Is SEO better or performance marketing?
SEO or Google Ads? Choosing between SEO and PPC services are a bit like deciding whether to rent or buy a Car — choosing between ads and seo or both options have their advantages, but the real magic happens when you find the right balance to create lasting value in seo and google ads for your business.
The conversation around SEO versus Google Ads PPC isn’t a battle where one side wins outright. It’s not so much about asking “which one is superior?” but rather “how can we effectively use each of them or how to use both to achieve the best results?”
For a digital marketing agency ;like ours, who focus on both PPC and SEO Strategy; in order to maximizing ROI for our clients, it’s all about grasping how these two powerful tools can work together to foster sustainable and profitable growth for our clients, whether they’re in the service industry, running e-commerce shops, or serving local service to local communities.
Main Difference Between SEO and Paid Advertising?
When it comes to attracting visitors, the main distinction between SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and PPC (Pay-Per-Click) is pretty clear.
SEO is all about drawing in organic traffic by fine-tuning your website for search engines like Google. It’s focused on boosting your rankings through quality content, strategic keywords, technical improvements, and building backlinks.
Once you achieve a good ranking, the traffic flows in without you having to pay for each click.
On the other hand, PPC, such as Google Ads (formerly AdWords), operates on a paid advertising model where you bid on keywords to secure a top spot in search results.
You incur a cost every time someone clicks on your ad, which gives you immediate visibility but comes with a continuous expense.
Should I Run SEO or PPC ?
Keep in mind that comparing SEO vs PPC, we also need a Strategic Comparison for either we are marketing the Service based business Or selling products online, Which is covered in this article.
The short answer is: both strategies shine when used together; however, as every business has different goals and demands, accordingly they have different approaches.
- Leverage PPC for quick leads, testing out offers, and achieving short-term wins.
- Turn to SEO for sustainable growth, building credibility, and attracting free organic traffic.
The best choice really hinges on your goals — but blending both approaches can supercharge your results.
Choose Google Ads Over SEO if
For target users with high commercial intent who need a solution right now and they do not care about the specific brand, if they were looking for a specific company they would search their brand name (exp, “SEO services Carpoweb”).
- Clearance or Overstock Sales
- Seasonal Services (like snow removal)
- Onetime Seasonal or Limited-Time Products
- Promotional Bundles or Flash Offers
- Test Products or Trial Services
- Discontinued or End-of-Line Stock
If you need more information about PPC read this article : Ultimate guide to Google ads cost per click
Choose SEO Over Google ads if
If you play big and have a long time and permanent experimentation, SEO makes your website an industry leader. for other search intent like researching or choosing a trustworthy professional for a long time business deals, your potential customers may search for multiple topics around your topics, they would search for the process, pricing, benefits, disadvantages, tips and so on to make their best decision before pay or purchase, what if they see your brand covering all their needs in google organic first links?
- You have a business that is permanently
- You have your own online shop and selling products of your own brand
- For High-Competition and High-Intent Services keywords
- Local Service Areas You Permanently Serve
- Signature or Specialty Services You’re Known For
- Content That Attracts Ongoing Organic Traffic
If you need more information SEO time-line read this article : how long does seo take?
SEO Without PPC?
Diving headfirst into SEO without incorporating PPC is like committing to a marathon when you could also sprint. Sure, SEO is fantastic for building lasting traffic, but it often takes months to see any real results.
Meanwhile, you’re missing out on the opportunity to attract visitors who are ready to convert and to gather valuable insights about the market.
Why You Should Consider PPC Alongside SEO:
It gives you instant visibility on Google
- It helps you confirm your keyword choices and gauge market interest with AB testing.
- It generates leads right away while your SEO efforts are still gaining traction
- It allows you to experiment with messaging and target audiences before you scale up
Why You Should Consider SEO beside PPC:
Running PPC without a solid SEO foundation is like trying to rent traffic without ever really owning it. The moment you hit pause on your budget, those paid ads disappear, leaving you with no lasting visibility. If you’re not ranking organically, you’re missing out on long-term, cost-effective growth and the kind of authority that earns your audience’s trust.
Why You Need Both SEO and PPC:
SEO enhances PPC by making your landing pages more relevant and improving your Quality Score so it significantly helps you to reduce google ads average cost per click and return of investment in the long run. Let’s compare Google Ads and SEO through the lens of services and products, offering a nuanced strategy for each.
SEO vs Google ads for Local Services:
seo or google ads could target different keywords, hence different areas in your customer journey, when your ads appear at the top, capturing urgent demand and near your business location, this is ideal for quick lead generation and validating market interest for a new offering or emergency or promotions you would provide seasonally.
However; SEO builds lasting credibility for your service-based business by creating valuable content around common problems your service would solve (e.g., “signs you need a new roof,” “benefits of professional financial planning”), you attract users in the research phase or through your top of marketing funnel.
PPC vs SEO for ecommerce websites:
Shopping Ads, in particular, are highly effective for e-commerce, showcasing product images, prices, and reviews directly in the search results.
whether they’re tangible items or digital offerings like software as a service (SaaS) like apps you’ve downloaded on your phone or computer, launching new products or running seasonal promotions (think “latest smartphone deals in Canada,” “winter tire sale in Richmond Hill,” or “75% off yearly subscriptions on Canada Day”) makes pay-per-click (PPC) advertising incredibly valuable.
SEO focuses on creating comprehensive product pages, category pages, and blog content that answers common questions (e.g., “how to choose the right running shoes,” “best laptops for students”).
This captures organic traffic from users at various stages of their buying journey, from initial research to comparison, positioning your products as the ideal solution.
It allows you to place your products right in front of buyers who are actively searching for them, which can lead to immediate sales and help clear out your inventory.
Cost Of Investment For Google Ads vs SEO
When it comes to the costs of Google Ads versus SEO, there are some key differences to consider:
With Google Ads (PPC), you’re paying for each click and the price can vary based on your industry, how much competition there is, and your bidding strategy.
It’s a straightforward expense where you can set a daily or monthly budget, but keep in mind, once you stop funding it, the traffic stops too.
On the other hand, SEO requires you to invest in optimizing your website and this includes expenses for SEO or company invoices for creating content, technical SEO work, and building backlinks.
These costs can be upfront or ongoing (often as monthly retainers), but the great thing is that once your site starts ranking well, all the organic traffic becomes free.
To sum it up:
- Google Ad Investment = Pay for clicks, get immediate traffic, ongoing costs + PPC management
- SEO Investment = Pay for optimization, see delayed traffic, gain long-term value over time
What is the ROI of SEO vs PPC?
What’s the Difference in ROI Between SEO and PPC? That is the question that may get you somewhere. SEO and PPC each have their own way of delivering ROI, and they come with distinct benefits:
Let’s give an example for ROI of SEO compared to PPC (digits are all unreal): Imagine you’re putting $3,000 monthly into Google Ads and another monthly $3,000 into SEO with a trusted digital marketing agency during 5 years.
With Google Ads, you’re spending that $3,000 to bring in about lets say 2,500 visitors each month, which nets you a profit of around $5,000. It’s a reliable and predictable system — but the returns are directly linked to your budget.
with SEO, you might shell out $18,000 over six months and not see much of a return at the beginning, However, after a year, once your pages start ranking on Google, that same investment could potentially bring in X3 to X10 times more traffic than your ads — think about 7,500 to 25,000 visitors each month — all without increasing your spending.
Even if your conversion rate remains the same, your profits will grow alongside the traffic. And the cherry on top? You don’t pay per click. As your authority builds, you’ll attract more traffic (and profit) without needing to up your budget.
- SEO ROI = A slow start, but it leads to long-term exponential growth with compounding returns.
- PPC ROI = Quick traffic with a fixed return based on your budget.
Is SEO more important than ads?
NO, paying for ads won’t elevate your position in Google’s organic results, but running Google Ads can attract targeted traffic, enhance your brand visibility, and provide you with valuable real-time insights into keyword performance and user behaviuor.
Do SEO impact on PPC?
Yes, a clear on-page seo for target landing page and solving technical issues like mobile friendliness and page load speed can reduce your cost of advertising as they are calculated in google bidding factors.
Does Google Ads increase SEO?
Are Google Ads a boost for SEO? or lets not limit it to google ads only, It’s a question many business owners ponder, Do paid ads help SEO?
The quick answer is that a big NO as google only only counts the organic traffic that it shows to people buying its own algorithm, not the traffic which is sponsored or referred. On the other hand SEO significantly impacts the cost per click in google adwords.
While Google Ads won’t directly enhance your organic search rankings, they can definitely affect the amount of sales directly and build a brand recall for your SEO efforts in some pretty impactful ways.
These insights are gold when it comes to fine-tuning your SEO strategy, improving your website content, and effectively targeting those high-converting keywords.