As a followup to last week’s report that fewer searchers are clicking on paid ads, Hitwise has released a follow-up report showing that organic search referrals are on the rise.

“For the majority of categories measured at Hitwise, search is the top source of traffic referrals and the share has increased year-over-year,” writes Heather Dougherty.

According to the Hitwise chart below, only three of 15 categories saw fewer natural search referrals in April 2009 than they did in April 2008 — Government, Community, and News & Media.

The yellow-highlighted categories are ones that Hitwise says haven’t historically received much natural search traffic but are starting to this year.

Related Topics: Stats: Hitwise | Stats: Search Behavior

About The Author: Matt McGee is Search Engine Land's Executive News Editor, responsible for overseeing our daily news coverage. His news career includes time spent in TV, radio, and print journalism. His web career continues to include a small number of SEO and social media consulting clients, as well as regular speaking engagements at marketing events around the U.S. He blogs at Small Business Search Marketing and can be found on Twitter at @MattMcGee and/or on Google Plus. See more articles by Matt McGee