When people refer to “organic SEO” (search engine optimization), they almost always use it as a blanket term to describe the unpaid, algorithm-driven results of any particular engine. However, a sophisticated search engine optimization company will often take the meaning of “organic” one step further. To such companies, the description of “organic SEO” is not limited to what shows up in the “natural” search engine results – it includes the methodologies used to achieve such rankings.

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Organic SEO
When people refer to “organic SEO” (search engine optimization), they almost
always use it as a blanket term to describe the unpaid, algorithm-driven results of any
particular engine. However, a sophisticated search engine optimization company will
often take the meaning of “organic” one step further. To such companies, the
description of “organic SEO” is not limited to what shows up in the “natural” search
engine results – it includes the methodologies used to achieve such rankings.
A search engine optimization company usually falls into one of two camps. A “White
Hat” search engine optimization company will use a largely content-based approach
and will not violate the terms of service of the major search engines. A “Black Hat”
search engine optimization company will use a largely technology driven approach
and often ignore the terms of service. Neither approach is invalid (as I have said
many times before, there is nothing illegal about violating a search engine’s terms of
service), and both can achieve high rankings. But a search engine optimization
company that takes the word “organic” literally believes that the “Black Hat”
approach is anything but “organic SEO.”

2. There’s an “old” saying in the SEO industry that “content is king.” This is not
necessarily true. In my experience, good content is king. Study after study has shown
that when people use search engines, they are primarily seeking one thing:
information. They are not seeking to be impressed by fancy flash sites. They are not
looking for a virtual piece of art. A search engine optimization company that is truly
practicing “organic SEO” recognizes this fact and will refuse SEO work when
prospects insist that content addition is not an option. “Artificial SEO” firms, which
embrace a technical loophole philosophy, will allow a company to leave its website
exactly as it is, because the work that such firms do is by and large technical and is
designed to trick the engine into showing content that it would not otherwise.
Certainly, there are acceptable (from the engine’s standpoint) technical aspects that
any good search engine optimization company will use, such as relevant page titles
and meta tags. But there are many more unacceptable technical methodologies than
acceptable ones, including cloaking, redirects, multiple sites, keyphrase stuffing,
hidden links, and numerous others. A company practicing “organic SEO” will avoid
these.
As any search engine optimization company knows, inbound links are critical to the
success of an “organic SEO” campaign. But there are different ways to go about it.
Firms that practice true “organic SEO” will look at the website itself and say “how
can we make this site something that other sites would want to link to?” A search
engine optimization company using “artificial SEO” will ask “how can I get links
pointing to this site without adding anything of value to it?” The latter approach
usually leads to reciprocal linking schemes, link farms, the purchase of text links, and
more – anything save for making changes to the website that entice others to link to
the site without the link being reciprocated, without paying the website owner, or
without asking “pretty please.”

3. There is a stark contrast between “organic SEO” and “artificial SEO.” Of course, any
decent search engine optimization company will make certain that a site is listed in
all the popular directories, such as the Yahoo Directory, the Open Directory Project,
and Business.com. A good search engine optimization company will also continually
seek any industry specific directories where your site should be listed. But truly using
“organic SEO” means evolving your site into something that holds actual value to
your prospects. In my opinion, this is much more beneficial in the long run than the
artificial methodology of trying to garner incoming links that the site does not truly
deserve.
Search Engine Optimization
Search engines change algorithms frequently, and for two reasons. One is,
of course, to improve their results based upon their most recent user
studies. The other, which is obviously related, is to remove sites that are
ranked artificially high. Such updates raise panic in the SEO community –
particularly among “artificial SEO” practitioners who have just discovered
that their most recent and cherished trick no longer works (and may have
gotten their clients’ sites removed from the engines altogether). It is not
uncommon on the search engine forums to see the owner of such a search
engine optimization company threatening to “sue Google” over a recent
update. Not uncommon, but always amusing.
There is, with only a few exceptions, a common denominator in the
websites that remain highly ranked throughout these algorithm shifts. They
offer something of value to their visitors and are considered a resource for
their industry. “Organic SEO” practitioners generally do not have to worry
about going back and redoing work because of an algorithm shift. While
an “artificial” search engine optimization company desperately tries to re-
attain the rankings it lost for its clients (or to get the sites re-included in the
search engine at all) because it was dependent on technical loopholes that
have now been closed, “organic SEO” firms continue adding valuable
content to a site, strengthening its value and bolstering its rankings.

4. A common argument from companies when advised by “organic SEO”
practitioners to take this approach is “we aren’t trying to provide a
resource for our industry – we are trying to sell products or services.” This
is, in my opinion, shortsighted. Remember, you are trying to reach
prospects in all stages of the buying cycle, not just the low hanging fruit
ready to buy now. Let your website be their resource to learn about your
industry, rather than your overpaid salesperson. Prospects are very likely to
call you when they are ready to buy – after all, you’ve done so much for
them already!
In addition, taking advantage of “organic SEO” to make your website an
industry resource provides a tremendous natural boost to your rankings for
your individual product or service pages. This means that with “organic
SEO“, you’ll get the best of both worlds. You’ll reach people early in the
buying cycle, educate them, and steer them toward your solution by using
your website instead of your sales personnel. You will also reach the low
hanging fruit because your individual product or service pages, which are
intended for people who are ready to buy now, will get a significant
rankings boost.
Organic SEO Firms
Search engines conduct very expensive and frequent studies on what their users want
to see when they enter search queries. Obviously, no company has a more vested
interest in serving up the type of results that their users want than the engines
themselves. “Organic SEO” firms will take the “piggyback” approach. A search
engine optimization company that uses “organic SEO” will try to learn what the
results of these studies were by examining the sites that figure prominently in search
engine results over long periods of time. In this way, the search engine optimization
company is using “organic SEO” to make the website not only better for search
engines, but also for the user- presumably, the engine’s internal research has shown

5. that these sites have what their users have consistently desired, study after study.
“Artificial SEO” practitioners have no real interest in these studies- they are instead
expending a great deal of energy finding the next technical loophole to exploit after
their most recent one has failed.
The latter approach can make results erratic, but it also raises a larger issue – the goal
of the campaign. If an “artificial” search engine optimization company finds a
temporary loophole in an algorithm that brings your site to the top, but does not take
the time to delve into the user experience once a user gets to the site, it will defeat the
original purpose. You may get plenty of visitors, but a large percentage of these will
be short-term visitors who do not find what they want on your site and back out
without a second thought. The search engine optimization company did not
“piggyback” on the engines’ research to learn what type of content users wanted to
see when they entered their query.
A search engine optimization company that takes a true “organic SEO” approach will
actually take the Merriam Webster definition literally. A good website does have the
characteristics of an organism and does develop in the manner of a living plant or
animal. It builds upon itself. It learns how it should behave for its own benefit. Most
importantly, it establishes its territory at the top of the search engine results. And as
the organism thrives, artificial machine after machine fades into obsolescence.

6. that these sites have what their users have consistently desired, study after study.
“Artificial SEO” practitioners have no real interest in these studies- they are instead
expending a great deal of energy finding the next technical loophole to exploit after
their most recent one has failed.
The latter approach can make results erratic, but it also raises a larger issue – the goal
of the campaign. If an “artificial” search engine optimization company finds a
temporary loophole in an algorithm that brings your site to the top, but does not take
the time to delve into the user experience once a user gets to the site, it will defeat the
original purpose. You may get plenty of visitors, but a large percentage of these will
be short-term visitors who do not find what they want on your site and back out
without a second thought. The search engine optimization company did not
“piggyback” on the engines’ research to learn what type of content users wanted to
see when they entered their query.
A search engine optimization company that takes a true “organic SEO” approach will
actually take the Merriam Webster definition literally. A good website does have the
characteristics of an organism and does develop in the manner of a living plant or
animal. It builds upon itself. It learns how it should behave for its own benefit. Most
importantly, it establishes its territory at the top of the search engine results. And as
the organism thrives, artificial machine after machine fades into obsolescence.