webpage through the results of an internal link, they will generally click on external links on that page which increases web traffic for those external sites.  

In the context of digital marketing, search engine traffic can be potential buyers or customers, and good search engine traffic is important for a website from a commercial standpoint.  Incidentally, sometimes the term traffic can be used to refer to organic search engine traffic. 

 For example, if someone says that they have good search engine traffic on Google, they mean that their site is ranking well in Google’s index of web pages.  In turn, this means that people are actively searching for their website when using Google.

Organic Web Traffic:

 Organic web traffic is web traffic which originates from unpaid sources (e.g., social media sites such as Facebook) rather than paid sources (e.g., ads). 

Unlike paid or sponsored traffic, which is often generated by search engine optimization [SEO] or pay-per-click [PPC] campaigns, organic web traffic is generally earned from quality content and the popularity that follows.  

Organic web traffic is sometimes referred to as “natural web traffic” because it originates from real people who are using search engines on their own initiative and thus it does not require any manipulation of the traffic data to occur. 

 Since organic web traffic often leads to transactions, it is an important metric for many companies. In general, organic web traffic can be generated by content that is useful and interesting to a particular audience.

 If a company creates content that is relevant to its target market and gains a following, it will generally receive organic web traffic as a result.  

Moreover, if the content is shared on social media (e.g., Facebook) by members of the target market, it will generate even more organic web traffic.

 This article focuses on organic web traffic; however, it can sometimes be used interchangeably with “natural” or “earned” web traffic. 

In contrast, paid web traffic is traffic generated from ads or advertising campaigns which typically require the use of pay-per-click [PPC] ads in order to benefit financially from the traffic. This article will focus primarily on organic web traffic and how to determine it for website analysis.

Estimated Organic Web Traffic: 

To estimate organic web traffic for a website, you can use a variety of methods and the information provided in this article is intended as a guide only.

  To determine whether there is organic web traffic for a site, it is important to review all of the factors that affect web visits at both the site level as well as search engine level.

  Estimated organic web traffic is based on a number of factors, including but not limited to the following:

The first step in estimating organic web traffic for a website is to review its search engine traffic data.

Review Search Engine Traffic Data: 

 To determine whether a website receives search engine visits, you can review its search engine referral data.

 To view the referrer information for a site using Google Analytics, follow these steps:  

a) Sign into Google Analytics. 

b) Click Audience > Overview. 

c) Click the Referral Traffic tab.

 d) Scroll down and copy all of the relevant data (e.g., keywords, clicks).