@tjrobertson52

Should you run Google ads or should you do SEO? This is a question I get asked a lot. However, I think the framing of the question is wrong.

There's a misconception that doing both would mean competing with yourself. I'll explain why that's not the case.

But first let's get to the core question. Or really questions. Should you do Google Ads and should you do SEO?

The main advantage of Google Ads is it's predictable. It's one of the most predictable forms of marketing. Tell Google how much you want to spend each month and in return you're going to get a certain amount of leads or sales.

Now, of course, you're not guaranteed any leads or sales, and it is very easy to waste a lot of money in Google ads. You definitely want to hire a competent Google Ads Manager. We actually don't run Google ads at my agency, but if you're interested, I know someone who does a great job for about $500 a month.

But how do you determine if Google Ads are right for your business? Well, the first question is are people actually searching for the product or service that you sell? If you sell some kind of novel product or service that no one's heard of before, you're gonna have a hard time on Google Ads.

I'd recommend doing something like social media instead.

But if your target customers know that your product or service exists, and they know what to search for in Google to find it then? The only question is whether the cost per acquisition is higher than your profit margin. If you're making more profit than you're paying Google to get each customer, then you're essentially just printing money.

So how do you know how much you have to pay per acquisition? Unfortunately, you pretty much have to run ads. Yes, you can use Google's Keyword Planner, but it's not gonna give you a very clear idea.

One step better would be going to Reddit and asking people in your industry what they're paying per acquisition. But that's still only gonna give you a rough estimate.

To really know, you have to start running ads. There are just too many variables that are going to determine how much you personally have to pay per acquisition, and the only way to get an accurate estimate of those variables is going to be to run the ads.

The next question to ask yourself is are you willing to risk two thousand dollars a month with no guarantee of success? And why do I say two thousand dollars a month? Well, I'm assuming you're paying a Google Ads Manager something like five hundred dollars a month, and at that rate I would recommend spending at least 15 dollars a month.

If you're spending less than that, then more than 25% of your money is going to the ad manager. And that points me really hard to get a good cost per acquisition.

The good news is that unlike other forms of marketing, you'll know within a few months if it's working. And if you're able to get a low enough cost per acquisition that you're still profitable, you should absolutely keep running Google Ads. And you should probably increase your budget, too.

On the other hand, if you're just barely breaking even, I would just keep your budget where it's at. But don't stop running the ads. A good Google Ads management will be able to bring down your cost per acquisition a little bit each month.

And the ads are also bringing you exposure beyond the direct sales.

It looks like I ran out of time to talk about how this doesn't compete with SEO and whether or not you should be doing SEO, so I'll also do that in the next video.