What is the difference between organic and sponsored results?

The short definition, also called paid and unpaid placement

Organic results are placed by the app's own ranking. Sponsored results are placed because a brand paid, and are usually marked with a tag such as Ad.

Part of the topic: Guide: the digital shelf audit

What organic and sponsored mean

When a shopper searches an app, the results list mixes two kinds of row. Organic rows earn their place through the app's ranking, which weighs relevance, sales, stock and other signals. Sponsored rows are bought, usually through an auction on the search term.

The tag is the only visible difference. Shoppers often do not notice it, which is why a sponsored row in the first position can behave much like an organic one.

How to count organic and sponsored rows

For each query, read the first rows at a fixed pin code and record two things per row: the brand, and whether the app tagged it as sponsored. Report organic position and sponsored position separately. Where an app gives no readable tag, say so rather than guessing.

A worked example, with invented numbers. For one query, a brand appears at rows 1 and 6. Row 1 is tagged Ad; row 6 is not. Its best organic position is 6 and its best paid position is 1. If the brand stopped paying, its first appearance would be row 6, below the first screen on most phones.

How it shows up on Indian apps

Quick-commerce apps place sponsored rows at the top of search and inside category pages, with a small label. Marketplaces do the same, often with more rows. The mix changes by pin code and through the day, as campaigns start, stop and run out of budget.

What a brand should check

• Your organic position on the queries you pay for.
• Whether you pay for rows you already hold organically.
• How rivals' paid rows move your organic position.

Common mistakes

• Reporting one blended rank that hides how much of it was paid.
• Guessing which rows were sponsored when the app gives no tag.
• Comparing rank read at different pin codes or hours.

Do not confuse with

• Share of search. Organic and sponsored describe how one result earned its place. Share of search counts how many of the top results a brand fills, and should say whether sponsored rows are included.