Advantages of SEO over Paid Ads (Google Ads...)

In a previous post I mentioned the benefits of Google Ads over SEO, but it isn't all one sided. Below are some of the advantages that SEO has over Google Ads.

1) Long Term Investment - Improvements that are made to SEO are a long term investment and even though some can revert over time, it will benefit your website long after they are made.

2) SEO can lower the cost of Google Ads - top placement in Google Ads is not solely based on the highest bidder. Google utilizes other factors like "landing page quality", so SEO can lower the cost and increase efficiency of your Google Ads Campaigns.

3) When leads are hard to track - While their are some methods to do so, it can be difficult to track leads in certain Industries (service, brick and mortar). An efficient Google Ads campaigns, which is paying per click, relies on conversion data. With SEO, where you are not paying per click, that is less of a concern.

4) Websites with a lower average purchase amount - If your average customer spends $20 in your eCommerce store, and you are paying $1 per click on AdWords, you aren't going to have a tough time making money.

Some quick math - assume a 5% conversion rate (higher than average, but for arguments sake) that means it takes 20 clicks to get one customer, each customer costs $20 to acquire, so your net is 0, and that is before considering cost of goods sold and operations cost.

With SEO, you are not paying per click, and even though SEO is an investment, you can make up for the low average purchase price with volume.

(there are some tricks to employ on products like this with Google Ads, but another topic for another post).

In summary, SEO as well as Google Ads each have their own distinct benefits. A proper Digital Marketing Strategy, should review your particular business, and consider how much resources to allocate for each.

Reach out to O2 Consulting for to implement a Digital Marketing Strategy tailored to your business