When it comes to growing your business online, two marketing channels dominate the conversation: Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Google Ads. Both have the power to get your business in front of potential customers, but they work in fundamentally different ways.
At Major Fluke, we get the question a lot, “Should we invest in SEO or Google Ads?” The answer is a little more nuanced.
In fact, it’s a lot like comparing a grocery budget to a retirement plan. One feeds you today, the other sets you up for the future you to eat as well. You need both to stay healthy and grow long-term.
In this post, we’ll break down SEO vs Google Ads, highlight the benefits of SEO and paid advertising, and explain how Local Service Ads (LSAs) fit into the mix.
SEO: Your Long-Term Investment Strategy
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of improving your website’s content, structure, and visibility so it appears organically in search engine results.
Unlike ads, you don’t pay for each click—your content earns its place in rankings.
Benefits of SEO
- Long-Term ROI: Once your content ranks, it can bring in leads and traffic for months or even years without additional cost.
- Trust & Credibility: Users trust organic search results more than paid ads. A high-ranking page is often seen as more authoritative.
- Passive Traffic: You’re not paying for each visitor. Once optimized, your content continues to generate traffic organically.
- Compounds Over Time: The more high-quality content and backlinks you build, the stronger your domain authority becomes.
Challenges of SEO
- Slow Momentum: SEO takes time. You might not see results for 3–6 months (or longer in competitive markets).
- Algorithm Updates: Google’s algorithms change frequently, so rankings aren’t guaranteed forever.
- Ongoing Effort: SEO requires consistent publishing, optimization, and technical maintenance.
If you’re wondering where to put your efforts, First Page Sage put together an amazing study on the different SEO ranking factors.
Source: First Page Sage
A whopping 23% of effort should be spent (or the largest contributing factor to SEO success) comes from consistently publishing content.
Other things most people think about, like keywords in title tags (14%), mobile friendliness (5%) and page speed (3%) combined don’t make up as much of the pie!
Think about that as you plan your strategy going forward.
SEO = Your Retirement Plan
Like a 401(k), SEO builds value over time. You put in the work now to reap the rewards later. It’s a long game, but the compounding benefits can be massive.
Google Ads: Immediate Visibility with a Price Tag
Google Ads (formerly AdWords) is a pay-per-click (PPC) platform that displays your ads above organic search results. You bid on keywords and only pay when someone clicks on your ad.
Benefits of Paid Advertising
- Instant Results: Your ad can be live and bringing in traffic the same day you launch it.
- Broad Reach: You can target users across all stages of the customer journey—from awareness to conversion.
- Highly Customizable: Adjust keywords, bidding, ad copy, and audience targeting in real time.
- Advanced Tracking: Google Ads offers detailed metrics like conversions, click-through rates, and cost-per-click.
- Retargeting Capabilities: Stay in front of users who have previously visited your site with dynamic ads.
Drawbacks of Google Ads
- You Pay for Every Click: Whether the click leads to a customer or not, your budget takes a hit.
- High Competition = High Cost: Popular keywords in competitive industries can be very expensive.
- Complex Campaign Management: Campaigns require ongoing optimization, split testing, and management to be effective.
Google Ads = Your Grocery Budget
You pay for what you get—each day, each click, each visitor.
Like buying groceries, it’s essential if you want to stay active in your market right now, but it’s not something you can rely on forever without a budget.
Local Service Ads (LSAs): The Middle Ground
Local Service Ads are a relatively new addition to Google’s advertising ecosystem, specifically designed for service-area businesses like plumbers, real estate agents, roofers, solar installers, dentists and lawyers.
Unlike Google Ads, LSAs charge per lead, not per click, and appear at the very top of search results—above both traditional ads and organic listings.
Benefits of Local Service Ads
- Pay Per Lead: You’re only charged when a customer contacts you, which often feels more cost-effective.
- Google Guaranteed Badge: Builds instant credibility with potential customers by showing you’re vetted by Google.
- Prime Placement: LSAs show up above all other results, giving you top visibility.
- Highly Localized: Google matches your ad with users based on service area and intent.
Limitations of LSAs
- Limited Customization: You can’t tweak ad copy or keyword targeting as granularly as with Google Ads.
- Lead Quality Varies: Some leads may not be qualified or ready to buy.
- Less Reporting: You get fewer insights compared to traditional Google Ads, which can limit long-term optimization.
️ LSAs = The Meal Kit Subscription
You’re paying for a curated experience: limited flexibility, but reliable delivery.
LSAs are a plug-and-play solution for local lead generation—but you’re still on Google’s platform, still paying to play.
SEO vs Google Ads: What Should You Choose?
Let’s compare the three options side-by-side based on key factors:
| Factor | SEO | Google Ads | Local Service Ads |
| Cost Model | Free traffic (after investment) | Pay per click | Pay per lead |
| Time to Results | Slow (3–6 months) | Instant | Instant |
| Control Over Messaging | Full | Full | Limited |
| Visibility | Middle to bottom of search results | Above organic | Above ads & organic |
| Lead Quality | High (intent-based) | Varies based on campaign quality | Varies based on bidding strategy |
| Long-Term ROI | High | Lower without ongoing spend | Medium |
| Best For | Sustainable growth | Immediate traffic | Local lead generation |
Why the Best Strategy is Using Both
At Major Fluke, we never recommend choosing between SEO and paid ads strategy as an either/or. Here’s why:
- Use Google Ads or LSAs to generate leads immediately, especially when launching a new business or campaign.
- Invest in SEO simultaneously to build long-term traffic, reduce dependency on ad spend, and increase trust.
- Paid traffic provides insights (via conversion tracking and search terms) that can inform your SEO strategy.
- SEO increases the performance of your paid campaigns by improving site speed, user experience, and landing page quality scores.
SEO is your investment strategy. Paid ads are your monthly income. You need both to stay in the game and plan for growth.
Final Thoughts: Don’t Rent Your Growth Forever
The biggest downside of relying solely on paid advertising? You’re renting visibility. Stop paying, and the traffic disappears overnight.
That’s why it’s so important to build a sustainable SEO strategy while running your Google Ads or Local Service Ads.
Paid ads help you eat today. SEO sets you up for a future where you’re not paying Google forever.
Looking to balance your short-term traffic with long-term growth? Let’s talk strategy. At Major Fluke, we help businesses use SEO and paid media together to scale smart and sustainably.
