This is the question we are asked most, usually by a business with a limited monthly budget that cannot do both properly. The honest answer depends on three things: how quickly you need enquiries, how competitive your market is, and how long you can wait to see a return.
What ads are genuinely good at
Speed and certainty. You can be in front of buyers within a day, test which services and messages actually convert, and switch it off when you are full. The catch is that the enquiries stop the moment the budget does.
What SEO is genuinely good at
Compounding. The work you pay for in month one is still bringing enquiries in month eighteen, and the cost per enquiry falls steadily. The catch is the first three months, when you are paying and the graph looks flat.
What we usually recommend
For most local businesses: start a small, tightly targeted ad campaign for immediate enquiries and, at the same time, spend a modest amount on the SEO foundations – technical fixes, the Google Business Profile, and one properly written page per core service. After six months, the SEO usually carries enough of the load that ad spend becomes a choice rather than a necessity.
The number that decides everything
Work out what one new customer is worth to you over a year. Until you know that, no one can tell you whether Rs 20,000 a month is expensive or cheap – and any agency that quotes without asking is guessing.
