Many Irish business owners hear “search engine marketing” and assume it means either SEO or Google Ads, then pick one without comparing them. In practice, search engine marketing covers both ways of being found on Google: paying for ads that appear straight away, and earning free listings that take longer but keep working. The useful decision is not which one is better, but which one fits the business’s budget, timeline and the searches its customers make.
Key takeaways
- Search engine marketing usually means paid search ads, and many people also use the term for SEO and paid search together.
- With cost-per-click bidding in Google Ads, an advertiser pays only when someone clicks the ad.
- Google says paying for ads has no effect on organic search results, and that appearing in organic results costs nothing.
- A Google Ads campaign can spend up to twice its average daily budget on a single day, but no more than 30.4 times that budget in a month.
- Linking Search Console to Google Ads shows paid and organic results for the same searches side by side.
On this page
What search engine marketing means#
The term is used in two ways, which is why “SEO vs SEM” causes so much confusion. In the narrow sense, search engine marketing means paid search: ads that appear above or below the free results when someone searches. In the wider sense, it means all work to win customers from search engines, so it includes SEO (Search engine optimisation: improving a website so it appears in free search results.) as well as ads.
For a small business, the wider meaning is more useful, because both channels answer the same customer searches. Baikou’s page on SEO services in Ireland covers the free side, and its Google Ads management page covers the paid side.
The running example in this guide is a plumbing and heating firm in Tuam. Its owner, Ailbhe, gets steady work from referrals but wants more boiler service bookings before winter. A friend tells her to “do SEM”, and she wants to know whether that means paying Google, fixing her website, or both.
SEO and paid search side by side#
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The two channels sit on the same results page, but they work in different ways. Google’s page on hiring an SEO says advertising with Google has no effect on organic search results, and that it costs nothing to appear in them. For ads, Google’s guide to bidding basics says that with cost-per-click bidding, an advertiser pays only when someone clicks the ad and comes to the site.
| Question | SEO (organic results) | Paid search (Google Ads) |
|---|---|---|
| What is paid for | Work on the website and content | Each click on the ad |
| When results appear | Gradually, often over weeks or months | As soon as ads are approved and running |
| What happens when spending stops | Pages can keep ranking | Ads stop showing |
| What decides position | Relevance and usefulness of the page | Bid, ad quality and other auction factors |
| Effect on the other channel | Better pages can help landing page quality | None on organic rankings |
Based on Google Search Central and Google Ads Help, October 2026.
The timing row matters most for planning. Google’s SEO Starter Guide says changes to a site can take from a few hours to several months to show in search results.
Ailbhe’s winter deadline is about six weeks away. That points her towards ads for the busy season, with SEO work started at the same time for next year.
How paid search is priced#
Paid search does not have a fixed price per click. Google runs an auction each time an ad could show, and its help page on Ad Rank lists the factors: the bid, the quality of the ad and landing page, minimum thresholds, competition in that auction, the context of the search, and the expected impact of extras such as phone numbers. The same page says higher quality ads can often lead to lower costs per click.
The price actually charged is often below the maximum bid. Google’s definition of actual cost per click says the advertiser pays only what is needed to meet the thresholds and beat the ad ranked directly below.
Budgets also work differently from what many owners expect. According to Google’s page on overdelivery and average daily budgets, a campaign might spend up to twice its average daily budget on a given day, but by the end of the month it will have spent no more than 30.4 times that daily budget.
Watch out: A daily budget is an average, not a hard cap for each day. Plan cash flow around the monthly limit, which is the daily budget multiplied by 30.4.
Ailbhe sets a daily budget she is comfortable with across a month and limits her ads to searches for boiler services in her area. The cost of the SEO side is covered in the Baikou guide to SEO prices in Ireland.
How SEO and paid search work together#
Running both channels gives more than two separate results. Google Ads has a paid and organic report that shows ad clicks and organic clicks for the same searches, once a Search Console account for the site is linked to the Google Ads account. Organic data starts from the date the import begins, so it is worth linking the accounts early.
Google suggests a few ways to use the report:
- Find searches with organic visits but no ads, which may be worth adding to campaigns.
- Cover valuable searches where organic traffic is low with ads while the pages improve.
- Measure changes together, so a new page or a budget change can be judged across both channels.
The same help page confirms that paid search spending does not affect organic rankings. Ads can fill a gap, but they do not lift the website’s free listings.
Tip: Searches that bring enquiries through ads are good candidates for a dedicated page on the website. Over time that page can win some of the same customers without paying for each click.
Ailbhe links Search Console to her Google Ads account on the first day, so she can see which searches bring bookings through ads and which already reach her site for free.
Which to start with#
There is no single right order, but the choice usually follows the business’s situation:
- Customers are needed within weeks. Paid search can show ads as soon as the campaign is approved, so it suits a deadline or a seasonal push.
- The budget is small and steady. SEO work on the most important pages and the Google Business Profile builds visibility that does not stop when spending stops.
- It is unclear which searches bring customers. A short paid campaign can show which searches lead to enquiries before pages are written for them.
- The business already ranks well for its main searches. Ads can cover extra searches, other locations or seasonal services.
- Competitors dominate the ads. Strong pages and local listings give another way to appear on the same results page.
Many small businesses end up using both. Paid search brings enquiries now, while SEO lowers dependence on ads over time.
Note: Search engines now also show AI answers above the usual results. Google’s page on AI features and your website says no special optimisations are needed for AI Overviews, so the same SEO basics apply.
How Baikou helps Irish businesses with search engine marketing#
When Baikou’s team plans search engine marketing for an Irish business, it starts from the searches that bring enquiries, not from one channel. It links Search Console and Google Ads, sets budgets with the monthly limit in mind, and builds pages for the searches that prove valuable in ads. The team also runs a free AI visibility check, because customers increasingly ask ChatGPT and other assistants for recommendations, and the check shows whether the business is named in those answers.
Where to start this month#
Decide whether the business needs enquiries within weeks or steady visibility over months, and choose paid search, SEO or both on that basis. Link Search Console to Google Ads before spending, set a daily budget that works at 30.4 times for the month, and note which searches bring enquiries. Then build or improve pages for those searches. Baikou helps Irish businesses plan this as part of its digital marketing and AI automation work.
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See SEO servicesFAQ#
Is SEO part of SEM?
It depends on who is using the term. Many marketers use search engine marketing to mean paid search only, while others use it for both paid and organic work. For planning, it is simpler to treat SEO and paid search as two parts of one search plan.
Does advertising on Google improve organic rankings?
No. Google says paid search spending has no effect on organic results, and that it does not accept payment to rank sites in them.
Can a business pause Google Ads at any time?
Ads only run while a campaign is active, so pausing it stops new clicks and new costs. Organic listings are not affected by pausing ads.
Which brings results faster, SEO or paid search?
Paid search usually shows results sooner, because ads can appear once a campaign is approved. SEO changes can take from a few hours to several months to show, but pages can keep bringing visits without a cost per click.
