They do different jobs
SEO builds a position that keeps working after the work is done. It is slow to start and cheap to keep. Ads buy attention while you pay for it. They are fast to start and stop when the budget stops.
First, check the page people land on
Ads send visitors to a page. If that page does not turn visitors into enquiries, ads buy more of the same result. Google even scores the page: its help page on Quality Score explains how landing page experience affects what you pay. When the audit shows the page is the problem, we say so: fix the site first and revisit ads a few months later. It is not what people expect from an agency that sells ads, and it is the honest answer.
Then look at your budget
Ads need enough spend to give the platform something to learn from. As a guide, our working minimums are about $1,000 a month for Google and $1,500 for Meta in the United States. In South Africa the practical minimum is about R5,000 a month for Google in a low-competition local market and R6,000 to R12,000 for Meta. In competitive sectors such as legal, finance and real estate, Google realistically needs R15,000 to R30,000 or more.
That is ad spend, paid to the platform from your own account. A management fee is a separate line, and the pricing page shows both. Google's own guide to Google Ads explains how the platform works.
Then look at your timing
- Need enquiries soon and the site converts? Ads first, with SEO started alongside.
- Can wait a few months and your market is competitive? Put effort into SEO and the site first.
- Not sure the market wants this yet? A small, short ad test tells you more than a year of guessing.
Sometimes the answer is neither
If your site already converts, your referrals are steady and your capacity is full, spending on either may not help. We would rather tell you that than sell you a retainer.
How we decide
We start with the free audit. It shows whether the page, the search position or the demand is the real gap. Then we recommend one thing, and say why.
