Google Ads vs Google SEO
If you are looking to advertise online, then chances are you are considering either Google SEO, Google Ads or both. Certain lead generation strategies are quick wins, and some are long term investments. As a general rule, long term investments tend to be more profitable as the marketing becomes less costly over time, where quick wins tends to hit the wallet harder but can produce instant results.
Google SEO
Google SEO typically requires around 6 months to a years worth of work, but then without on-going maintenance for years moving forward. That has been my experience. It may need a top up down the track, or if a website drastically changes, but by default it typically does well for years without needing any extra work. There are no on-going costs after the initial amount of work needed, however SEO work may take from 6 to 12 months because desired results are reached. It is a patience game, which often doesn’t suit a business that needs quick results. Traffic which comes as a result of a high organic Google position feeds back into your Google position and therefore it’s easier to stay up the top then it is to get to the top. According to statistics 70% to 80% of users completely ignore paid advertisements, choosing to only click on organic search results (source: smamarketing.net). This definitely doesn’t mean that Google Ads doesn’t get results, because it does!, it just means that websites with a high organic Google SEO ranking have a bigger slice of the pie.
Google Ads
With Google Ads, you can be on page 12 and then once your Ads are launched you can instantly be in position #1. This is great as it can provide instant results. The upside and downside is that it’s cost per click, meaning you only pay when someone clicks, however as soon as you remove your budget, you are back to page 11. Meaning you haven’t built into something organic and long term that you can enjoy for years moving forward. Google Ads is a guarantee of clicks, where Google SEO does come with a level of risk as there are no guarantees.
It depends..
Your unique situation will determine whether Google SEO, Google Ads or a combination of both with serve you best at this stage in your business journey. We would love to have a chat with you to understand your business further so that we can create a scenario that will serve you best right now.
