Prospective clients often ask me, which is the better option for my business, Local SEO or Google ads?
In this article, I’ll compare Local SEO and Google Ads to help fellow local business owners decide which strategy works best for them and their businesses. I’ll break down the benefits, costs, and effectiveness of each approach, so a business owner can make an informed decision based on goals, industry, and budget.
Introduction
As a small business owner, I know how important it is to be visible online. This is especially true for local businesses, as there is a community of customers within proximity of your home or business that are looking for your services.
Local SEO and Google Ads are both powerful ways to attract customers, but which one is the better choice for a local business?
In this article, I’ll break down the pros, cons, and costs of each approach to help you decide where to invest your precious marketing spend to get the best return on investment.
What I’ve Learned About Local SEO
I’ve been offering local SEO services to businesses for over eight years now and local SEO has been effective in helping businesses like mine rank in Google’s local search results. Even though Local SEO technically is not the best option for my business (as there are limited searches for SEO providers in my area), local SEO has been successful in generating quite a few leads that have resulted in the acquisition of several long-term clients for my business.
Local SEO leads predominantly come from ranking high in Google’s 3 Pack:
It’s also important to be visible in the regular (aka “10 blue links”) organic search results when someone is searching for a service in a particular area, e.g., “SEO in Rose Bay.”
Strategies I’ve used to increase the visibility and ranking of local businesses:
- Optimising my Google Business Profile (GBP).
- Targeting local keywords (including the high-value “near me” keywords).
- Ensuring my business Name, Address, and Phone Number (NAP) are consistent and accurate.
- Encouraging customers to leave reviews (and responding to reviews).
- Earning backlinks (especially from local and niche relevant websites).
My Experience with Google Ads
I’ve also been running Google Ads campaigns for many years, back when the product was named Google AdWords! Google Ads allows businesses to pay for almost immediate visibility in Google search results through sponsored listings (ads).
In my experience, I’ve found that different formats of ads work better in different situations:
- Google Search Ads (text-based ads that appear at the top of Google) work well for businesses whose industry isn’t super competitive, and as a result, have a reasonably priced cost per click of a few dollars:
- Display Ads (banner ads on other websites) are great for building awareness of a business or service, a bit like an ad on social media, but with better targeting, as you can specify which websites ads appear on.
- Local Service Ads (local area businesses) These ads work well when targeting an area outside your location that would be impossible to rank for in local search:
Pros and Cons of Local SEO
Pros of local SEO:
- It drives free organic traffic that is ideal for targeting local customers in your geographic area.
- SEO is all about incremental improvements that continue to build trust and credibility over time and the results remain in perpetuity.
- Local SEO is fast and cost-effective (compared to city/country SEO)
- Customers tend to trust (and click) organic results over ads.
Cons of local SEO:
- SEO takes time – it’s not an overnight fix. Although Local SEO is faster than City/Country SEO, it still takes a longer time than ads to see results.
- Local SEO requires consistent effort and involvement, from generating and responding to reviews, building backlinks, and creating content + Google Business Profile managament.
- Google’s algorithm is always changing and that can impact rankings. There’s much to learn to adapt to the ever changing requirements of search engines.
- AI is evolving- many AI platforms also integrate with Google search, so there’s other platforms that should be considered as part of optimisation, rather than search engines remaining in a silo.
Pros & Cons of Google Ads
Pros of Google Ads:
- It delivers almost instant visibility and traffic.
- Ads can target specific locations, keywords, and customer intent.
- Google Ads are great for promotions, seasonal offers, and new businesses due to the same day visibility.
Cons of Google Ads
- Ads can be expensive, especially in competitive industries and the cost per lead may not provide a ROI for your business.
- Clicks don’t always lead to conversions – it’s easy to get clicks, but ads convert at around only 2.8%.
- Once the budget has run out, ads stop displaying, meaning there are no cumulative effects of running ads.
Cost Comparison: Which is More Affordable?
With local SEO, you invest in cumulative website and Google Business Profile optimisation, content, and local citations, The SEO efforts compound over time and you are not paying for each and every click.
With Google Ads, you pay for every click. In the past, my budget has ranged from a few hundred to several thousand dollars per month, as my industry is competitive, meaning each lead costs me well over $1000.
Which One Should You Choose?
Local SEO if:
- You want long-term growth.
- You have time and budget to invest in future organic rankings.
- You want to build credibility with customers.
- You want a predictable monthly spend.
Google Ads if:
- You need immediate traffic and leads.
- Your business is in a highly competitive industry that will take a long time (if at all) to achieve organic results.
- You have a budget for paid advertising.
My Advice: In my experience, a combination of both Local SEO and Google Ads gives the best results, but if I had to choose one approach, I’d pick Local SEO as you are building a website and Google Business Profile for future leads, even when your budget is exhausted.
Conclusion
I’ve shared my experience and personal insights on both strategies, after working on both Local SEO and Google ads for over 8 years. Which method is right for you depends on your business goals, budget, and timeline. If you can, invest in both Local SEO and Google Ads together for maximum visibility and to fast-track leads for your business.