When to pay for traffic.
WHAT PAID ADVERTISING GIVES YOU
Traffic immediately, rather than in months Control over which queries you appear for
Testing: you can learn which queries convert before investing in content for them
WHAT IT DOES NOT GIVE YOU
Improved organic rankings. Paid and organic are separate. Anything lasting. Traffic stops when spending stops.
WHEN IT MAKES SENSE
While waiting for organic results to build For competitive commercial terms you cannot rank for For time-limited promotions To test which queries actually produce customers
WHEN IT DOES NOT
Sending paid traffic to a site that does not convert. Fix the site first, or you are paying to lose visitors. As a permanent substitute for organic visibility, which becomes expensive indefinitely.
USING IT TO INFORM SEO
Paid campaigns reveal which queries convert, quickly. That tells you which content is worth writing.
This is the most underused benefit of paid advertising for a small business.
BUDGETING
Start small, measure conversions rather than clicks, and stop what does not work.
