SEO vs. Paid Ads: Which Strategy Works Best in 2025?

17.08 million Australians utilised online purchasing websites every month in 2024, up 45% from 11.78% in 2020.

The total number of websites is always rising in Australia. Now, if you have your website, this must worry you because your competitors are probably increasing. Therefore, the competition is going to get high. 

Previously, we explored how to optimise Google Ads for maximum ROI, Google Ads automation, and the insights shared in the guide about top SEO trends for Australian businesses in 2024.

Today, we will discuss SEO vs. Paid Ads—two powerful tactics that can help you win the ever-changing struggle for internet exposure.

Both have their own benefits: one brings organic traffic, and the other brings customers through paid advertising.

So, when it comes to SEO vs. paid ads, which one is the best digital marketing strategy for 2025 for your business? 

Let’s find out in this article!

SEO vs. Paid Ads

When working with your Adelaide SEO agency, it’s crucial to understand the difference between SEO and paid ads. Besides, if you run an agency, this knowledge is essential for guiding your clients toward the right digital strategy.

• Paid Advertising Explained

Paid advertising is an internet advertising approach in which advertisers bid in real-time auctions to display their adverts in slots on a certain platform or network. 

For example, in this search for patio furniture, you can see both shopping and text advertisements.

It is also known as biddable media or pay-per-click advertising. PPC stands for Pay-Per-Click advertising, which means you typically pay every time someone clicks on your adverts.

This technique is typically opposed to earned or owned advertising, which allows you to use a platform to distribute your material for free, such as Facebook or LinkedIn posts. 

Here’s a significant statistic: PPC visitors are 35% more likely to convert than organic searchers. PPC is an excellent choice if you want immediate results, such as increased sales or entry into new markets. 

The finest example of paid ads is the Temu in the last few months. We could see it all over on social media. People had reservations initially, but they are now shopping. Advertising is done, right? Well, we know the results. 

Paid ads attract quick traffic, but soon, you stop paying, and the traffic fades. Profit margins are also typically smaller because you’re competing in a bidding system. 

• SEO Explained

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is the process of improving a website’s content, structure, and authority so that search engines can better comprehend it and connect it to the right audience.

SEO aims to improve visibility in search results, making it easier for users to locate relevant, trustworthy, and valuable material while searching for information, products, or services. 

This includes optimising content, enhancing technical performance, and increasing credibility through links and engagement—so that both search engines and users regard your site as worthwhile.

Which One is the Best? SEO or PPC for Business Growth

Now, the question is how a good SEO marketing company in Adelaide will use each strategy. 

Here is how:

1. SEO for long-term success. Choose SEO if you want to achieve long-term growth. It is ideally suited for firms whose target customer actively seeks out their products or services online. Adelaide SEO services also help to establish your brand as a recognised expert in your sector, which is critical for long-term client trust and retention.
2. Paid advertising for immediate results by the best digital marketing agency in Adelaide. When you need immediate results, consider paid advertising. Paid advertising is a low-cost approach to promote or remarket your products or services to the appropriate audience. It’s also simple to keep track of how much money is spent, and you can set an ad budget to minimise overpaying.
3. To promote your brand, you can use almost any sort of sponsored advertising. Brand awareness helps your audience get familiar with your products and services by displaying them on prominent channels such as Google and Facebook, allowing you to stay competitive.

Finally, the best plan is to combine SEO and paid advertising to target the company’s short and long-term goals. It will not only build a strong organic presence online but will also help you get more audience in the initial days of your business or website. 

Combining SEO and Paid Advertising

Use both of them for the maximum impact. Combining both can help organisations look beyond the ordinary results. While paid ads allow you to increase awareness and gain potential leads, SEO helps you get more organic visibility online.

Use paid campaigns to determine which keywords result in the most conversions, and then prioritise these keywords in your SEO approach. Retarget users with paid advertisements if they visited your site organically but did not convert. By appearing in both organic and paid search results, you may dominate search engine pages and increase the visibility of your business. 

Final Thought

Finally, it is up to you and how you want to invest in your business. The best strategy is to go with both of them. Now, if you are a small business with a low budget, SEO should be your initial digital marketing strategy. Next, slowly, you can move to the Google ads in Adelaide. As you expand, you can use other paid advertising channels. 

If you own a small local business with limited competition, bypassing paid promotion and relying on SEO may be the best option for you because it is the most cost-effective. 

However, if you are an e-commerce shop competing with major corporations such as Amazon or Target, organic search results may be more difficult to compete with, regardless of how much time you devote to an SEO plan.

Now, what’s the next step? We at Adelaide SEO Marketing have the best SEO and AdWords specialists in Adelaide, and we are ready to help you walk your journey to success.