If you want to be found in Google, there are two routes: pay for an ad slot or make your website so good that it rises to the top by itself. The first is PPC (in the Netherlands usually called SEA), the second is SEO. The two look alike, because both are about visibility in search engines. But they work completely differently, cost differently and deliver results at a different moment. In this article we explain what PPC is, what the difference between SEO and PPC is and how to choose what suits your business.
What is PPC?
PPC stands for pay-per-click: advertising in search engines, where you pay for every click on your ad. You create an ad, choose the keywords it should appear for and pay per click. If someone searches for “dakkoffer huren Leiden” (roof box hire in Leiden) and you have bid on that term, your ad can appear at the top of the results with the label “Sponsored”. In the Netherlands, PPC almost always runs through Google Ads. Microsoft Advertising (Bing) exists too and is cheaper in some industries, but the volume is much smaller. Dutch marketers tend to call this SEA (Search Engine Advertising); it is the same thing.
The big advantage of PPC is speed and control. Your campaign is usually live within a day. You decide which keywords you appear for, in which region, on which days and with what budget. And you can switch it off at any moment.
The downside: the moment you stop paying, you are gone. PPC builds nothing. Every visitor costs money, the first and the thousandth.
What is SEO?
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation. You make your website so good that Google ranks it high in the regular, unpaid search results of its own accord. That involves three kinds of work: technical (a fast, well-structured site that Google can read easily), content (pages that answer exactly what people are looking for) and authority (links from other websites, see what are backlinks).
The advantage of SEO is that you build something. A page that ranks well delivers traffic for months without you paying per visitor. The disadvantage is that it takes time. In our experience you see the first results after four to six weeks on average, and really noticeable growth often only after several months. You also have less control: in the end Google decides who ranks at the top, not you.
SEO vs PPC at a glance
| SEO | PPC | |
|---|---|---|
| Position in Google | Organic results | Ads, labelled “Sponsored” |
| Cost | You pay for the work, not per visitor | You pay per click, plus management if outsourced |
| Speed | First results after weeks, growth after months | Live within a day, data within 1 to 2 weeks |
| When you stop | Traffic keeps coming (for now) | Traffic stops immediately |
| Control | Limited, Google decides | High: keywords, region, budget, times |
| Visitor trust | Often higher, people know it is “earned” | Some searchers skip the ads |
| Suited to | Long term, structural growth | Quick tests, seasonal peaks, new pages |
Want to know what both channels cost? Read how much does SEO cost and how much does Google Ads cost.
When do you choose PPC?
PPC is the logical choice in these situations:
- You need customers now. A new business or a new service cannot wait months for SEO. With ads you have visitors tomorrow.
- You want to test quickly. Which keywords generate enquiries? Which ad copy works? With ads you know within two weeks. That knowledge is worth its weight in gold for your SEO strategy afterwards.
- You have a seasonal peak. If you sell Christmas hampers or hire out roof boxes for the ski season, you want to be at the top in the peak weeks. SEO is built for the whole year, ads you switch on in the weeks that matter.
- The organic competition is out of reach. On some keywords big players have been at the top for years. Then advertising is the only way to get in between them quickly.
One condition: the numbers have to add up. If a click costs more than a customer brings in, PPC is money down the drain. We also recommend a minimum ad budget of € 500 per month, otherwise there is too little data to steer on and management does not justify the budget.
When do you choose SEO?
SEO is the better fit in these situations:
- You want structural growth. Your business is established and you want to be less dependent on paid traffic in the coming years.
- There is existing search demand. People are already searching for your product or service. SEO only works when there is something to be found; creating demand for a completely new product is not what it does.
- Click prices in your industry are high. Where a click costs several euros, organic traffic becomes relatively valuable.
- You have many pages or products. A web shop with hundreds of products cannot advertise on everything, but it can rank organically on everything.
The flip side: you need patience and the willingness to invest monthly without immediate feedback. Read how long does SEO take for a realistic timeline.
Combining SEO and PPC: usually the best choice
The question “SEO vs PPC” is really a false choice. In practice they reinforce each other, and for most SMEs the combination is the strongest. This is how it works:
- Ads deliver data for SEO. Within weeks you see which keywords generate enquiries. Those are the keywords you then write your SEO pages for.
- SEO lowers your ad costs over time. Once you rank well organically for a keyword, you can scale back the ad budget there and shift it to keywords where you do not rank yet.
- Two spots on the same page. If you appear with an ad and an organic result on page 1, you capture a bigger share of the clicks.
- One measurement for both. With accurate conversion tracking in Google Analytics you see what an enquiry costs per channel. That is the basis of every budget decision.
From our own experience: at our own company Djunes (photo booth and event hire), SEO and Google Ads run side by side. Organic traffic grew by 187% in 12 months, and the cost per booking through Google Ads fell from € 42 to € 26 in the same period. The number of online bookings rose by 212% year on year. That growth did not come from one channel, but from the combination and from measuring every month what worked.
Do not forget the third route
Besides SEO and PPC there is now a third way to be found: in AI tools such as ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google’s AI Overviews. That is called GEO (generative engine optimisation). It builds on SEO, but has its own rules. Read what is GEO if you want to know how that works.
At Stijgt we start every project with a baseline and accurate tracking, so you can see per channel what it delivers. Then we choose together: SEO, PPC or both. See our approach to SEO and Google Ads, or get in touch for honest advice.