Facebook Ads vs SEO: Cost, Urgency, ROI | Which Is Better For Small Business?

SEO and Facebook Ads are two of the most popular digital marketing channels. Digital marketers like Brian Dean of Backlinko and Rand Fishkin of Moz promote SEO as the optimal solution. Others, like Emanuele Maragno of Ecom House, advocate for Facebook Ads as the most effective marketing channel. Ultimately, the right solution depends on the specific factors of the business doing the marketing. A local business is likely to find SEO highly effective while an Ecommerce brand will probably get more value from Facebook Ads. Often, a combination of both online marketing strategies provides the optimal solution. 

I’ve been a digital marketer for over a decade now, using tactics like SEO and Facebook Ads to make money online. I use SEO to generate and sell leads to local business owners. I’ve used Facebook Ads to generate $48K in one month from dropshipping. I compare these two popular digital marketing channels in this article so you can decide which is optimal for your situation.

Facebook Ads vs SEO: Cost

Facebook ads cost approximately $0.70 per click, according to Shopify. Data from leading digital marketing agency WebFX finds that advertisers spend $100 - $500/month on average for Facebook Ads. Facebook Ad costs can vary substantially. The cost depends on factors like competition, geographic location, and the budget and bidding parameters set up. 

One entrepreneur on Reddit mentions starting with a Facebook Ads budget of just £10/day. They have since scaled their business to £200 - £300/day during high season. They note that it took them about a year of fine tuning their campaigns to generate consistent profits from Facebook Ads.

SEO costs $2,917 per month on average, according to an Ahrefs poll of 439 SEO service providers. Although SEO costs range from $250 to $10,000 per month, the majority 63% of businesses spend between $500 and $5,000. Local SEO is most affordable, costing $1,557 per month on average.

One local SEO service provider on Reddit notes that their minimum monthly retainer starts at $900/month. They typically charge $1,400, with prices varying depending on the client's niche. 

Facebook Ads vs SEO: Urgency

Facebook Ads work immediately. Once a Facebook Ad is set live, it starts getting displayed in front of relevant Facebook users. These users can click on it and take action on the offer. However, it’s important to note that Facebook Ads aren’t likely to generate optimal results right away. That’s because the Meta Pixel (previously Facebook Pixel) needs time to collect data and adjust the campaign targeting. The Meta Pixel is a piece of code that goes onto your website that allows you to collect user data for marketing. 

According to Facebook Ads service Save My Leads, the initial phase of a Facebook Ad campaign lasts 1 - 3 days. In this first phase, the Facebook algorithm is learning from the data collected with the Meta Pixel and optimizing ad delivery. Then the optimization phase lasts 1 - 2 weeks. Here advertisers have access to better data to make adjustments to the Facebook campaign. At around 3+ weeks, the Facebook Ads are fully optimized and should generate consistent marketing results.

SEO results typically take 3 - 6 months for local campaigns and 6 - 12+ for national and international campaigns. SEO requires more time because of Google’s complicated search algorithm. Google’s search algorithm needs to analyze a website’s performance over a period of time before it feels comfortable giving it visibility in the Google search engine. Google prefers to rank websites that see a consistent increase in backlinks and quality content published.  

Facebook Ads vs SEO: Click-Through Rate (CTR)

Click through rate is the percent of people that click on an ad or search result if they see it. Facebook Ads have an average CTR of just 0.90%, according to a survey of businesses running FB Ads by Wordstream. 

Organic Google results have a much higher click through rate. A study of over 4 million search results by Backlinko found that the first organic result on Google has an average CTR of 27.6%. The 10th and organic result on Google has the lowest CTR on the first page. It still boasts a CTR of 2.4%, which is higher than the average Facebook Ad CTR. 

Facebook Ads vs SEO: Targeting Effectiveness

Facebook Ads are so powerful because they allow you granular control over audience targeting. You can target based on factors like age, gender, education level, country, zip code, interests, and purchase behavior. Although Facebook Ads allow advanced targeting options, they are presented on a channel where people usually aren't looking to buy. People typically use Facebook for social purposes rather than to make a purchase. 

SEO audience targeting is accomplished through user intent and keyword-based targeting. SEO allows a business to position themself in front of customers that are actively searching for something they need. For example, a plumbing business in Tampa showing up as the first result for the search query “Tampa plumber”. SEO doesn’t offer the same level of targeting control as Facebook Ads. However, the targeting effectiveness is better for business results because purchase intent on Google is higher. 

Facebook Ads vs SEO: Platform Reach

Facebook has just over 3 billion monthly active users. It’s the largest social media platform globally. Data from Statista outlines the top 5 countries for Facebook users as India (378.05 million), United States (193.8 million), Indonesia (119.05 million), Brazil (112.55 million), and Mexico (92.7 million). 56.8% of the platform's audience are male, while 43.2% are female. Overall, Facebook Ads offer considerable reach compared to most other digital marketing channels. 

Nearly 5 billion people use Google, according to Exploding Topics. It accounts for over 91% of all search engine searches worldwide. Google processes approximately 8.5 billion searches per day. Data from World Population Review shows that the top countries for Google users include The United States, India, Japan, Indonesia, and Brazil. The majority 68% of all online experiences begin with a search engine and Google dominates the search market. As such, Google offers the highest reach. 

Facebook Ads vs SEO: Learning Difficulty

Many advertisers agree Facebook Ads are relatively easy to learn. It typically takes a few weeks to a few months to become proficient in Facebook Ads. That’s because Facebook provides a user-friendly interface. Also, advertisers have immediate access to performance data. 

SEO is considered moderately difficult to learn. It can take months to years to become proficient in SEO. That’s because SEO campaigns take months to generate results. There are less opportunities to interpret data and adjust campaigns. Constant Google algorithm updates also make SEO difficult. An SEO professional typically needs to experience and overcome a handful of Google Core Updates before getting a good handle on SEO. 

Facebook Ads vs SEO: ROI

Facebook Ads have an average ROI of 400% - 800%, according to Save My Leads. 

A Facebook Ads agency owner on Reddit says that a 500% ROI is a win for most of their clients. They continue that most of their clients don’t actually experience solid profits unless Facebook Ads generate a 400% - 500% profit. The agency has noticed a trend of decreasing profitability with Facebook Ads over the years. 

The average ROI of SEO ranges between 550% - 2,200%, according to digital agencies TeraKeet and Sagapixel. 

An SEO agency on Reddit claims that one of their clients paying $5,800/month for SEO is generating $600k-$700k annually from the service. Another of their clients spending $10k/month for SEO is generating $500k-$650k annually.

Is SEO better than Facebook Ads for small businesses?

SEO is better than Facebook Ads for small businesses. However, this is mostly true for local businesses. That’s because local SEO is much cheaper and faster than national or international SEO campaigns. Local SEO can provide small businesses with a long-term marketing channel that generates a solid ROI. 

Facebook Ads are typically more effective for Ecommerce businesses than SEO. That’s because Ecommerce businesses don’t have a local identifier that lessens the competition in search engine rankings. As such, paying for effective SEO has a high cost for most Ecommerce businesses. Small Ecommerce businesses on a tight budget are usually better off paying for PPC ads like Facebook Ads rather than investing into SEO. 

Can you do SEO on Facebook?

You can do SEO on Facebook. Facebook SEO is all about optimizing a business’s Facebook Page content for visibility to a relevant audience. This is accomplished by using relevant keywords in the Facebook Page title, putting the brand name in the URL, completely filling out the about section and incorporating keywords, and providing accurate business details. Creating content relevant to the business’s audience and optimizing the content with keywords is also important. 

What is the average cost per lead on Facebook Ads?

The average cost per leads on Facebook Ads is $17.89, according to Wordstream. The average conversion rate on these leads is 12.54%. That means the average business spends $142.66 to generate one sale with Facebook Ads. Facebook Ads are still profitable for businesses whose offer commands a higher price than the cost of an ad that converts. On average, that means a business whose offer costs the customer at least $142.66.

Should you pay for SEO or do it yourself?

You should do SEO yourself if you want greater control over scaling a business. Paying an SEO agency or freelancer to do SEO for you can generate profitable results. However, it can be more costly and forces your business to be reliant on a third-party. That’s why some business owners prefer to learn SEO themselves. This allows them to cut down on marketing costs and take more of a high level role in the company if they haven’t already. 

We’ve had business owners go through our SEO program that worked in-field their entire career. By learning SEO themselves, they were able to take a step back from performing the service and actually build an online business. They built a team of people to perform the service instead of them. Now, they provide their team opportunities from SEO marketing, taking their cut from the deal. 

Conclusion: Is PPC and SEO working together a good solution?

PPC and SEO working together is a good solution because it allows a business to experience immediate results with PPC ads. At the same time, it establishes a more efficient marketing channel long-term with SEO. When doing this for local businesses, I prefer to use Google Ads over Facebook Ads because the purchase intent is higher for Google searches.

We call this the "Go Fast Look Sexy" method in our SEO lead gen training program. We teach our students how to use Google Ads to start generating leads in advance. Then, we take those profits and use SEO to create digital assets that produce consistent results long-term. We aren't stuck paying for ongoing ad spend to make money.