by The Computing Australia Group | PPC vs SEO:
Finding the Right Fit
If you’re asking “PPC or SEO-which should I choose?”, you’re not alone. Our Perth digital marketing team gets this question almost daily. The short answer is: it depends–on your goals, competition, budgets, timelines, and the strength of your current digital foundations.
This guide modernises and expands your original post into a practical, plain-English playbook. You’ll get:
- A clear breakdown of PPC (Google Ads) vs SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)
- When to choose one, when to combine both, and how to phase them
- Budget frameworks that actually help decision-making
- KPIs, timelines, and what “good” looks like in the real world
- Actionable checklists, examples, and a measurement plan
- A complete SEO kit: title, meta description, keywords, URL slug, internal links, schema, and CTAs
Whether you want quick wins for a seasonal campaign or long-term compounding growth, you’ll leave with a plan you can put to work today.
Why Website Traffic Still Matters (But Not All Traffic Is Equal)
Traffic is opportunity: every visit is a chance to build awareness, generate a lead, or close a sale. But volume without relevance wastes ad spend and drains sales time. The true goal is qualified traffic-visitors who match your ideal customer profile, have real intent, and land on pages that help them convert quickly.
Quality traffic has three traits:
1. Relevance: The search intent matches your content or offer (e.g., “managed IT services Perth pricing” landing on a pricing or packages page).
2. Readiness: Visitors are at a stage where your page gives them exactly what they need (information, comparison, demo, quote).
3. Route to value: Your UX and CTAs guide them to a next step (book a consult, request a quote, call, download, trial).
Bottom line: Traffic is not a vanity metric. Treat it as a pipeline input-measured by leads, revenue, and Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC).
PPC in a Nutshell (Pay-Per-Click)
What it is: You pay each time someone clicks your ad. Google Ads dominates search PPC; Meta and LinkedIn are strong for paid social.
Why marketers love PPC:
- Immediate visibility: Ads appear above organic results.
- Granular targeting: Target by keyword, location (e.g., Perth metro), device, demographic and audience signals.
- Rapid testing: Headlines, offers, and landing pages can be A/B tested fast.
- Budget control: Cap daily spend, schedule by hour/day, push/pause anytime.
Best for:
- Product launches, limited-time offers, events and seasonal peaks
- Filling pipeline while SEO ramps up
- Competitive categories where ranking organically will take months
- Capturing high-intent, bottom-funnel searches (e.g., “cybersecurity audit Perth quote”)
Caveats:
- You rent visibility; stop paying, traffic stops.
- Rising CPCs in competitive verticals demand strong conversion rates (CVR) to stay profitable.
- Poor landing pages = expensive clicks, low Quality Score, and wasted budget.
SEO in a Nutshell (Search Engine Optimisation)
What it is: Improving your site to rank in organic (non-paid) search results and earn compounding traffic.
Why marketers love SEO:
- Compounding ROI: High-ranking pages can drive steady, low-CPC traffic for years.
- Brand authority: Rankings, helpful content, and UX signal trust to both Google and users.
- Full-funnel coverage: From “what is…” to “near me” to “pricing”-SEO can meet users at every stage.
Best for:
- Building sustainable lead flow
- Establishing topical authority and thought leadership
- Reducing dependency on paid traffic over time
- Improving overall site UX, conversion paths, and analytics maturity
Caveats:
- SEO takes time (often 3–6+ months to see meaningful movement in competitive niches).
- It’s not “free”-you invest in content, technical optimisation, digital PR/links, and ongoing maintenance.
- Algorithm updates reward quality and relevance; shortcuts don’t last.
PPC vs SEO: Side-by-Side
| Dimension | PPC (Google Ads) | SEO (Organic Search) |
|---|---|---|
| Speed | Immediate | Slow → Compounding |
| Control | High (budgets, bids, timing) | Medium (you influence, search engines decide) |
| Longevity | Stops when spend stops | Ongoing once established |
| Targeting | Laser-focused (keywords, audiences, locations) | Intent- and content-driven |
| Cost Profile | Opex; pay per click | Opex/Capex; content & tech investment |
| Testing Velocity | Very fast | Slower (but durable learnings) |
| Risk | Rising CPCs, ad fatigue | Algorithm updates, content upkeep |
| Best Use | Quick wins, bottom-funnel capture | Authority building, sustainable growth |
How to Choose (and When to Combine)
Choose PPC if you need:
- Results this week (product launch, event, short seasonal window)
- To own the top of page for critical money keywords
- To validate offers and craft landing page messaging quickly
- To geofence Perth suburbs or target specific industries/demographics
Choose SEO if you need:
- Long-term cost efficiency and brand equity
- Resilience against paid channel fluctuations
- Content leadership (e.g., NIST, ISO, managed IT, AI services guides)
- To reduce CAC over time while improving lead quality
Choose Both for the best of both worlds:
- PPC covers short-term acquisition and feeds data into SEO (which keywords convert, which messages resonate).
- SEO builds organic momentum so you can dial back PPC for queries where you’ve earned top rankings.
- Retargeting and Performance Max amplify your SEO traffic without paying twice for the same user.
Budget Benchmarks & Phasing (Realistic, Perth-Friendly)
Note on ROI claims: You referenced an “average ROI of 800%” for Google Ads. ROI varies widely by industry, offer, landing page quality, sales cycle, and attribution model. Treat generic ROI benchmarks as directional only.
PPC (Google Ads) Budgeting
- Starting monthly budget (SMB/SME): AUD $1,500–$10,000+
- Minimum daily budget to collect data: AUD $35–$75 (enough to test several ad groups)
- Time to meaningful learnings: 2-4 weeks for first optimisations; 6-8 weeks for stable insights
- What changes budget most: CPCs in your niche, target CPA/ROAS, conversion rates, landing page quality
PPC success recipe:
1. 60–70% search campaigns (high-intent keywords)
2. 10–20% Performance Max (if you have good creative & feeds)
3. 10–20% remarketing (site visitors, engaged users, cart abandoners)
4. Regular A/B tests for headlines, CTAs, and landing page forms
SEO Budgeting
- Monthly retainers: AUD $1,000–$6,000+ (depends on competitiveness & scope)
- Initial project work (3-month sprint): Technical fixes, content strategy, pillar/cluster build, internal linking framework
- Time to significant results: 3–6+ months (faster for long-tail and local pages; slower for national competitive terms)
SEO success recipe:
1. Technical foundations (CWV, crawlability, indexation, schema)
2. Helpful content mapped to search intent and business value
3. Smart internal linking and topical clusters
4. Digital PR/link acquisition from relevant, reputable sources
5. Conversion UX and analytics (so traffic turns into revenue)
KPIs, Timelines & “What Good Looks Like”
PPC KPIs
- Cost per lead (CPL) / Cost per acquisition (CPA)
- Conversion rate (CVR) and Quality Score
- Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) for eCommerce
- Phone call quality and form submission quality (listen, score, improve)
Quick wins (Weeks 1–4):
- Negative keywords, match types, location exclusions
- Ad extensions (sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets)
- Landing page CRO: fold CTAs, trust badges, form friction reduction
- Bidding strategy alignment (start with Max Conversions, move to tCPA/tROAS when you have data)
SEO KPIs
- Non-brand organic clicks/sessions
- Ranking improvements for target clusters (page 2 → page 1 is a big revenue step)
- Organic conversion rate and assisted conversions
- Indexed pages and crawl health (Search Console)
- Core Web Vitals (LCP, CLS, INP)
Momentum signs (Months 2–4):
- Long-tail terms growth, featured snippets
- Local pack visibility improvements for Perth suburbs
- Increased time on page and scroll depth for pillar content
- Better internal link flow to money pages
PPC Landing Page Essentials (Stop Losing Money on the Click)
- Message match: Headline echoes the ad’s promise & keyword.
- Hero clarity: 1–2 crisp benefits, proof, and one primary CTA.
- Form friction: Ask only what sales truly needs (name, email, phone, company).
- Trust: Testimonials, logos, certifications, real photos, guarantees.
- Speed: LCP < 2.5s; no render-blocking scripts; compress images to <200 KB.
- Tracking: Thank-you page events, call tracking, form validation, conversion API where relevant.
SEO Content Strategy That Actually Ranks (and Converts)
Build topics, not one-off posts. Start with a pillar page (e.g., “Managed IT Services Perth: Complete Guide”) and support it with clusters (pricing, security, case studies, FAQs, industries served, “vs” comparisons). Use internal links to cascade authority and guide users.
Helpful content checklist:
- Covers the topic exhaustively but clearly (scannable headings, summaries)
- Demonstrates expertise (first-party data, case studies, Perth-specific nuances)
- Answers FAQs, includes comparisons, defines jargon plainly
- Provides next steps: book consult, download checklist, get quote
- Uses structured data (FAQPage, HowTo, Product/Service, LocalBusiness)
A Pragmatic Hybrid Plan (Quarter-by-Quarter)
Quarter 1: “Ignition”
- Launch PPC for bottom-funnel keywords (capture demand now).
- Fix technical SEO blockers (indexing, CWV, redirects, schema).
- Create 1-2 high-intent landing pages per core service.
- Publish 2-4 evergreen SEO assets (pillar + cluster posts).
“Ignition”Quarter 2: “Scale & Shape”
- Expand PPC to mid-funnel (competitor, “best of”, comparison queries).
- Refine bids with tCPA/tROAS; prune low-value keywords.
- Expand SEO clusters; build internal links; start digital PR.
- Introduce remarketing and email nurture for warm leads.
Quarter 3+: “Compound & Optimise”
- Let SEO take more of the load for queries where you rank top 3.
- Reinvest PPC into new offers, geos, or experimental audiences.
- Refresh winning content, add case studies and proof.
- Tighten attribution and LTV models to invest with confidence.
Real-World Scenarios
1. Seasonal services (e.g., end-of-financial-year IT audits):
- Use PPC for 8–12 weeks (aggressive “EOFY Audit” offer).
- Simultaneously publish an SEO “EOFY Cybersecurity Checklist – Perth Edition” to capture long-tail and email signups for next year.
2. New product/service launch (e.g., Microsoft 365 Copilot enablement):
- PPC for immediate discovery and demo bookings.
- SEO for “Copilot for SMEs Perth” pillars, comparisons vs alternatives, and case studies.
3. Highly competitive category (e.g., Managed IT Perth):
- PPC + SEO together.
- Niche down with industry pages (accounting, legal, healthcare) and suburb pages where appropriate.
Jargon Buster (Updated & Simplified)
- Organic results: Non-paid listings earned via SEO.
- Search engine rankings: Your position in results for a given query.
- CPC/CPA/ROAS: Cost per click / cost per acquisition / return on ad spend.
- Quality Score: Google’s measure of ad/keyword/landing page relevance.
- Core Web Vitals (CWV): Page experience metrics (LCP, CLS, INP).
- Pillar / Cluster: A comprehensive “hub” page + related subtopics linked together.
Measurement Plan (So You Know What’s Working)
For PPC:
- Track conversions by type (form, call, chat, demo, checkout).
- Record lead quality in your CRM (MQL→SQL rate, revenue).
- Monitor search term reports and add negatives weekly.
- Split-test landing page headlines/CTAs monthly.
For SEO:
- Use Search Console to track non-brand clicks and queries.
- Monitor rankings for topic clusters, not just single keywords.
- Attribute conversions with an assisted model (e.g., data-driven, time decay).
- Review content refresh opportunities every quarter.
Recommended Budgets (Refined)
Google Ads (PPC):
- Starter: AUD $1,500–$3,000/mo for focused local campaigns
- Growth: AUD $3,000–$8,000/mo for multiple services/regions
- Scale: AUD $8,000–$20,000+/mo for competitive niches and broader reach
- Daily: AUD $35–$75+ minimum per core campaign to gather statistically useful data
- ROI varies. Align budgets to target CPA or tROAS based on your margins and LTV.
SEO:
- Starter: AUD $1,000–$2,500/mo (technical fixes + content basics)
- Growth: AUD $2,500–$5,000/mo (pillar/cluster build, digital PR)
- Scale: AUD $5,000–$10,000+/mo (content ops, PR, multi-region)
- Daily: AUD $35–$75+ minimum per core campaign to gather statistically useful data
- Expect 3–6+ months to see steady gains; invest continuously for compounding effects.
Balanced split for many SMEs: 60–70% to PPC in the first 90 days while SEO foundations are laid; shift toward 50/50 by Month 6 as organic momentum builds.
Action Checklist
PPC (this week):
- Define 10–20 money keywords (buying intent)
- Build one message-matched landing page per service
- Add negative keywords and tighten geos to Perth or key suburbs
- Turn on call extensions and schedule ads to business hours
- Track all conversions (thank-you URLs, phone, chats)
SEO (this month):
- Fix technical blockers (indexation, CWV, sitemap, robots)
- Create one pillar page + 3–5 supporting cluster posts
- Add internal links from high-traffic posts to money pages
- Add FAQ schema to top pages
- Improve E-E-A-T: case studies, staff profiles, Perth-specific proof
Clear Next Steps
- Want quick wins while you build durable growth? Run PPC now and start your SEO pillar in parallel.
- Not sure where to start? We’ll help you choose the right mix and phase your investment.
Talk to us: The Computing Australia Group digital team in Perth can design, run, and optimise both channels-so they work together (not in silos).
Email: sales@computingaustralia.group
FAQ
Can I run Google Ads and SEO at the same time?
Yes-and you should. PPC brings immediate visibility and conversion tests; SEO builds the foundation and reduces dependency on paid traffic over time.
Is it okay to keep reCAPTCHA, analytics, and tracking with both?
Absolutely. Just ensure clean conversion tracking (no double-counting) and respect privacy/consent requirements.
How long until SEO works?
Expect noticeable changes in 3-6 months; competitive verticals can take longer. Local and long-tail improvements often happen sooner.
What if my Google Ads “worked” then stopped?
Check competition increases, CPC inflation, ad fatigue, search term quality, landing page speed/UX, and conversion tracking integrity.
