Has a friend ever asked for a book recommendation, and you’re happy to give it — because you are an avid reader and have a lot of knowledge to pull from?

This is kinda how Google provides search results.

It has a lot of information, and it tries to make the best match because of what it knows.

This is how organic SEO works.

It will find the most relevant results based on the content of each web page. If you have relevant website content that Google can find, you might start to show up in search results for particular keywords. If you want your prospects to find you for certain keywords, making sure you’re using those keywords in your content can help. 

That’s the idea behind using organic SEO efforts to get more traffic.

On the other hand, a friend might ask for a book recommendation, and you would recommend whatever book was paying you to be recommended.

This is how Google Ads works.

Your site can show up immediately in search results, if you pay for it.

Which approach is best for your business? Cost, timing and competition will play the biggest roles. While organic SEO most likely takes longer, you won’t be paying for each click once you start to get rankings. But if you’re trying to rank for something extremely popular, showing up might not be likely for a long time, even with a lot of content. If you want immediate traffic, Google Ads might be the way to go, because if you have a budget, clicks can be yours starting immediately. 

In my latest blog post, I talk about Google Ads and organic SEO, to help you determine which approach is right for you.

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Hi, I’m Jill Anderson of Jill Lynn Design, a WordPress designer/developer who partners with talented designers, copywriters, and agencies on their websites, and their client’s sites. Visit my website, get my free report, Get Your Website Done: 12 Actionable Steps for Designers, and check out my Client Onboarding Toolkit, a simple 4-step digital course for converting prospects into paying clients.