Advertising
What is the difference between SEO and SEA?
Short answer
SEO (search engine optimisation) means being found in Google's regular, unpaid search results. SEA (search engine advertising, usually Google Ads) means paying to appear at the top with an ad. SEA works immediately and stops as soon as you stop paying; SEO takes time but keeps bringing traffic without a cost per click.
SEO in short
You improve your website, content and authority so Google ranks your pages higher. You do not pay per click, but you do pay for the work. Results build slowly and cannot be guaranteed, but they remain after the investment.
SEA in short
You bid on keywords and pay per click. You are visible immediately, can steer precisely by keyword, location and time, and quickly see what works. Stop paying and the visibility disappears.
When SEA is the better start
With a new website or service, with seasonal demand, or when you want to test quickly which keywords produce enquiries. You then use that knowledge for SEO.
When SEO is the better investment
For questions people search for continuously that relate to your core services, and in markets with high click prices. Every page found organically saves advertising costs.
Why the combination often works best
SEA brings immediate enquiries and data; SEO reduces your dependence on ads over time. Both need the same foundation: good landing pages and working conversion tracking.
Frequently asked questions
Is SEA the same as Google Ads?
In practice, mostly yes. SEA also covers advertising on other search engines, such as Microsoft Bing.
Does SEA help my SEO?
Not directly: Google Ads does not affect your organic ranking. But SEA does teach you which keywords produce enquiries.
Where does GEO fit in?
GEO is about visibility in the answers of AI services. It builds on SEO, not on SEA.
More questions about advertising
- What is SEO?SEO stands for search engine optimisation.
- How do I rank higher on Google?You rank higher on Google by creating a page per service that answers the search query better than the pages currently at the top, by getting the technical basics right and by being visibly trustworthy, with a complete Google Business Profile and links from relevant websites.
- Why is my website not showing up on Google?It is usually one of six causes: the site has not been indexed yet, a setting blocks Google (such as 'noindex' or robots.txt), there is no dedicated page for what you want to be found for, the content is too thin, the domain is still young, or you are searching for a term with much stronger competitors.
- Which keywords is my website found for?You can see this for free in Google Search Console, under Performance and then Search results.
Request a Growth Scan
Two minutes. We'll get in touch to schedule the scan and confirm what you'll receive.