If you don’t need to invest in that kind of research, then great. But if you sense there’s more for you to learn about your marketplace, it’s not the right time to run a lot of paid campaigns.
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3. How precise are your keywords?
Trust me (or pretty much any paid search pro worth their salt): you do not want to rely on broad keywords and/or Performance Max or other AI-fueled bidding and targeting algorithms to get ROAS-friendly revenue.
If you have a few exact keywords with decent search volume and intent in mind and the right offer, put some money behind paid campaigns.
Those keywords might also be great to tackle on the SEO front, but SEO isn’t all about a good keyword strategy.
Today, search algorithms incorporate natural language, context, topic authority, intent, semantic relevance, etc. In other words, a few pages stuffed with mentions of that exact keyword won’t do the trick.
Suppose you’re more concerned about engaging your customer on a variety of related topics and building authority in your field than you are about owning specific keywords. In that case, SEO is a great place to start.
4. How good (or bad) is your website?
Remember my point about how SEO will force you to tackle your marketing more holistically?
If your website is slow, cluttered, confusing, unattractive or not optimized for mobile, and you need short to mid-term growth, focus on creating a few PPC-friendly landing pages for your campaigns. Put a ton of resources into cleaning up your website before you start developing valuable content.
If your website is fast, intuitive and easy to navigate, you have a fantastic base for content-driven growth. This should definitely be a consideration when you’re weighing how to leverage your resources.
Deciding between SEO and paid search for your startup
There are more factors to consider, such as burn rate/available funds, team strengths and the competition/CPC levels of your focus keywords. Dig into that next layer if you don’t have a clear direction after assessing your answers to the questions above.
If you’re still on the fence, pick one and go with it. But before you do that, make sure you have a plan to measure the results, gauge your campaigns’ success (or failure) and pivot if needed.
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