As a small business owner, you are looking to expand your online customer base, so in the initial stage, you may be questioning yourself as to which option is more useful for you:
As we all know, SEO and PPC both provide traffic and sales to your website; however, one strategy is unique from the other. There are pros and cons to both strategies, so we can not directly find which is better. We have to go through in detail to understand what is suitable for your business.
First, you have to understand that Search Engine Optimisation -SEO
Search Engine Optimisation is a process where we try to generate organic traffic. In this process, first, we focus on keyword research, which means you have to be clear on which keyword you are focusing on. After confirming our keyword goal, we have to go through 4 types of processes in SEO.
On-page SEO (or on-site SEO) refers to all strategies you utilise to optimise your own website through optimisation to help search engines understand your content and rank it higher in results. It is different from off-page SEO as it is based on external signals, like backlinks.
Off-page SEO encompasses all the activities that you do away from your website to help improve its rankings in search engines. It's mostly about establishing the reputation, trust, and authority of your website as a valuable and trustworthy source to search engines.
Technical SEO encompasses those behind-the-scenes optimisations to your website and server that enable search engines to better crawl, index, and rank your site. Technical SEO is a consideration of speed, mobile-friendliness, security, and getting those search engine bots a map to understanding your site.
Local SEO is the process of optimizing your online presence so that you show up in a search result when someone is looking for a service or product within a specific geographical area.
In other words, it helps you to be discovered by local customers when they look for businesses "near me" or within your city/town.
| Pros | Cons |
| Free clicks after ranking | 3-6 months (or longer) before you'll see results |
| Creates trust and authoritY | Ongoing work/updating content |
| Builds long-term, sustainable growth | Competitive niches can be a challenge to rank in. |
PPC or Pay-Per-Click is the online advertising model where the advertiser will pay a fee per click for their ad.PPC campaigns allow you to buy visits to your site through advertising rather than having a visitor to your site come naturally (like in SEO).PPC ads can appear on platforms like Google, Bing, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.
See what others are searching for (e.g., “digital marketing course in Delhi”) or target specific audiences based on demographics, interests, or behaviors.
If the user searches or has an audience targeting that triggers your ad, the platform runs an auction
Your ad is displayed in search results, or websites that visitors are using, on social media feeds, or apps
You pay per click (in most PPC models)
Cost per click (CPC) is dependent on competition, keywords, plus other advertiser factors.
Track the results:
| Pros | Cons |
Immediate visibility - ads appear as soon as the campaign is created | Costly, especially for competitive keyw |
Highly targeted (where it shows, keywords, day parting, demographics) | Traffic comes to a halt the moment you Stop advertising or go over budget. |
| Great for testing new products or services | As an advertiser, you must always be actively managing the account, or it can be a waste of money |
SEO is a great option if:
1. You Want Long-Term, Sustainable Growth
SEO is a wonderful option for people thinking long-term. Once you rank well in Google, you can count on getting consistent "free" traffic month after month without paying for every click.
2. You're on a Tight Budget
Many small businesses have limited marketing budgets. While SEO requires time and effort to implement, it doesn't require you to spend money on ads every month. If you're willing to put sweat equity into blogging, optimising pages, and other SEO tasks, it can be very cost-effective.
3. Your Customers Search Online for What You Have to Offer
If people are searching on Google for your product or service (e.g., "wedding photographer in Dallas" or "eco-friendly cleaning products"), you should be using SEO to show up where they are looking.
4. You Want to Build Trust and Authority
People trust organic results more than ads. If you show up high in the search engine results page (SERP), people are more likely to take you seriously and see you as credible. Positioning yourself in front of customers through search engine optimisation is another way to build your brand reputation.
5. You are Not in Super-Urgent Need of Results
SEO takes time (3-6 months or more, depending on the industry). If you can wait a bit for the results (which are well worth it), this is a good option for you.
1. You Want Quick Results
While SEO (using Google search results) will establish traction over time, the minute you hit launch, your PPC ads (i.e., use Google Ads) will start performing the minute they launch. If you want leads or sales now, PPC is the fastest way to gain targeted traffic.
For example, if you're launching a new product or having a weekend sale? Your visibility will rise quickly with PPC.
2. You Have a Time-Sensitive Offer
Flash sales, seasonal sales, events, and limited-time services—PPC would help. You control when the ads are running with PPC—you only pay while your campaign is running.
3. You Want Targeting Specific Customers
PPC platforms (Google Ads, Facebook Ads, etc.) allow you to target customers using:
This allows you to be laser-precise in who sees your ads, which minimises wasted spend.
4. You Are Launching a New Business or Product
If you are launching a brand new business and nobody knows who you are, SEO is going to take longer for you to gain traction. You can use PPC to help jump-start your business and get in front of your perfect customers faster.
The best method is ultimately to evaluate what your budgets, goals, and time frames are and choose a method accordingly.
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