Insights · Paid traffic · PPC and SEO
PPC vs SEO: which should your business invest in first?
By Ray A, Head of Marketing and Strategy
Published · Updated · 4 minute read
The short answer
Start with PPC if you need enquiries this month: Google Ads can produce leads within days. Start with SEO if you can wait three to six months and want a lower cost per lead over time. Most UK service businesses do best with both, using Google Ads for enquiries now and its data to choose which searches to rank for.
This is one of the questions we are asked most: should we spend our budget on PPC or SEO? Getting it wrong means either waiting months for results you need now, or paying for every click on traffic you could be earning for free. The right answer depends on how quickly you need enquiries, how competitive your market is and how long you plan to keep investing.
What is the difference between PPC and SEO?
PPC (pay per click), usually Google Ads, puts your business at the top of Google straight away. You pay for every click, and when you stop paying, the traffic stops. SEO (search engine optimisation) builds your position in the unpaid results over time. You do not pay per click, but it takes months to work and needs ongoing investment in your website, content and reputation.
Put simply, PPC rents visibility and SEO builds it.
| PPC (Google Ads) | SEO | |
|---|---|---|
| Speed | Enquiries within days | Rankings in three to six months, steady enquiries in six to twelve |
| Cost | You pay for every click | You invest in pages, content and links, not clicks |
| When you stop | Traffic stops | Rankings fade slowly |
| Control | Choose the searches, areas and hours | Google decides what ranks |
| Best for | Enquiries now, testing offers | Lower cost per lead over time |
When should you start with PPC?
- You need enquiries now: a new business, a new service or a quiet month to fill.
- Your market is competitive and ranking organically will take a year or more.
- You want to test which services, searches and offers bring in clients before investing in content.
- Each client is valuable enough that a predictable cost per lead pays easily, as it does for most solicitors, advisers and clinics.
The biggest advantages of PPC are speed and control. You know exactly what each enquiry costs, and you can scale up or down in a day.
When should you start with SEO?
- You already have enquiries from other sources and can wait three to six months.
- Your searches have steady demand but manageable competition, such as a specialist service in a particular town.
- You want to reduce your long-term cost per lead.
- You are building a business to last and want an asset that keeps working.
The smart approach: do both, in the right order
For most UK service businesses, the best plan is to start with Google Ads and build SEO alongside it from the first or second month. Google Ads brings in enquiries and revenue while SEO grows in the background. As organic rankings improve, you rely less on paid clicks and your average cost per lead falls.
The two channels also make each other better. Google Ads shows you, within weeks, which searches actually turn into clients, so your SEO effort goes into ranking for those. Good, relevant service pages built for SEO also make better landing pages, which can improve your Google Ads Quality Score and lower what you pay per click.
What about AI search?
More people now ask ChatGPT or read Google’s AI Overviews before they choose a business. The same clear, well-structured pages that help you rank also help AI tools describe and recommend you, so a modern SEO plan should include AI search from the start.
About the author
Ray A, Head of Marketing and Strategy. Ray leads marketing across Lead Gems. He sets the strategy behind every client account, from the offer to the channels, and oversees every campaign so it wins clients, not clicks.
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