Local SEO vs paid ads, the numbers surprised me for my bakery

I run a small bakery in Portland and for the first 18 months I dumped about $900 a month into Google ads. Sales came in but only while the ads ran, the moment I paused the budget, foot traffic dropped like a rock. Last quarter I shifted that same money into local SEO, fixing my Google Business profile, getting 40 real customer reviews, and writing neighborhood guides on my site. Organic calls and walk-ins are now 60% of my new customers and the cost per lead went from $14 to under $4. Ads felt like renting customers, SEO feels like owning the sidewalk outside my shop. But I know SEO takes months and ads are instant, so maybe the real answer is both. Anyone else juggling these two and seeing one pull way ahead in the long run?

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wyattmitchell17d ago

What happens to those reviews and guides if a competitor opens two blocks over and outspends you on ads anyway? SEO builds a moat, but only if you keep feeding it, same as ads, just slower and cheaper over time.

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