You Are Paying Google to Send People to a Website Google Can't Read
I have a strange hobby. When I see an ad for a local business on Facebook or Google, I click it. Not to buy anything. I want to see where the money goes.
Most of the time, the money goes to a website that has no page title, no description, a phone number inside a picture, and a home page that says "Welcome!" in large letters and nothing else.
That business is paying for every click. And when the ad stops, the visitors stop too, because Google has no idea what the website is about.
Ads are a tap. SEO is a well.
Sorry, that is a metaphor. I will allow myself one.
An ad sends people to your website for as long as you keep paying. Turn off the money, and the people stop. That is how ads work, and that is fine.
SEO is the work that tells Google, Bing, and now the AI tools what your website is about, where you are, and what you do. You do it once, you keep it tidy, and it keeps working while you sleep. Nobody sends you a bill for each person who finds you on Google Maps.
If you buy ads before the SEO is done, you are paying for traffic that you could get for free later. Worse, you are paying for traffic that lands on a page that does not do its job.
What "SEO is not done" looks like
You do not need to be technical to check. Here is what I find on most local websites that run ads:
- Every page has the same title. Often it is just the business name, or worse, "Home."
- No description. Google writes one for you, and it picks the cookie notice.
- The town is missing. The website never says Creston, Nelson, or Cranbrook in words. You know where you are. Google does not.
- Important text is in pictures. Your phone number, your hours, and your services sit inside a nice image that no search engine can read.
- The phone version is slow. Most ad clicks come from a phone. If the page takes six seconds to load, many people leave before they see your logo.
- No Google Business Profile link. The website and the map listing do not know about each other.
- Nothing for the machines. No structured data, so AI search tools have to guess what you sell and when you are open. They guess badly.
Each of these is a small fix. Together, they are the difference between a website that Google sends people to and a website that only gets visitors when you pay for them.
Why ads cost more on a bad website
Google does not only look at how much you bid. It also looks at the page the ad sends people to. If that page is slow, unclear, or does not match the ad, Google can show your ad less often or charge you more for each click.
So a website with no SEO does not just miss free traffic. It can make your paid traffic more expensive too. You pay twice, and you get the bill once a month.
Facebook ads have the same problem in a different shape. The ad is in someone's feed, they tap it, and the page loads slowly or does not answer their question. They tap the back button. Facebook still charges you for the click.
Fix it once, then buy the ads
Here is the order that makes sense to me:
- Get the website up to snuff. Titles, descriptions, your town in the text, real text instead of pictures of text, a fast phone version, and structured data for the machines.
- Connect your Google Business Profile. This is free, and for a local business it is often worth more than the website itself.
- Wait and watch. Give Google a few weeks to read the changes. Look at what people search for to find you.
- Then buy ads for the gaps. If you show up for "plumber Creston" for free, you do not need to pay for that search. Spend the ad money on the searches that you cannot win yet, or on a busy season.
The SEO work is a one-time job for most small business websites. The ad bill comes every month. Do the one-time job first.
I will not tell you to never buy ads
Ads are useful. They are fast. A new business, a seasonal sale, or an event next weekend can't wait three months for Google to notice. Ads are the right tool for that.
But ads are a tool to bring people to a good website. They are not a fix for a website that does not work. If your website is not ready, every dollar you spend on ads leaks a little.
Check your website before you spend another dollar
Give me your website, your name, and your email. I will check your phone speed, your SEO basics, and whether Google can find you. Then I will tell you what to fix before you spend another dollar on ads. It costs nothing, which is a nice change from ads.
And if you want to know why the machines matter now more than ever, read Your Next Customer Is a Machine.