What is meant by Organic Search Engine Optimisation?

Author: John Hughes

Date Published: 12 September 2007, 12:00

The Search Engine Optimisation process has many aspects. Some of these aspects affect rankings in sponsored results, such as Google Adwords, MIVA and Yahoo. These generally relate to 'bidding' or some kind of payment to appear. Others include aspects that describe a website by how many links it has, on what text is in the Content or other tangible measurements that might be used to describe its quality.

Organic search engine optimisation is concerned with the manipulation of these measures of quality in order to improve search engine rankings. Therefore, the search engines that rely on such measures of quality to rank websites, such as Google, are known as Organic Search engines.

'Organic' search engines as a metaphor?

Charles Darwin's 'Origin of Species' is credited with introducing the concept of 'survival of the fittest' to our understanding of the Natural World. In fact, Darwin was merely vocalising a school of thought that had been discussed in some scientific circles for years. However, the important thing about the survival of the fittest concept is that its application extends beyond the natural world into all aspects of modern society. A misconception of the term 'fittest' assumes Darwin meant 'strongest' where in fact, his arguments more suit an understanding that he meant 'most adaptable'. Evolution works because those that can adapt to a changing environment are more likely to survive.

Similarly, organic search engines can be considered 'environments' for websites to exist within. Those that are best suited rank well, those that are poorly suited do not.

Evolution of Search Engine Results

Many websites attempt to manipulate the quality measures of search engines like Google using techniques that misrepresent their real quality. For example, sites might use Link farms to misrepresent the number of inbound links that they have.

As a result Google, and other search engines, are constantly adapting their search algorithms to weed out such misrepresentation within their search results. Consequently, the way in which quality of a website is measured is constantly, but subtly, changing. Sometimes the changes are more blatant, and there is a subsequent sea-change in the search engine results pages as a consequence.

As a result of this, those websites that rely on a few specialised measures of quality, such as inbound links, constantly run a risk of the search algorithms altering in a way that undermines their SEO strategy. Such sites are specialists, and are not well-suited to such changes.

Alternatively, those websites that have a broad range of quality-based attributes are more likely to be only slightly affected by major algorithm changes.

Survival of the Most Search Engine Friendly

In summary, websites that put all of their eggs in one SEO technique may get good short-term benefits, but the strategy is a high-risk one that will not stand the pace of change. Those websites that take a more holistic approach will reap the benefits of a long and fruitful existence in search results, even though the Value For Effort in the short term might not be so lucrative.

Search Engines as Organic Environments

So, if we accept that search engines by their evolving nature must be causing websites to evolve in order to compete for the coveted top search engine positions, then it is possible to see why such process are given the name 'organic search engine optimisation.'

Creationist Search Engine Optimisation

Finally, in the interests of fairness, and possibly required by some States if our American counterparts' legal system is to interpreted that way, we are duty bound to say that the above description of the evolution of search engine indices is just a theory, and there are in existence other theories whereby search engine listings were all created on a fixed date 6,000 years or so ago based on an intelligent design.