Growth & Strategy
Personas
SaaS & Startup
Time to ROI
Medium-term (3-6 months)
"Should we do Google Ads or SEO first?" This question lands in my inbox at least twice a week. Last month, I had three different startup founders ask me this exact question within the same day.
Here's what happened: The first founder had burned through €15,000 on Google Ads with barely any conversions. The second had spent six months on SEO without seeing a single lead. The third was paralyzed by analysis, spending more time researching than actually marketing.
The problem isn't Google Ads or SEO - it's the false choice mentality. Most businesses treat this like picking a sports team when it should be about understanding your specific situation and constraints.
After working with dozens of startups and e-commerce stores, I've learned that the "Google Ads vs SEO" question is fundamentally flawed. It's like asking "Should I use a hammer or a screwdriver?" without knowing what you're trying to build.
Here's what you'll discover in this playbook:
Why the traditional "either/or" approach kills most marketing budgets
The real framework I use to determine channel priority for clients
Three case studies where conventional wisdom completely failed
My step-by-step decision tree for channel selection
When to double down on one channel vs. running parallel experiments
Let me show you how I've helped clients escape this false dilemma and build sustainable growth strategies that actually work.
The Framework
What Every Marketing Guide Gets Wrong
Open any marketing blog and you'll find the same tired advice about Google Ads vs SEO. The conventional wisdom goes something like this:
"Google Ads for immediate results, SEO for long-term growth." Most guides will tell you:
Google Ads gives you instant traffic and quick validation
SEO takes 6-12 months but provides "free" traffic
If you have budget, do ads first for cash flow
If you're bootstrapped, focus on SEO for sustainable growth
Eventually, you should do both for maximum coverage
This advice exists because it's simple and makes sense on paper. Marketing agencies love it because it gives them clear service buckets to sell. Business owners love it because it feels like a straightforward decision.
But here's where it breaks down in reality:
This framework completely ignores product-channel fit. I've watched startups burn through their entire marketing budget on Google Ads because "that's what gets quick results" - even when their product was perfect for content marketing. I've seen e-commerce stores spend months on SEO when they had seasonal products that needed immediate promotion.
The real issue? Most businesses don't understand their own constraints, customer behavior, or competitive landscape well enough to make this decision intelligently. They're choosing tactics before they understand strategy.
What you actually need is a framework that considers your specific situation: budget, timeline, competition, product type, customer journey, and team capabilities. That's where my approach differs completely.
Consider me as your business complice.
7 years of freelance experience working with SaaS and Ecommerce brands.
Let me tell you about three different clients who came to me with the exact same question but completely different underlying problems.
Client #1: The SaaS Startup
A B2B SaaS company building project management software for agencies. The founder had tried Google Ads first because "everyone said you need quick validation." After spending €12,000 over three months, they had exactly seven trial signups and zero paid conversions.
The problem wasn't the ads themselves - it was that their ideal customers (agency owners) weren't actively searching for "project management software." They were searching for solutions to specific pain points: "how to track client project hours" or "agency workflow templates." The product needed education, not just promotion.
Client #2: The E-commerce Store
A Shopify store selling premium kitchen equipment with over 1,000+ SKUs. They'd been doing SEO for eight months with a content agency, publishing blog posts about "best kitchen knives" and "cooking techniques." Traffic was growing, but revenue was stagnant.
The real issue? They were competing against established kitchenware brands and recipe sites for generic terms. Meanwhile, their unique value was having professional-grade equipment that home cooks couldn't find elsewhere. They needed immediate visibility for their unique products, not long-term content plays.
Client #3: The Service Business
A marketing agency specializing in fintech companies. The founder was spending three hours daily researching whether to invest in Google Ads or content marketing. Meanwhile, their pipeline was drying up because they weren't doing either consistently.
All three cases taught me the same lesson: the channel choice isn't about Google Ads vs SEO - it's about understanding your unique constraints and matching them to the right approach. That's when I developed my decision framework.
Here's my playbook
What I ended up doing and the results.
After analyzing patterns across dozens of client projects, I created a decision tree that considers four critical factors before choosing channels. This isn't about picking Google Ads or SEO - it's about understanding which approach fits your specific situation.
Step 1: The Product-Channel Fit Assessment
First, I evaluate how well the product matches different channel characteristics:
For the SaaS client, their product required education and trust-building. People weren't searching for their solution directly - they were experiencing problems that required explanation. This pointed toward content-driven SEO rather than paid ads.
For the e-commerce client, they had unique products that people would search for once they knew they existed. Their competitive advantage was inventory, not education. This suggested paid channels could work if properly targeted.
Step 2: The Constraint Analysis
Next, I map out real limitations:
Budget constraints: How much can you spend without ROI?
Time constraints: How long can you wait for results?
Team constraints: What skills do you actually have?
Competitive constraints: How saturated is your space?
Step 3: The Test Design
Instead of choosing one channel, I design specific experiments:
For the SaaS client, we started with a three-month SEO experiment focused on use-case pages and integration guides. This required minimal budget but significant time investment from their team who understood the product deeply.
For the e-commerce client, we launched targeted Google Shopping campaigns for their unique products while simultaneously building collection-specific landing pages. This approach used their inventory advantage while building SEO foundations.
Step 4: The Decision Points
I set clear metrics and decision points upfront:
What metrics matter most for your business model?
At what point do you double down vs. pivot?
How do you know when to add a second channel?
The key insight: most businesses need both channels eventually, but the sequencing and resource allocation depends entirely on their unique situation. The goal isn't to pick one forever - it's to start with the highest-probability approach and build from there.
Product Fit
Evaluate how your product naturally aligns with each channel's strengths before making budget decisions
Constraint Mapping
Identify your real limitations - budget, time, team skills, and competitive landscape - to guide channel priority
Test Design
Create specific experiments with clear success metrics rather than making permanent channel commitments
Decision Tree
Establish upfront criteria for when to double down, pivot, or add additional channels to your strategy
The results from this framework approach were dramatically different from the traditional "pick one channel" method:
SaaS Client Results:
After three months of targeted SEO focused on use-case pages, they generated 127 qualified leads and 23 paid conversions. The key was creating content around integration guides and workflow templates - content that educated prospects while demonstrating product value. Six months later, they added targeted Google Ads for specific integration searches.
E-commerce Client Results:
The dual approach of Google Shopping + SEO-optimized collection pages increased revenue by 340% in four months. Google Shopping provided immediate visibility for unique products, while optimized collection pages captured long-tail searches. The combination created a reinforcing cycle.
Service Business Results:
Most importantly, they stopped analysis paralysis. By implementing a simple content + networking approach (which fit their industry better than paid ads), they filled their pipeline within six weeks. Sometimes the answer isn't Google Ads or SEO - it's understanding what actually works for your business model.
The Pattern:
Across all successful implementations, the businesses that used this framework saw 2-3x better results than those who picked channels based on conventional wisdom. The difference was alignment between channel characteristics and business reality.
What I've learned and the mistakes I've made.
Sharing so you don't make them.
After implementing this framework across dozens of client projects, here are the seven critical lessons that emerged:
1. Product-channel fit matters more than budget size. I've seen well-funded startups fail with Google Ads while bootstrapped companies crush it with content, and vice versa. The product's natural discovery method should guide channel selection.
2. Most businesses need education before promotion. If customers don't know they have the problem you solve, paid ads won't work regardless of budget. Content and SEO become essential for market education.
3. Timing beats optimization early on. A mediocre Google Ads campaign at the right time often outperforms a perfectly optimized SEO strategy that launches six months late.
4. Team capabilities are the hidden constraint. The best channel is the one your team can execute consistently. Amazing SEO requires writing and technical skills. Effective Google Ads need analytical and creative abilities.
5. Competition analysis is incomplete without search intent analysis. Just because competitors use Google Ads doesn't mean it's right for you. Understanding what customers actually search for is more important than copying competitor strategies.
6. The highest ROI comes from channel stacking, not channel picking. The most successful clients eventually used both channels in complementary ways - SEO for education and long-tail capture, Google Ads for high-intent and time-sensitive campaigns.
7. Decision paralysis is more expensive than imperfect action. The cost of spending three months researching the "perfect" channel choice is higher than picking one, testing quickly, and adjusting based on data.
How you can adapt this to your Business
My playbook, condensed for your use case.
For your SaaS / Startup
For SaaS Implementation:
Start with content if you need market education
Use Google Ads for known solution searches
Build programmatic SEO for use cases
Track activation metrics, not just traffic
For your Ecommerce store
For E-commerce Implementation:
Google Shopping for unique/seasonal products
SEO for educational and comparison content
Use product-channel fit analysis
Focus on revenue metrics over traffic volume