Using Combined SEO and Google Ads for your Small Business
All small businesses, especially in recent times, have to work hard to find new customers. Often SEO or Google Ads are the main marketing tools used by small business. As a result, we are often asked by which is better for small businesses. The answer is dependent on a number of factors.
These factors include how much you have to spend on your online marketing budget, how quickly you want results and how competitive your industry is. However, a good place to start is to highlight the differences between SEO and Google Ads.
1. SEO
Search engine optimisation’s (SEO) goal is to get your small business to rank on page one of Google for key terms that are relevant to your business and likely to result in sales. To use SEO you need lots of patience. This is especially true if you are in a competitive industry. This is because many of your competitors will be using similar strategies and if they have been doing SEO for a while they will have an edge over you. That’s why it can take months for strategies to work. That’s why you need to be committed to the long term and not pull out after a few months – as this will only waste money.
2. Google Ads
The quickest way to get people to your website is to use Google Ads. However, Google Ads can cost a lot of money. This is because every time someone clicks onto your website, Google charges you. If you campaign is not managed well, it could cost you a lot of money in a short space of time. Also, if your website is not ‘up to scratch – eg hard to navigate, is slow to load or looks out of date, you may get lots of people to your website but not get any sales.
3. Combined SEO and Google Ads Campaign
In the long term we always recommend SEO. This is because it is the most cost effective way to get people to your website and there is usually a higher conversion rate when people find you via SEO rather than Google. However, as it can take some time for SEO to start generating results, a lot of small businesses can’t rely on it alone.
That’s why we recommend that you run a Google Ads campaign alongside your SEO campaign. As your SEO position starts to improve, you can gradually decrease the amount you spend on Google Ads, until you are generating enough sales from SEO that you can stop Google Ads altogether.
Dynamic Websites specialise in small business web design. We are based in the Melbourne suburb of Hawthorn and provide services throughout Australia. We understand what it takes to get a small business online at an affordable price and with the minimum of fuss. Along with designing websites for small business, tradies and NDIS service providers we provide online marketing services. Our online marketing for small business extends to Google Ads, Google My Business, Microsoft Advertising, search engine optimisation (SEO), content writing and, blog writing.
