SEO vs Google Ads: Why You Need Both
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Pathlabs Marketing |
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October 10, 2025 |
For most marketers, driving immediate sales while also building a sustainable, low-cost growth strategy can feel impossible. Independent agencies help their clients do both every day by balancing SEO and Google Ads.
On average, SEO delivers a conversion rate of 2.4%, while PPC (including Google Ads) hovers around 1.3%. In other words, visitors who come through organic search are statistically more likely to convert than ad-click users in many industries. That gap matters especially when you’re managing multiple clients and need every dollar to work harder.
This statistic poses the core question agencies face: how can they harness the speed of Google Ads and the compounding value of SEO in a single, scalable model? In this article, we’ll compare SEO and Google Ads in depth, explore when to invest in each, and show how integrating both delivers far better outcomes for independent agencies.
Google Ads vs SEO - Let’s Compare
Core Definitions
First, it is helpful to define both SEO and Google Ads clearly. In practice, agencies use these as two arms of the same search marketing strategy:
SEO (Search Engine Optimization): Improving website visibility in organic search results through optimized content, technical performance, and authority-building.
Google Ads (formerly AdWords): Running paid campaigns that secure placement in Google search results and across Google’s partner network.
As zero-click searches become increasingly popular, the way SEO and Google Ads drive growth will shift; however, for now, the following differences are key to leveraging them successfully.
Core Execution Activities
SEO is a long-term investment. A successful SEO program involves consistent content production, technical audits, on-page optimization, and link acquisition. Over time, those activities build authority, which helps pages rank higher without continuous ad spend.
Google Ads operates on a faster cycle. Users can launch campaigns quickly, target precisely, and collect data rapidly. But this speed comes at a cost: bids, budgets, creative assets, and landing pages all require frequent adjustments to maintain ROI. For an agency juggling multiple clients, that management overhead can grow fast.
Business Functions
Brands execute Google Ads campaigns to drive performance. By serving their ads across Google’s web locations, they get their message in front of relevant users, encouraging them to engage and move down the funnel.
SEO’s business function is to structure a brand’s website content so that Google deems it relevant and includes it in the search results of pertinent queries. The more this website's content appears in Google SERPs, the more users can discover and engage with it, enhancing brand exposure and driving performance, albeit more organically.
Execution and Management
Brands can execute Google Ads campaigns in-house or outsource to an independent agency. Nowadays, it’s popular for these agencies to outsource their digital media execution to a Media Execution Partner (MEP) that assists with running their clients’ Google Ads campaigns.
Performing SEO is an in-house activity that brands primarily perform or outsource to service teams that specialize in SEO.
Targeting and Placement
For Google Ads display, YouTube, and app campaigns, teams can target and retarget ads to users based on their geographic locations, demographics, interests, and behaviors. They can also target specific web pages and contexts within Google.
In Google paid search campaigns, teams will target their ads to appear in search results when users query particular keywords and phrases; they can typically include additional targeting parameters.
Regarding SEO, teams have much less control over where their website content appears in Google SERPs, as it is ultimately subject to Google’s serving it based on user search queries and the perceived relevance of the web content. Performing SEO improves the potential for this website's content to appear in these results; however, there is no guarantee of placement.
Speed of Results
SEO often takes three to six months before you see material gains. In competitive verticals, that window may stretch longer. The cost is internal mainly (content, technical work, optimization). The payoff is that incremental traffic doesn’t incur incremental cost per click.
Google Ads begins generating visibility immediately. But as soon as you pause your budget, performance stops. The bright side is precise attribution: you can cleanly tie clicks to conversions, which simplifies reporting to clients. The caveat is that in high-competition markets, cost per acquisition can escalate if campaigns aren’t tightly managed.
Cost, Time, and Resources
Executing Google Ads campaigns is costly. Teams must put forth the budget to serve ads in the first place. But more importantly, they also need to invest in the expertise to perform all the execution activities for these campaigns, from planning to optimizing to reporting, ensuring the most effective performance.
The costs and demands for SEO vary. Some scrappy teams can develop and optimize their websites and content quickly and inexpensively for search engines. However, more robust, long-term SEO strategies will naturally involve more employee bandwidth, costs, and time commitments.
Performance and Cost Analysis
Within the Google Ads platform, teams can assess how much they spent during the campaign flight, the performance they drove, and other key metrics. This helps determine a more straightforward ROI on these efforts.
Performance and cost analysis are more difficult for SEO. Teams can look at website page views, clicks, and impressions using specific tools offered by Google; however, it is challenging to tangibly determine how much it costs to perform SEO activities, such as updating headers and placing internal links, and the immediate performance results they yield.
Ready to streamline your media execution? Book a free strategy call and learn how we support agencies with end-to-end campaign management.
When Should You Invest in SEO?
You should lean into SEO when your clients seek sustainable growth, authority, and a lower long-term cost of acquisition. For that reason, industries that depend on trust (B2B services, legal, finance) often see SEO pay off strongly. Over time, a well-executed SEO campaign can reduce reliance on paid channels and provide a steady stream of inbound leads.
Further, SEO is ideal when your client’s goals include content-driven growth, thought leadership, or improving domain authority across multiple keyword clusters. Lastly, because SEO assets tend to have a longer lifespan, the ROI continues to compound over time.
When Should You Invest In Google Ads?
Google Ads makes sense when speed is the priority. If a client wants immediate traction—whether from a product launch, seasonal push, or market test—paid search can deliver results within days rather than months. It’s also invaluable as a testing mechanism: campaign data reveals which creatives, offers, and keywords actually convert, allowing you to apply those learnings elsewhere.
In markets where organic rankings are difficult or competitive, investing in Google Ads can allow you to capture immediate demand while SEO gains ground behind the scenes.
Why You Need Both: A Smarter Strategy for Agencies
Complementary Strengths of SEO and Google Ads
The competitive edge comes from using SEO and Google Ads in tandem. SEO builds long-term credibility and authority, while Google Ads captures demand in real time. Together, they offer both reach and resilience.
When to Use Google Ads to Support Organic Growth
A smart agency strategy uses Google Ads to capture volume while SEO programs ramp up. Over time, as organic rankings improve, budgets can shift to support expansion into new keyword territories rather than fighting for the same terms.
Leveraging Paid Search Data to Prioritize SEO Content
Campaign-level data from Google Ads (especially search query reports) is a goldmine for SEO. You uncover which keywords drive conversions, so you can prioritize your content roadmap around terms with proven traction. This data closes the gap between paid and organic execution.
Budget Allocation Across Short-Term and Long-Term Goals
Agencies that win treat budgets as a lever rather than a constraint. Many agencies start with an SEO-weighted mix and adjust it based on performance. For example, an agency may allocate roughly 60–70% of its budget to SEO and 30–40% to paid search, then reallocate resources as rankings improve and paid search efficiency changes.
Realistic ROI Expectations
It is critical to set the right expectations. SEO typically begins to deliver noticeable ROI between six and twelve months, and it compounds beyond that period. Google Ads shows results immediately, but maintaining efficiency demands constant optimization. Agencies that communicate these timeframes clearly set client expectations correctly and reduce friction later.
In Conclusion
The data tells a clear story. SEO delivers stronger conversion rates on average, while Google Ads provides the speed and control clients demand in competitive markets. Agencies that combine these strengths create strategies that balance immediate results with long-term growth, giving clients both visibility today and resilience tomorrow.
For independent agencies, the challenge is not deciding between SEO and Google Ads but building a system where both are managed seamlessly. That system requires consistent execution, integrated reporting, and clear communication of ROI across timelines.
Pathlabs helps agencies achieve this balance. By embedding with agency teams and managing Google Ads execution together, Pathlabs simplifies the complexity of search marketing and enables leaders to focus on growth.
Don’t juggle SEO and paid search alone — book a free strategy call now to see how Pathlabs can handle execution while you focus on growth.
