If you had £100k to spend on search today, is SEO the smarter long-term bet over PPC? SEO consultant Hannah Bryce says yes. Maddie Lightening, Head of Paid Media at Hallam, says no.
Hannah's case: "PPC rents traffic while SEO builds it." SEO is the mortgage, building equity that keeps paying after the budget runs out. Maddie's case: speed to revenue, precise targeting and the ability to pivot overnight beat waiting for rankings, and PPC is the best research tool SEO has.
Along the way: is SEO ever really free, what AI Overviews and core updates mean for your SEO investment, PMax as "a toddler loose with your money", whether "fail fast" works in B2B, and whether either of them changed their mind.
Search Beef is a video debate podcast for search marketers who disagree. Two practitioners, one question, no winner. New episode every Wednesday, hosted by Joss Froggatt.
00:00 Cold open
00:19 Welcome to Search Beef
01:40 £100k: SEO or PPC? Meet the guests
04:59 Hannah's case: SEO is a mortgage
07:12 Maddie's case: speed, precision, pivots
09:53 Mortgage vs rent: is SEO really free?
13:25 What if AI Overviews wipe you out?
18:43 Is paid the faster way into AI answers?
21:40 Can PPC data build long-term value?
24:30 When a business goes all-in on paid
27:58 How fast can SEO pivot?
28:57 PMax: a toddler with your money
32:47 Does fail fast work in B2B?