These days, many of you will have heard the term SEO, or website promotion. But what exactly is it, and how is it done? And is it better to go for Google Ads or SEO?
Which is better, SEO or Google Ads?
There is no absolutely better or worse choice between SEO and Google Ads. When competition in the organic results is low, SEO can be more efficient. When competition is high, Google Ads can be the more cost-effective option for immediate visibility and results.
Decision matrix: SEO or Google Ads, which suits you?
Below is a detailed comparison of the two channels across 8 criteria. Read it with your business’s stage and goals in mind.
| Criterion | SEO | Google Ads |
|---|---|---|
| Time to results | 3–9 months | From day 1 |
| Cost | Fixed monthly | Per-click, scaling |
| How long results last | Long-term (compound) | Stops with the budget |
| User trust | High (organic) | Lower (paid) |
| Conversion Rate | 2–4% | 3–6% |
| CPA (long-term) | Cheap | Consistently higher |
| Best ROI in 12 months | 3–8x | 2–4x |
| Ideal for | Authority, content brands | Promotions, lead gen |
Article contents
What is search engine promotion?
These days, everyone believes the internet is a way to grow their sales and reach a wider audience, and in part they are right. The problem is that a beautiful, fast, functional and modern website will not bring you any income on its own. For your website to bring in revenue, you need to advertise it. There are many ways to advertise, for example:
- by listing your website on business cards and leaflets,
- by listing it on product search engines such as Skroutz (Greece’s largest price-comparison site), if it is an e-shop
- with SEO services through search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo
- through advertising on Facebook and Instagram (Meta) or on social media in general
- by advertising on Google Ads
There are of course other ways to advertise, but these are the most common.
The one we are interested in here is search engine advertising. Search engine advertising is done
- either by promoting the website so it climbs the organic results
- or by paying Google (Google Ads)
Promoting a website in the organic results
Promotion in the organic results is usually done by specialists or companies online. Nobody can promise that you will always hold the best position on Google, or that they will get you to first place, because Google keeps changing its algorithm and adding new variables. Some of the variables in Google’s algorithm are:
- links from other websites (the more relevant the website that links to you, the “better” that link is for you).
- the quantity and quality of your website’s content, that is, how much text your website has and how relevant that text is to your business.
- how your website is built, that is, whether its developer built it properly with heading tags, descriptions and titles.
- what the descriptions, titles and tags contain, that is, whether they include keywords relevant to your website.
- whether your website loads quickly.
- whether it uses responsive design, that is, whether it works well on tablets and mobile phones.
- Social media presence. A website with no connection to social media stands no chance in SEO.
- Google has also announced that using HTTPS is a ranking factor.
There are many other factors, but these are the most important ones, and having listed them, we come to the next question.
Click to read an article that explains in more detail how you can succeed with SEO, or website promotion, and how to rank first on Google
How much does organic search promotion cost?
Of course, there is no answer like “100 euros” or “1,000 euros”, because every case is different, depending on the demand for the keywords someone wants to rank for and how long-tail they are (for example, it costs a great deal to rank a website for “website development”, and much less to rank it for “website development Kavala”).
This method takes a long time, and a position in Google’s rankings is never, ever guaranteed (the first page perhaps, the first position never, unless you invest a very large amount). As we tell our clients, remember that what you want, plenty of others want too. The work can be done, but that work costs money.
In Greece, promotion is usually done on Google’s search engine, which has the largest share of visitors. If you are targeting markets abroad, though, you need to check which search engines people use there, which increases the cost.
If you want to promote your website in search engines, you need to be ready to write quality content that is properly structured for search engines. Besides quality, search engines also “ask for” long-form text, which means your articles need quantity as well as quality.
With organic search, you can target keywords and climb the rankings for them over a long period, more than 2 months, depending on the competition.
That brings us to the other solution Google offers, for broader and faster keyword targeting.
Google Ads information
Google Ads costs from €0.30 CPC for e-commerce to €25+ in competitive industries. For a full cost breakdown, read How Much Google Advertising Costs →. To understand how it works, see the complete Google Ads guide →.
But let’s be clear about one thing with Google Ads, because everyone thinks they are enough on their own
So which should I choose, SEO or Google Ads?
Whatever you do will be pointless if you do it short-term and without a specific plan. You need to organise a plan, and the best approach is to have both Google Ads and reasonably good organic results. For example, say we are a company that makes handmade products and sells them through our e-shop. From the start of the year, we should plan what we will promote each season: in summer, hats and items related to holidays and the sea; at Easter and Christmas, small gifts or seasonal items, and so on. To support this, we can write seasonal articles on our blog, for example “10+1 Easter gift ideas”, and link them to our products.
That way, customers could first discover our business through the article and then, with the help of ads, go on to buy.
When to use both: a hybrid strategy
In most cases (≥80% of businesses), the right answer is to use SEO and Google Ads together. Here are 4 scenarios for combining them:
Scenario 1: New business (0–12 months)
70% Google Ads + 30% SEO. Immediate revenue from ads, while you build your SEO foundation in parallel. Google Ads gives you data on which keywords convert, and those become your SEO targets.
Scenario 2: Established business with slow SEO (12+ months)
50% / 50%. Your SEO already has authority, and Google Ads covers the gaps and the competitive keywords you do not rank for yet.
Scenario 3: Strong organic, profitable (24+ months)
30% Google Ads + 70% SEO. Google Ads only for brand defence, seasonal pushes and new products.
Scenario 4: E-commerce with a large catalogue
Performance Max + long-tail SEO. Google Shopping/PMax for immediate sales, SEO for informational keywords that bring top-of-funnel traffic.
Conclusion: the question to ask is “in what proportion?”
Can I do SEO and Google Ads on the same website?
It is a good idea to do both SEO and Google Ads on the same website, and it is probably the most effective approach. You use Google Ads on the pages where they perform well, and invest in SEO on the pages where it brings results.
What is the advantage of SEO over Google Ads?
SEO is a long-term strategy that can bring significant, steady and lasting traffic to your website. With Google Ads, traffic comes with a fixed monthly cost for a certain number of visits, while organic traffic from SEO is free, apart from the time or money you invest. Remember that SEO takes ongoing effort and time to deliver results.
What are the advantages of Google Ads over SEO?
With Google Ads, your brand gets immediate visibility, and you can target specific keywords or demographics. The flexibility they offer lets you adjust your campaign in real time, optimising results for the best possible performance.
How quickly does SEO bring results compared with Google Ads?
Google Ads: immediately, with clicks and visits from the first day of the campaign. SEO: 3–9 months for medium keywords, 6–18 months for competitive keywords. This is the biggest difference: Google Ads = fast, controlled return. SEO = compounding long-term growth that builds assets for years.
Which costs more, SEO or Google Ads?
In the short term, Google Ads looks cheaper because you pay per click. In the long term, SEO is more cost-effective. Example: €12,000/year on Google Ads = ~5,000–8,000 clicks (depending on CPC). €12,000/year on SEO = clicks that keep coming for years, even after you stop. SEO is an “asset” that grows in value; Google Ads is an “expense”.
Can I start without Google Ads?
Yes, if you have a 6–9 month content runway and patience. No, if you need sales right away. Recommended hybrid for start-ups: 70% of the budget on Google Ads for immediate revenue + 30% on SEO for long-term assets, gradually shifting to 50/50 or 30/70 (uphill SEO) as authority builds
Does one affect the other?
Not negatively. Google has made it clear that Google Ads do NOT help organic rankings; you cannot “buy your way to the top”. However, Google Ads can give you valuable data: the keywords that convert in PPC are candidates for SEO targeting. Also, appearing in both organic and paid results at the same time increases click-through rate.
Here is a strategy that can help if you have invested in SEO and are not seeing sales in your e-shop, or are getting very few enquiries through your website
Final thoughts
There is no magic formula where you pay once and never have to think about promoting your website again. Promotion is an ongoing process that needs a plan and effort.
Here are also 2 videos about the leaked documents on how Google ranks websites.
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