Should you start with Google Ads or with SEO?

What is the difference between Google Ads and SEO?

Type “electrician in Uccle” into Google. The page first shows a few ads, marked with the word “Sponsored”. Then, most of the time, comes a map with three businesses, followed by the list of websites.

Google Ads puts you in the ads. Search engine optimisation, often called SEO, puts you on the map and in the list of websites. You will also come across the abbreviation SEA, which stands for search engine advertising, and Google Ads is part of it.

What should you start with in any case?

Start with your Google Business Profile, which is free. It is the box that shows your name, your opening hours, your photos and your reviews on Google and on Google Maps.

Google explains that the order of businesses on the map depends mainly on how relevant the profile is to the search, on distance and on how well known the business is. It adds that you cannot pay to gain a place there. You have no control over distance. The rest can be worked on, with a profile that is filled in completely and kept up to date, and a review requested from every satisfied customer.

When should you start with Google Ads?

Google Ads is the right place to start if you recognise yourself in one of these situations.

• Your business is just starting, or your website is new, and Google does not know you yet.
• You need enquiries this month.
• Your business is seasonal, and you want to be visible at a specific time of year.
• You want to know which searches bring in real customers before writing whole pages on the subject.

It is worth it on two conditions. You must be able to pay for clicks for a few weeks before judging the results, and someone must answer enquiries quickly. A paid click that ends up on voicemail is lost.

When should you start with SEO?

SEO comes first in the following situations.

• Your order book is full for the coming months, and you are preparing what comes next.
• Your customers take their time to compare. They read several websites and come back before deciding.
• You would rather invest in pages that last than in clicks that stop when the budget runs out.

SEO takes patience. Google writes that some changes take effect within a few hours and others over several months, and that nobody can guarantee the top position.

Why do people often end up doing both?

The two complement each other. Within a few weeks, Google Ads shows which searches lead to phone calls. Those searches then show which pages to write first for SEO. While those pages earn their place, the ads keep bringing in enquiries.

Advertising does not improve your ranking in the organic results. Google writes that a site’s presence in its results has nothing to do with whether its owner advertises with Google.

Which mistake costs the most?

The most expensive mistake is sending visitors to a page that does not make them want to call. An ad or a good place on Google only brings the visit. If the page is slow, confusing or has no visible phone number, the visitor leaves, and the click is paid for anyway.

The other mistake is leaving an enquiry unanswered. It sits in an inbox, and the customer has time to call someone else. That is why we also take care of what happens next. Every enquiry gets an immediate reply, and a follow-up goes out if nobody has called back.