%201.svg)
A visitor who is visiting your website for the first time through search results and is initiating a new session is referred to as an organic new user. Most search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc. use tracking snippets to identify a new user with the help of cookies.
Google tracking snippet uses cookies to identify new and returning website visitors. If a new visitor's cookie is absent, Google will segment them as new users. If a returning visitors' cookie is present, Google will segment them as returning users.
How does Google identify an organic new user?
Google tracking snippet assigns a ‘Client ID’ to every new website visitor. The client ID is a combination of a unique serial number and the first timestamp.
Each new website visitor, including organic visitors, is assigned a client ID. However, there could be instances when the same visitor who is assigned a unique client ID could be counted more than once as a new user.
Instances when the same visitor could be counted more than once as an organic new user when they originate through a SERP:
- The user could be using a different device/browser to visit the website if you have not implemented cross-device tracking
- They could have cleared their cookies since the last website visit
- The user could have previously visited your website through a paid result previously and followed it with an organic search result
Since double-counting the same visitor as multiple new users could distort your traffic analysis, it is necessary to unify the tracking process. You can achieve such a unified view of new/returning visitors as a single user with cross-device tracking in GA.
Read more - A quick intro to cross-device tracking in GA and how it works.
What if organic new users are increasing?
Although this is a good sign and a reassurance that your content keyword and content strategy are working, a close look could help unearth more insights.
Also, analysis would also help identify whether the increase is organic in nature or is triggered by any bot attacks.
Once you are certain that organic new users are on the rise, try to identify the exact reason that led to the surge.
- Did any keyword gain ranking?
- Has the session duration for any content improved after a recent refresh?
- Has there been a change in search intent that has made previously published content relevant?
These are some questions you can ask yourself to identify the reason for the increase in organic new users.
How to deal with declining organic new users?
Like with any other metric, organic new user metric is also prone to fluctuation. When the dip in organic traffic users is significant and beyond the known threshold, follow these pointers:
- Revisit your keyword and content strategy to ensure that it meets searcher’s intent
- Identify organic keywords/landing pages/content that has lost their ranking
- Refresh the content to signal Google about the freshness of the content
- Ensure on-page optimization is done correctly and that no vital checkpoints have been missed or changed
How to sustain and improve the organic new user metric?
These pointers can help in sustaining and improve your organic new user traffic over a period of time.
- Publish high-quality content that addresses target audience pain points on a regular basis
- Ensure that the relevancy and ‘freshness’ of existing content are maintained on a timely basis
- Ramp up on content distribution through external sources to maximize content discoverability
- Ensure that the content strategy is aligned to the content funnel’s structure - Awareness, Interest, Desire, and Action.
Are new users and organic users one and the same?
Long answer, short: No. They are different from each other based on their origin. An organic new user is certain to have originated from an organic SERP. Whereas, a new user could originate from a paid result as well.
Organic users are the result of SEO, content marketing, and social marketing efforts. Whereas, new users could land on your website as a result of paid marketing efforts like search engine marketing, display marketing, etc.
The need for tracking organic new users
Organic new users are the direct metric that helps in measuring the efficiency of your content marketing and SEO efforts. It is well known that organic traffic brings visitors to your website without incurring expenses for paid ads and that acquiring organic traffic does not involve expending money directly. With the organic new users metric, you can determine whether your website visitors find the content on your website to be valuable, informative, or helpful in solving their problems.
Engaged organic website visitors have a high chance of becoming leads who might convert into paying customers down the line. This creates the necessity to track organic new users on a regular basis.
Tracking organic new users also helps identify whether your website is good enough to attract new prospects or keeps welcoming repeat visitors. Since new visitors maximize the chances of winning new leads, it is essential
How to track organic new users in Universal Analytics?
Google Analytics offers a straightforward way to observe your website traffic by sources and user segment. To analyze organic new users, follow these steps:
Head to Acquisition -> All Traffic -> Channels
How to track organic new user in Google Analytics 4?
To measure the organic new users in Google Analytics 4, you can go to Google Analytics 4 and then go to reports. From there, click on acquisition overview under acquisition. You should now see a report called New Users.
