We get this question a lot, “What ‘s the better way to promote our website: SEO or Google Ads?”
Both SEO and Google Ads have their advantages and disadvantages. Both require investments and time, but each has differences in the costs required.
Google Ads lets you to show up in Google’s Search Engine Results page (or, as us nerds call it, SERPs) tomorrow, as long as you’re willing to pay to be at the top of page one
SEO focuses mainly on optimizing your website for Google, so you show up on page one of the organic results. And as you might know for how you probably search, the majority of people click the organic search results.
In this article, we’ll go over how Google Ads and SEO work, the pros and cons of each, and recommendations of which is best for you. So let’s dive in and find out what is better.
How Google Ads Work
Every business wants to be on the first page of Google when prospects search for their products or services. For example, if you sell Dingleberries, when people search for “Dingleberries near me” you want to be one of the top results that pops up. Google Ads benefits include being able to appear at the top of a page one, but there’s 2 main costs involved:
- Having a professional manage your Google Ads placements, and
- Paying the cost-per-click each time someone clicks your link.
Once you designate the cost-per-click, you pick a monetary limit per day and the days and hours your ads will appear.
The benefit of online advertising is that your business can quickly rank as a top search result IF you have a good website AND a high enough bid.
Each time a person clicks your ad, you pay Google a certain amount. Bids, or Cost Per Click (CPC), can ranges from $0.50 to $50 depending on the competitiveness of your industry. as well as other factors. Learn more about Google Ads here.
Getting organic search results is what SEO refers to. This means search results that are not paid for. Even paying for ads, Google still uses its algorithm to serve people the best content, no matter what. So having better ads and content will always show up higher that websites with less relevant content and ads.
Benefits of Google Ads
- Get in top 5 website results or get shown at top of the first page
- Can specify local targeting by zip code or around your business
- Can set hours you wish to show for certain keywords or phrases
- Drive customers to a specific landing page
- Track conversions or leads
- Create custom Remarketing lists to show display ads to
Disadvantages of Google Ads
- Not a long-term solution
- Costly over time vs SEO
- Can only use 1 website or domain per account
- Ads show up labeled “Sponsored” in Google search
- Can take time to find the best keywords to use
How SEO Works
If you are looking for a long-term solution then SEO might be the best option for you. SEO involves doing backend website work so Google gives you higher organic rankings over time. This process involves content creation, optimizing your website, establishing goals, and tracking progress over time.
Watch this video we created that walks you through what goes into optimizing each page for SEO.
SEO involves improving your website to increase traffic and optimize site conversions. A conversion is an action someone takes to complete one of your goals. This can range from staying on your site for a certain amount of time, clicking a certain link, playing a video, adding an item to their cart, or making a purchase.
A site with great SEO will load fast, have great content, be easy to understand and navigate, and very helpful to your customers. Great SEO also includes items that you cannot see that developers or professionals work on behind-the-scenes to get your Google rankings higher. Some of the advantages of SEO include the following:
Benefits of SEO
- Great long-term solution for higher Google ranking
- Get organic traffic which leads to lower abandonment rates
- Do not have to pay for clicks
- Higher trust rate for customers vs ads
- Google and search engines love optimized sites
- You can spend more time with friends when you implement good SEO
Example of an SEO search result which does not have the word “Sponsored” above it:
Disadvantages of SEO
- Can take 3 to 6 months (or much more depending on how serious you are with it) of work to see ranking improvements
- Ongoing effort required to keep higher rankings
- You will not see immediate results or returns unlike Google Ads
- Requires long-term investment and time (either your time or an SEO professional’s time)
So which is better, SEO or Google Ads? The simple answer is: it depends. Check out this flow chart as a guide.
See larger version of this flow chart here.
Google Ads is better for quick, top of the page results and SEO is better for long-term Google ranking. If budget is more of a concern and time is not then SEO is better. If you want to be at the top of the first-page search result like next week then Google Ads is better for you. If you’re serious about posting on your website, the best strategy is to do both, as they work together very well.
In the beginning, you can focus more on Google Ads to get top of page results quickly, then, as your SEO ranking improves you can lower your Google Ads budget accordingly.
By now, you have a good understanding of what SEO is and how it differs from running a Google Ads campaign. Using both, you won’t have holes in your online search strategy.
This article is a join effort between us and a business partner we work with, KowAbundant, a Google Ads and SEO Management firm in Columbus.
To talk about how we can help with your specific scenario, contact us to start a conversation.
To learn more about KowAbundant, check out their website here.