Business owners hear a lot of marketing advice, and much of it sounds entirely reasonable on the surface. “Google Ads work. SEO takes time. You must keep paying to stay visible.” None of those statements are necessarily wrong on their own, but they don’t tell the whole story.

We’re seeing more and more businesses that have spent years paying for clicks without ever building real lasting SEO visibility. When their marketing budget needs to shrink or ads are paused, their leads dry up overnight. This FAQ breaks down why that happens, what organic SEO actually does, and why relying on ads alone can put your business in a bad marketing hole.

What is organic SEO, really?

Organic SEO is the work that helps your website appear naturally in search results, without having to pay for each click. It’s about clearly explaining what you do, who you can help, and where you operate, then supporting that with useful content and a well-structured website that search engines will understand and value.

When someone clicks an organic result, you’re not paying Google for that visit. You earned it by being a relevant and credible result for that person’s search.

How is this different from pay-per-click advertising?

Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising puts your business at the top of search results by bidding on keywords. Every time someone clicks, you pay for that interaction. Ads can be very effective, especially for new businesses, competitive industries, and short-term campaigns.

The key difference is longevity. PPC traffic exists only as long as you keep paying. The moment you stop paying for ads, that extra visibility stops too.

Why do some agencies push paid ads so heavily?

Ads often get pushed because they produce results quickly. You can turn them on and see traffic almost immediately, which makes them seem more appealing than SEO, which takes time and patience. It also makes the marketing agency look good because they gave you immediate results.

But there’s another reason ads are sometimes prioritized, and it can be questionable at times. In many agreements businesses make with marketing agencies, compensation is tied directly to ad spend, either as a percentage of the ad budget, a management fee, and often both. When an agency earns proportionately more as ad budgets increase, there is a built-in incentive to keep those budgets high, even when organic SEO could reduce the need for constant paid traffic.

That structure doesn’t automatically mean wrongdoing, but it does create a situation where small businesses can end up paying indefinitely for traffic they could and should have been earning organically. Over time, this reliance on PPC can benefit an unscrupulous agency far more than it does the client.

Is it true some businesses get stuck paying for ads forever?

Yeah, and that’s the problem!

We’ve spoken with multiple business owners who were paying a significant portion of their monthly budget toward ads, sometimes on top of a management fee. Yet when we analyzed their SEO, their websites barely ranked organically for their own services! Over time, the business becomes dependent on paid traffic because there’s simply no other source for their website.

That’s not a growth strategy. It’s a costly treadmill.

What’s the real risk of relying only on PPC?

The risk is a lack of SEO stability.

If paid ads are your primary source of traffic, your business becomes vulnerable to rising ad costs, policy changes in how ads work (Google is constantly updating and modifying their ad systems), and competition from other businesses that can afford more or have better organic visibility. Turn off those ads and your phone stops ringing. There’s no built-in cushion, no baseline visibility, and no long-term SEO equity available to rely on.

Organic SEO works differently. When it’s done well, it compounds. Pages can bring in traffic month after month after month without any additional cost per click.

Does organic SEO still work?

Yes! Organic search remains one of the most trusted ways people find services, especially for businesses that require consideration and trust. We find that many users, probably including you, actively scroll past ads to look for organic search results because they just feel more trustworthy.

SEO does take time, but when it starts working, boy does it keep working!

Should businesses stop running Google Ads or other PPC ads?

Not in most cases. Paid ads aren’t an either-or decision.

Paid ads and organic SEO work best together. Ads can support short-term goals or fill gaps while SEO is building. Organic visibility reduces your dependence on PPC ads and improves overall trust when people do see your ads.

The issue isn’t using PPC. The issue is using it as a replacement for organic growth.

How can you tell if your marketing strategy is out of whack?

If your leads and website visits dry up when you pause paid ads, that’s a concerning sign. If your website doesn’t organically rank for the services you offer, that’s another. If the bulk of your marketing spend goes toward paid clicks month after month, but no one at your agency can explain how your organic presence is improving, it’s worth asking whether they have your best interests at heart.

A healthy marketing strategy should show progress over time, not just paid activity.

What does a healthier long-term approach look like?

A sustainable marketing plan builds online visibility that you don’t have to keep paying for. That usually includes ongoing SEO work, clear and useful website content, and a site built to convert visitors once they arrive. Paid ads still have a place, but they support the strategy instead of carrying it.

Over time, organic traffic should grow and paid ads should become a helpful option, not a mandatory one.

Where does Wild Iris Marketing fit into this?

At Wild Iris Marketing, we believe businesses should understand both how and why their marketing works. We focus on building organic visibility and trust first, then using paid advertising strategically when needed instead of endlessly relying on it.

This approach doesn’t lock our clients into permanent ad spend. It helps them build durable and lasting organic visibility.