SEO and PPC both get a business in front of people searching on Google. PPC, which for a small business usually means Google Ads, buys a place at the top today and charges for every click. SEO earns a place in the unpaid results, which takes months but doesn't charge per visit. The useful question isn't which one is better. It's which one your business should start with, and when to add the other. Here's how they compare on cost, speed and staying power, using published figures rather than rules of thumb.
- PPC works within days and stops when you stop paying. SEO takes months and keeps working.
- Average Google Ads lead: $66.69 across industries in 2026, and $131.63 for attorneys.
- Only 1.74% of new pages reached Google's top 10 within a year in Ahrefs' 2025 study.
- Start with PPC if you need leads this month. Start with SEO, and your free Business Profile, if you can wait.
- Most small businesses end up with both: PPC for urgent, high-value searches, SEO for everything people research.
SEO vs PPC at a glance
| PPC (Google Ads) | SEO | |
|---|---|---|
| How you pay | Per click, plus management if you hire help | Your time or a monthly fee, nothing per click |
| First results | Often within a week or two of launch | Weeks for a Business Profile, months for new pages |
| When you stop paying | Ads and the leads they bring stop that day | Rankings don't switch off, but competitors keep moving |
| Best for | Urgent searches, new businesses, testing offers | Local searches, research-heavy buying, expensive clicks |
| Main risk | Paying for clicks that never become customers | Months of work before the first lead |
What PPC really costs
With Google Ads you pay for each click, at a price set in Google's auction. LocalIQ's 2026 search advertising benchmarks give a sense of the range:
| Industry | Average cost per lead | Average cost per click |
|---|---|---|
| All industries | $66.69 | $5.42 |
| Dentists | $72.97 | $8.00 |
| Home and home improvement | $90.92 | $8.33 |
| Attorneys and legal | $131.63 | $9.87 |
Source: LocalIQ / WordStream search advertising benchmarks, published May 2026. Google and Microsoft Ads.
A lead isn't a customer, so the number that matters is what a booked job or a sale costs once your close rate is applied. If someone runs the account for you, add their fee: ours is $500-$2,000 a month, on top of ad spend. What Google Ads management costs breaks down how agencies price it, and do Google Ads work covers when they don't.
What SEO costs, and how long it takes
SEO has no per-click charge. The cost is the work: fixing the site, writing pages that answer what people search for, and earning reviews and links. You can do some of that yourself. Google's own guide says that if you run a small local business, you can probably do much of the work yourself. If you hire it out, our SEO runs $500-$2,000 a month, and SEO pricing explains what the price usually covers.
The real cost is time. Google says crawling can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. A new Business Profile can start ranking within about a month. Competitive terms take much longer: in Ahrefs' 2025 study, just 1.74% of new pages reached the top 10 within a year, 72.9% of top-10 pages were more than three years old, and the number one result averaged five years old. How long SEO takes goes through the timeline in more detail.
Which to start with
- You need leads this month. A new business, a slow season or a new service can't wait for rankings.
- People search when it's urgent. A burst pipe, a broken tooth or a lockout gets booked from the first results, not researched.
- You want to test what sells. Ads show within weeks which services and offers bring enquiries, before you spend months on pages.
- Your ad budget is small but you have time. A complete Business Profile and a page for each service cost far less than months of clicks.
- Clicks are expensive in your market. At $131.63 per lead, as attorneys average, every organic lead is money saved.
- People research before they buy. Questions about cost, process and options are better answered by pages than by ads.
How they work together
The best reason to run both is that each one tells you something about the other. Google Ads' search terms report shows the exact searches that triggered your ads and which of them became leads. That's the most reliable list you'll get of pages worth writing for SEO. As those pages start ranking, you can cut ad spend on the same searches and move it to the ones you don't rank for yet.
Month one: the free basics and a small ad test
Complete your Business Profile, fix anything stopping Google reading your site, and run Google Ads on your two or three most valuable services.
Months two and three: let the ads pick the pages
Use the search terms that brought leads to choose the service and location pages to write first.
Month six onward: shift the budget
Where a page ranks in the top three, test lowering ad spend on that search and watch total leads, not just ad leads.
Google says its bid strategies finish learning within seven days, so give a new ad campaign a few weeks before judging it, and give new pages a few months.
And if nobody searches for it?
Both SEO and PPC depend on people typing your service into Google. For things people don't search for until something prompts them, such as aligners, a kitchen upgrade or a new class, Facebook and Instagram ads reach them first. Google Ads vs Facebook ads covers that choice. And whichever you choose, start with the free option: a complete Google Business Profile. Why a business doesn't show on Google Maps covers the fixes.
Questions people ask
What is the difference between SEO and PPC?
PPC, usually Google Ads for a small business, puts your ad at the top of search results and charges you each time someone clicks. SEO earns a place in the unpaid results by making your site and Business Profile the best answer to the search. PPC works within days and stops when you stop paying. SEO takes months and keeps working.
Is SEO or PPC better for a small business?
Neither wins everywhere. PPC suits urgent searches, new businesses that need leads now, and testing which services sell. SEO suits businesses that can wait a few months, markets where clicks are expensive, and searches people research before buying. Most small businesses end up using both, in that order.
How much does PPC cost for a small business?
You pay Google per click, plus a management fee if someone runs it for you. LocalIQ's 2026 benchmarks put the average cost per click at $5.42 and the average cost per lead at $66.69 across industries, rising to $131.63 per lead for attorneys.
How long does SEO take compared to PPC?
Google Ads can bring leads within days of launch, and Google says its bid strategies finish learning within seven days. SEO is slower: Google says crawling a page can take a few days to a few weeks, and Ahrefs found only 1.74% of new pages reached the top 10 within a year.
Can I do SEO myself?
Much of it, for a small local business. Google itself says that if you run a small local business, you can probably do much of the work yourself: a complete Business Profile, reviews, and a clear page for each service you offer. Help pays off when the competition is strong or the site has technical problems.
Should I stop PPC once SEO starts working?
Not all at once. Cut PPC spend on the searches where you now rank well organically, and keep it on searches you don't rank for yet or that bring your most valuable jobs. Check the effect on total leads before cutting further.
Does PPC help SEO?
Not directly: paying Google doesn't raise your organic rankings. But the search terms report in Google Ads shows the exact searches that bring leads, which is the best list you'll get of pages worth writing for SEO.
What about Facebook ads?
Facebook ads are a third option for things people don't search for yet, such as a treatment, an upgrade or an event. If your customers don't type your service into Google, neither SEO nor PPC will reach them early.
Not sure whether your next dollar should go to ads or SEO? Book a strategy call and we'll look at your searches, your site and your numbers, and tell you which to start with.
