Organic vs. Paid Marketing: What Are the Differences?

Both organic marketing and paid marketing can improve online visibility. But they rely on different tactics to do so.

Organic marketing uses non-paid marketing tactics to reach an online audience. On the other hand, paid marketing requires you to spend money to promote your brand or message.

Both of these tactics have their place in a digital marketing strategy. And they may be even more effective when used together.

Let’s explore the differences between organic and paid marketing—and how using both can grow your visibility in the long and short term.

What Is Organic Marketing?

Organic marketing is the process of using non-paid marketing tactics to improve online visibility.

These tactics involve publishing content across different channels and optimizing it so it naturally reaches your target audience.

In most organic marketing channels, if you create valuable content users can discover on their own, you can reach them without paying for ads.

Here’s an example of an organic social media post on Semrush’s Instagram channel:

The type of content you create varies by channel.

Examples of organic marketing efforts include:

• Search engine optimization (SEO): Blog posts, ebooks, and other content discoverable by search engines like Google
• Video marketing: Videos published to platforms like YouTube are often discoverable via search both in search engines and on the platforms themselves
• Social media: Unpaid social media posts across Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and other...