PPC or SEO? Choosing the best strategy for your business.

So you’ve launched your website. Now you want people to actually find you.

In the world of digital marketing, two really useful tactics help make that happen: search engine optimisation (SEO) and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising.

Both increase website traffic. Both come with advantages and limitations. And both can play very nicely together when you know how to put them to work.

This guide walks you through everything you need to know:

• What is PPC?
• What is SEO
• PPC or SEO? Need-to-know pros and cons
• The difference between PPC and SEO: a summary
• And what about AI-powered search?
• The winning combo: AI, PPC and SEO working together

OK, so time to learn how to use these strategies to get more people onto your website. Let’s go.

What is PPC?

PPC stands for pay-per-click. It’s a type of paid search ad and it does exactly what it says on the tin.

You create an ad that appears in the sponsored section at the top of search results. And you pay a fee every time someone clicks on it.

The system works like an auction. You bid on keywords that your ideal customers are searching for. Then, if your bid is successful, you get immediate visibility in some of the most competitive positions on Google (or whatever other search engine you want to appear on).

It’s a way of putting your business in front of people right at the moment they’re looking for a product or service like yours.

What is SEO?

SEO stands for search engine optimisation. It’s the process of making your website more visible within organic (non-paid) search results.

The goal is simple. Show up where your customers are already searching — and drive website traffic without paying for every single click.

We can break SEO down into three components:

• Technical SEO. This is the behind-the-scenes stuff. SEO website design incorporates site speed, indexing, responsiveness, structured data, clean code — everything search engines need to navigate your site.
• SEO content. This is the text on your website. To create strong SEO content, you need to research and implement keywords strategically throughout blog posts, landing pages and service pages.
• Off-page SEO. This includes backlink building, which is where trustworthy websites link back to yours. These links signal authority and credibility and are another way to improve your site’s position in search results.

PPC or SEO? Need-to-know pros and cons

So should you be using PPC or SEO? And what are the key differences between these two digital marketing strategies? Let’s take a look.

Benefits of PPC

You get straight to the top of SERPs

Most people click on the results near the top of page one. PPC is the fast track to getting there. Instead of waiting months for your content to gain traction, you can appear instantly for the keywords that matter most to your brand.

You get fast results

PPC traffic arrives as soon as your campaign goes live. You can see activity the same day — impressions, clicks and conversions. That makes PPC incredibly useful for businesses that want leads now.

You reach the right audience

PPC gives you a lot of control over who sees your message. Unlike SEO, where targeting is keyword-based, with PPC you can narrow down your audience according to their location, demographics and past behaviour.

You can tweak everything in real-time

Budgets, bids, targeting, ad copy, landing pages — PPC lets you adjust any part of your campaign in real time. If a keyword is too expensive, you can pause it. If an ad is underperforming, you test a new version. This gives you full visibility into what’s working and what isn’t within your PPC strategy.

Disadvantages of PPC

Costs mount up

Clicks can get expensive, especially in competitive industries. The average cost per click is around £3.95. But some industries see clicks costing £10 to £50, or even more. If your conversion rate isn’t strong, you pay a lot without always getting a good ROI.

It’s not always effective

A PPC campaign doesn’t guarantee sales. People sometimes skip the ads at the top of SERPs, heading straight to the organic search results they see as more relevant and trustworthy. Google also allows users to “hide sponsored results”. The quality of your ads and website also determines how well a PPC strategy performs.

The impact only lasts as long as you’re paying

The second your budget runs out, your ads disappear. There’s no residual benefit. That’s the biggest contrast with SEO, where good content continues to attract organic traffic over time.

Benefits of SEO

You build organic traffic

When you commit to SEO, you stake your place on a piece of the internet. You invest in long-term visibility. Once you secure strong positions in search results, your content can keep bringing in traffic, without you paying a penny in click fees.

It’s less expensive than PPC

PPC budgets can run out quickly, especially for small businesses. SEO does require investment — in technical upkeep, content creation and link building. It takes money to build but far less money to maintain. So it’s less expensive over the long term.

You build brand awareness and credibility

People often trust organic results more than ads. Appearing in the top few positions suggests expertise, authority and relevance — all of which can improve your conversion rates. Create the right content and you also make your brand visible to people at every stage of the buying journey, establishing yourself as a trusted advisor.

Impacts compound over time

Done well, an SEO strategy snowballs. It may not feel like much is happening for the first few months. But then you see website traffic ticking steadily upwards. One piece of strong content can boost the performance of others. One great link can increase your site’s overall authority. Each SEO gain builds on the last, maximising impact.

Disadvantages of SEO

It’s a long game

SEO doesn’t produce instant results. And, if you’re launching a new website, it may take months before search engines trust your website enough to rank it highly, especially for competitive keywords. You have to be consistent and patient to see SEO results.

Some keywords are very competitive

If you’re targeting broad, high-volume keywords, you’re competing with established brands that have thousands of backlinks and years of authority. That means you have to start out by targeting lower-volume, long tail keywords. These keywords won’t drive as much traffic to your site.

The landscape is always changing

Search engines update algorithms and formats regularly. AI overviews. Featured snippets. Zero-click searches. Sponsored posts that look suspiciously like organic listings. These all impact your place in SERPs and the number of clicks your website gets. So you have to stay aware of these changes and adjust accordingly.

It’s a learning curve if you choose to DIY

SEO isn’t rocket science. But it is a skill. You need to understand technical basics, keyword strategy, content optimisation, internal linking, indexing and more. For business owners with a lot on their plates, that means taking time out to learn SEO — or outsourcing tasks to an experienced web team.

The difference between SEO and PPC: a handy summary

Here’s a quick breakdown of how SEO and PPC compare:

Ultimately, SEO is ideal for long-term visibility while PPC gets you immediate results.

And what about AI-powered search?

For a long time, the digital marketing debate was simple: PPC or SEO? But — as ever in the digital world — things are changing.

AI summaries are pushing traditional listings further down the page. People are searching within their preferred AI assistant to find answers to the questions that are puzzling them.

So where does this leave SEO and PPC?

PPC still dominates SERPs. But for results where an AI overview appears, ads are pushed further down the page. That means brands relying solely on top-of-page visibility may see fluctuations in traffic.

SEO, meanwhile, is joined by GEO (generative engine optimisation). This is the process of making your content discoverable, quotable and reference-worthy inside AI summaries and assistant conversations.

There’s a lot to learn. But the good news is you don’t need a whole new playbook. The core principles of SEO and PPC are still serving businesses very well.

But to stay visible alongside AI-driven search, companies need to adapt — by strengthening their SEO and PPC campaigns, by using SEO and PPC together, and by ensuring content is easy for AI models to extract.

The winning combo: AI, PPC and SEO working together

A well-rounded strategy moves beyond the “PPC or SEO” debate and, instead, incorporates AI, PPC and SEO:

• PPC for immediate visibility
• SEO for long-term authority
• AI-friendly content for AI discovery

Get early traffic with PPC — then use it as a stabiliser

Just launched your website? Then a PPC campaign is your fast-track ticket to visibility. A well-targeted strategy can send visitors to your site almost immediately, while you wait for SEO to gain momentum.

Once your organic search strategy is delivering consistent traffic, PPC becomes a stabiliser. Imagine your visibility drops due to a Google algorithm update or a change in competitor bidding. A PPC campaign can cushion those bumps in the road and keep your sales figures up.

Follow the EEAT formula

Google says it prefers website content that follows the EEAT formula. That stands for:

• Experience. Demonstrate first-hand experience of your subject matter with unique opinions and insights, and tried-and-tested advice.
• Expertise. Show your content is created by subject matter experts by using author bios, by covering a topic in the necessary depth, by creating topic clusters, and by citing reputable sources and studies where possible.
• Authoritativeness. Build your brand’s authority by consistently publishing high-quality content and gaining backlinks or mentions from respected websites.
• Trustworthiness. Ensure your website is secure and provide clear contact details for users who need support. Keep content up to date and accurate. Avoid clickbait headings with content that doesn’t deliver what was promised.

Following this format helps your SEO content to rank better, get picked up in AI-generated summaries and build long-term credibility with your customers.

Maximise organic and AI results with structured content

AI-powered search is hungry for structured, digestible content. So use headings, bullet points, FAQs, tables and schema markup. Answer questions directly. Make it easy for both humans and AI to scan, summarise and extract your content.

When AI and search engines understand your content, you’re more likely to appear in rich snippets, traditional SERPs and AI overviews.

Think about user intent

If a PPC ad is failing to convert, head over to a search engine and type in your target keyword. Are search results packed with videos, how-to guides and tutorials?

This indicates that users searching these phrases are looking for information — they’re not necessarily ready to buy yet.

If your goal is sales, switch to keywords with commercial intent — the ones people use when they want to part with their cash. This ensures you’re not paying for the wrong clicks.

The same goes for your SEO website content. Learn user intent by looking at SERPs or by using SEO software. Then, create content that matches their mindset.

If someone is in research mode, you can provide how-to guides and comparison pages. For visitors looking to buy, you need product and service pages. Meet users where they’re at and they’re more likely to click your SERP links.

Track the right metrics

Knowing how each of your digital marketing strategies is performing helps you tweak and improve going forward. So track and benchmark metrics for your SEO and PPC campaigns. Here are some examples.

SEO metrics:

• Organic keyword rankings
• Organic traffic
• Click-through rate from SERPs
• Organic conversion rate

PPC metrics:

• Click-through rate from ads
• Cost per click
• Conversion rate from ads
• Return on ad spend
• Cost per acquisition

Tracking these metrics helps you spot issues, double down on what’s working and fine-tune your SEO and PPC strategy for better results.

Create landing pages that convert

Your PPC ads should feel like a natural lead-in to your landing pages. That means having the same messaging, same offer, same tone, same branding. That continuity builds trust, reduces friction and boosts conversion rates.

Use PPC data to inform your SEO strategy

PPC campaigns are a goldmine of user data. They tell you:

• Which keywords drive traffic
• Which phrases actually convert
• How your audience responds to copy, offers and calls to action
• How different segments of your audience respond differently to your content

You can use this data to refine your SEO strategy. If a keyword converts well in PPC, it’s often worth optimising organically.

Similarly, insights into user behaviour and demographics can inform website content — from messaging and structure to visuals — so your site better matches audience expectations.

Use SEO to nurture, PPC for quick-fire campaigns

This is another way you can get PPC and SEO working together.

Think of SEO as your long game. Create well-structured content, guides, blog posts and FAQs that attract visitors and build trust. A user might not be ready to buy on a first visit to your website. But consistent, valuable content keeps them coming back until they’re ready to convert.

Think of PPC as your quick-fire fix. Use it for limited-time offers, product launches or seasonal promotions, where you need to get to the top of SERPs fast.

By using SEO and PPC together, you warm your audience and establish authority, then deliver the timely nudge that ready-to-buy users need to make a purchase or fill out your contact form.

PPC and SEO services from Radical

At Radical, we build incredible websites. But we also help business owners drive traffic to those websites with a combination of SEO and PPC strategy.

From technical SEO to content creation to PPC campaigns to reporting, we can help you build authority, boost conversions and get seen by more of the right people.

Want to stake a better spot in SERPs? Get in touch with the Radical team today to chat about our PPC and SEO services.

PPC or SEO?: FAQs

What does PPC stand for?

PPC stands for pay-per-click. It’s a form of paid search marketing, which means your ad appears in search engine result pages. You then pay every time someone clicks on your ad.

How does PPC work?

You bid on keywords, create ads, use audience targeting tools and set a budget. When someone searches for your keyword, Google may show your ad. If they click on the ad, you pay. Your ad can continue to be shown until your specified budget has run out.

What is the difference between SEO and PPC?

SEO earns website traffic organically. PPC buys website traffic through ads. Both are forms of digital marketing that place your business and website in front of people searching for your products or services.

Which is better? SEO or PPC?

Neither is “better”. PPC is faster. SEO is more sustainable. The best marketing strategies have PPC and SEO working together.

What is an example of a good SEO and PPC strategy?

As part of a good SEO and PPC strategy, you use SEO tactics over the long term — to build a presence in SERPs and to nurture customer relationships.

You can use PPC to drive traffic quickly. For example, when you’ve just launched a new website, when you want to advertise a new offer and if search engine algorithm changes cause a dip in site traffic.