The real question
How much work do you have booked for the next eight weeks?
If the answer is enough, you can afford to build the asset. If it is not, you need enquiries now and search will not provide them.
Everything else follows from that.
What each actually gives you
Ads. Enquiries within days. Predictable, controllable, and they stop the day the spend stops. The cost per job tends to rise over time as more competitors bid.
SEO. Nothing for months, then enquiries at a falling cost per job that continue after you stop paying. Slower and cheaper in the long run.
Run ads now if
- You have capacity sitting idle this month
- Your season is starting in the next few weeks
- You are new, with no rankings and few reviews
- You are testing whether a service or area has demand
- Your job values are high enough to absorb a click cost comfortably
Wait for SEO if
- You have enough work booked to get through the next quarter
- Click costs in your trade are high relative to your job value
- You would have to fund ads by not building the asset
- Nobody can answer the phone during ad hours — in which case do not run ads at all
What has to be true before either
Someone answers the phone. Paid traffic into an unanswered phone is the single most expensive mistake in local marketing.
A page that matches. If the ad names a service and area, the page must name them in the first line.
Tracking, including calls. Without it you cannot tell what ads produced, and you will judge the channel by feel.
A complete Google Business Profile. Free, and it improves both.
If any of those is missing, that is the first spend, not the choice between channels.
The sequence that works
Most businesses should do both, in order:
- Profile and reviews — free
- Site that converts, with real service pages
- Ads, if work is needed now
- SEO building in parallel from day one
- Ad spend reducing as organic covers the same searches
The trap
Starting on ads because work was needed quickly, and still being on ads three years later at double the cost — because nobody set the SEO work running alongside.
If you run ads, start the search work at the same time. That is the whole discipline.
What it costs
BayouEdge builds cover the conversion and search side at $2,500 to $12,500 setup and $750 to $3,500 a month. Ad budget goes to Google from your own account and should never be blended into an agency invoice.
Frequently asked questions
How do I decide between ads and SEO?
Ask how much work you have booked for the next eight weeks. Enough means you can afford to build the asset. Not enough means you need enquiries now, and search will not provide them.
When should I not run ads at all?
When nobody can answer the phone during the hours the ads run. Paid traffic into an unanswered phone is the most expensive mistake in local marketing.
What must be in place before either?
Somebody answering the phone, a page matching what the ad or search promised, tracking that includes calls, and a complete Google Business Profile.
What is the common trap?
Starting ads because work was needed quickly and still being on ads three years later at double the cost, because nobody started the search work alongside.