You’ve undoubtedly asked yourself: Which is better for small, local businesses? SEO or ads? But the truth is “it’s all about timing.” Sometimes, getting hyperfocused on search engine optimization (SEO) over search ads (Google Ads, PPC) will deliver the results you’re looking for. In other cases, search ads can get you where you want to be faster. Don’t underestimate them.

Knowing when to optimize and when to pay comes down to the pros and cons of each search marketing approach. In this article, we’ll look at how Google search is changing, the strengths and weaknesses of pay-per-click search ads vs. local SEO, and how you can maximize the benefits of both on a local small business budget.

Google Search Trends You Need to Know

Over 90% of all search traffic now goes through Google, and it manages 5.6 billion searches a day. Yet nearly 91% of websites get no traffic through Google because they’re invisible in search results. Without some form of search marketing, most local businesses remain hidden. When a local person searches Google for a provider of the local service you offer, they won’t even see you as an option. It’s like you don’t exist.

With this realization, spending on search advertising continues to climb, nearly tripling from 2020 to 2022. 

Yet, given the expense of search advertising, many companies are asking: is SEO or ads better? And they’re deciding that they need both to compete. That’s leading to some related Google search trends making that possible:

• Local SEO. Local businesses like yours are increasing their visibility in local searches with Google Business, Google Maps, local organic search results, etc. By narrowing their reach to close proximity customers, they cut costs and connect with their most likely customers—locals.
• Machine learning and automation. You’ll also see a movement towards more machine learning and marketing automation software as it relates to Google search. These work together to help your business maximize your ROI on ALL search marketing by automating many repetitive and tedious tasks, delivering a more consistent and enjoyable customer experience, and learning what works best for your local company.
• A/B testing and optimization. Split testing search ads and landing pages to maximize performance and ROI are growing in popularity.
• First-party data – Small businesses are relying less on third-party data and increasingly obsolete cookies to tell them what’s trending in their industry or with their customers. You could be collecting and using your own, more relevant data by deploying marketing analytics software instead.
• Targeting the buying journey. Google search marketers are acknowledging that would-be customers go through stages before becoming a customer. Would-be customers need to see the right message at the right time in the right place to continue their journey with you. Being relevant the moment someone sees you is as important as— if not more important than—being seen in the first place.

Pros + Cons of Local SEO

Local SEO is critical for local businesses, like lawyers, pet spas, physical therapy, repair shops, and veterinarians. It helps you reach people who are likely to be your customers because they are in the area. You can precisely target people in your local community with the right message along their buying journey. 

SEO is also less expensive than search ads in the long run, with a higher ROI. And local SEO is much less expensive than SEO that isn’t hyperlocal.

Through local SEO, you’ll appear on Google Maps and Google Business reviews when people search for a business like yours in the area. More or less, this amounts to being “recommended by Google”. Yes, that’s kind of a big deal. 

But it doesn’t happen automatically. Having good visibility in local searches not only drives high-quality local traffic to your website. It also acts as an instant trust builder. 

As a general rule, search traffic is also more stable. As long as you’re playing by Google’s rules, it’s relatively easy to stay on top once you achieve top spots. That is, as long as you use SEO marketing tools to track and monitor performance to make adjustments. SEO requires ongoing maintenance, but pay attention to it, and it will continue to deliver high-quality, high-converting traffic to your website.

On the downside, it can take longer to see results with local SEO vs. search ads. And SEO doesn’t work if you don’t have methods in place to drive initial traffic to your website. You do have to stay up-to-date and adapt as the Google algorithm changes, or you will lose your visibility.

SEO may sound like a clear winner. But is SEO or ads better? We’ll need to see how search advertising compares to find out. 

Pros + Cons of Search Advertising

Search Advertising can deliver almost instant traffic from the search results. Like local SEO, target locally to improve the quality of that traffic. Your ad text and landing page can reach people with the right message at the right time based on where they are in the buying journey.

Search advertising also beats SEO in the speed with which you can test and optimize. SEO on its own is slow and steady. It takes longer to see if you’re doing it right. On the other hand, because search advertising delivers instant results, you can A/B test to optimize and quickly identify fixable leaks in your funnel based on Google searcher actions like these:

• Don’t click the ad
• Click but back out
• Leave the landing page without taking the desired action

As for the cons, search advertising is expensive. You’re paying for every click and, in some local service industries like real estate or insurance, one click can cost nearly $20. If you rely too heavily on paid search, your customer acquisition costs (CAC) will go up over time instead of down.

Additionally, because you get instant visibility, you can waste a lot of money in the blink of an eye if you’re not tracking performance, quickly learning from your mistakes, and optimizing. We suggest you start small, track performance, optimize, then expand.

So is SEO or ads better? It appears we have to ask, “better at what?” SEO is better in some areas when search advertising stinks and vice versa. That’s why they work so well together.

SEO and Search Advertising Work Better As a Team

Both help you dominate search, and they complement each other. One is fast but can get expensive in the long run if you don’t have a plan to reduce those costs and increase customer lifetime value (LTV). The other takes some time to get moving but delivers a much higher ROI in the long term. When you bring these two together, you’ll get much better results than either one can alone. Let’s look at some of the times SEO OR ads will deliver better results.

Use Search Advertising to Test Ideas

Apply the quick performance feedback from search advertising to improve your ad campaigns and SEO. It’s like hitting two birds with one stone, amplifying the effectiveness of both without double work. Use search ads to test landing pages, messaging, target audiences, and more.

Take what you learn over to the SEO side, where it would have taken weeks or months to know if these vital marketing elements were off. Your SEO now gains traction faster because paid search ads allow you to learn from your mistakes in real-time.

Launch Retargeting Ads to Guide People Back to Your Site

Whether someone visited your site through the organic search results thanks to SEO or an ad, retargeting guides them back into the buying journey they abandoned. Generate a higher conversion rate and more local customers with this strategy.

Increase Revenues Faster with Ads

Most local businesses can’t wait six to 18 months to see a return on investment from SEO. Even if ads cost more, you see value in generating brand awareness and revenues in the short term. Now, you have money to invest in longer-term, higher ROI strategies like SEO.

Leverage SEO to Increase Profits

As you become more visible in local searches, you’ll become less dependent on search ads to drive traffic. Your customer acquisition costs go down while your ROI goes up.

Build Awareness and Trust in the Community with SEO

Your online presence can impact how people see you in real life. Local businesses with good local search visibility appear more stable and established. You’ll be top of mind and the first business someone sees when they’re looking for local service providers. 

Leverage this trust to generate more leads and encourage word of mouth to increase your customer base and customer lifetime value (LTV).

An All-In-One Platform Helps You Do It All

You may be wondering how you could possibly manage both SEO and search ads. Maybe you’re already struggling to keep up with just one of them. That’s where having the right tools comes in. An all-in-one platform can help you manage your whole search presence from one place. Are you curious about what’s possible when local SEO and search ads join forces? Get a demo of our intelligence marketing software.