Which is better – investing in SEO or Google Ads? While it might seem like a very simple question, there is no such thing as a simple answer. In fact, according to a recent report based on just over 1,000 marketing professionals and business owners whose both organic and paid search tactics the results were nearly tied.
More than three quarters said both were effective, however, if forced to pick just one, 36% lean towards SEO and 64% opt for Google Ads. Some of the criteria each of the approaches were based included effectiveness, benefits, importance, simplicity and cost. However, it should also be noted that a separate survey found that only 30% of Small Business Owners had an SEO strategy. When done well, the cost of SEO and using Google Ads are typically about the same if you have to hire an agency to perform the SEO and a writer to develop all your content each week.
So, when it comes to choosing to focus on SEO or Google ads, how do you determine where to put your efforts? The short answer is most businesses should be implementing both strategies. Each strategy has advantages and disadvantages over the other. But assuming you only have the resources to pursue one strategy first, let’s take a few minutes to compare and contrast the two.