SEO, social media and paid ads are not competing options. They are three gears of one machine, and each covers a weakness of the others. Here is a practical playbook for an Indian SMB with a limited budget and limited time.
What each channel does best
- SEO captures people who are actively searching for your product. It is slow to start, usually three to six months, but the traffic is free once it flows.
- Social media builds familiarity and trust with people who are not searching yet. It keeps your brand visible between purchases.
- Paid ads deliver enquiries immediately and let you test offers fast, but the traffic stops the moment you stop paying.
The 90 day playbook
- Days 1 to 15: fix the foundation. Publish a fast website with the Website Builder, complete your Google Business Profile and install GA4.
- Days 16 to 45: start ads on one platform only, with a modest daily budget, sending traffic to a single landing page. Meanwhile begin your SocialBee calendar with three posts a week.
- Days 46 to 90: use the search terms report from your ads and the keyword data in SEO Tools to write two or three pages targeting phrases that already convert. This turns paid learnings into free rankings.
Budget guidance
A common split for a small business is roughly 50 percent to ads, 30 percent to content and SEO, and 20 percent to social. Review the split quarterly: as SEO enquiries grow, shift money away from ads or into new locations and services.
One rule above all
Track cost per enquiry per channel every month. Whatever you cannot measure, pause. If you would like help building this plan for your business, raise a ticket and the Tech Guru IT Solutions team will assist.
