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Compare the long-term ROI of SEO against the immediate impact of PPC for your business. Use our calculator to understand monthly costs and cost per lead over
The average cost you pay for each click on your paid ads. The US average is $10.22 across industries.
Default: 10.22
Your monthly budget allocated directly to ad platforms like Google Ads.
Default: 1500
The fee you pay an agency to manage your PPC campaigns. Typically $1,500-$5,000.
Default: 1500
The monthly retainer for SEO services. Armitage Media's Growth tier is $2,497/month.
Default: 2497
The percentage of your PPC clicks that convert into leads or customers. (e.g., Healthcare 3.1-4.3%).
Default: 5
The percentage of your organic visitors that convert into leads or customers. Often slightly higher than PPC.
Default: 6
The factor by which your organic traffic grows each month after the initial ramp-up (e.g., 1.15 for 15% growth).
Default: 1.15
How many months you want to compare the costs over. The crossover point is often around 9-12 months.
Default: 12
This calculator projects the cumulative costs and estimated leads for both PPC and SEO over a specified duration. For PPC, we calculate monthly clicks based on your ad spend and CPC, then leads using your PPC conversion rate. Total PPC cost is ad spend plus agency fees. For SEO, we assume a starting base of organic traffic that grows each month by your specified growth factor, then calculate leads using your SEO conversion rate.
A busy doctor's office needs new patient leads quickly, but also wants to build long-term authority and reduce reliance on paid ads.
PPC delivers immediate leads at a higher CPL initially, while SEO's CPL steadily decreases, becoming more efficient after 8-10 months.
Medical practices often face high PPC CPCs (e.g., $3.1-$4.3). While PPC fills immediate needs, SEO builds trust and authority, leading to a much lower cost per new patient over time. Combining them is key.
A restaurant owner wants to increase foot traffic and online reservations, weighing immediate ad campaigns against local SEO efforts.
PPC provides quick bursts of customers, but SEO creates a consistent, growing stream of visitors that becomes significantly cheaper per customer after 6 months.
Even with lower CPCs in the restaurant industry, PPC costs can add up. Local SEO builds a strong local presence that continually attracts customers without ongoing ad spend, making it a powerful compounding asset.
A B2B professional services firm seeks qualified leads for consultations, focusing on a longer sales cycle.
PPC generates initial inquiries, but SEO consistently delivers higher quality leads at a much lower cost per lead over an 18-month period, driving significant long-term ROI.
For B2B, trust and authority are critical. SEO builds this through valuable content and strong rankings, attracting highly qualified prospects. While PPC brings initial leads, the compounding effect of SEO makes it superior for long-term B2B lead generation.
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Armitage tracks these numbers automatically across SEO and paid ads. One dashboard. Updated daily. No manual exports.
See your real numbersThis calculator uses generalized industry averages for PPC CPCs and conversion rates, along with typical agency fee structures. The SEO traffic growth is an estimation, as actual organic growth varies based on competition, content quality, and website authority.
SEO typically takes 3-6 months to start showing significant results, with compounding benefits growing over time. While initial costs might seem high, the cost per lead often becomes much lower than PPC after 9-12 months, as your organic visibility builds value.
PPC delivers immediate traffic, but the costs stop the moment you stop spending. SEO requires an upfront investment, but the traffic it generates is essentially 'free' after ranking. Our research shows that SEO often becomes cheaper per lead than PPC after about 9-12 months of consistent effort, due to its compounding nature.
SEO agency retainers typically range from $2,500 to $7,500 per month. For PPC, you can expect to pay an agency $1,500 to $5,000 per month, plus your actual ad spend. Our Growth tier for SEO + AI search is $2,497/month, and Growth+Paid, which adds Google Ads management, is $3,497/month.
Combining SEO and PPC gives you the best of both worlds. PPC provides immediate pipeline and market data, while SEO builds a sustainable, compounding asset for long-term, cost-effective traffic. This dual strategy helps you capture demand now and grow your authority for the future, avoiding the trap of choosing only one channel.
Conversion rates vary by industry. For example, e-commerce can see 3.5-8.2%, education around 9.6%, and healthcare 3.1-4.3%. SEO traffic often has a slightly higher conversion rate than PPC because users searching organically are typically further along in their buying journey and trust organic results more.
Industry plays a big role in CPC. The average US PPC CPC across industries is about $10.22. However, competitive sectors like legal, finance, and insurance can see CPCs between $50 and $100. Healthcare CPCs typically range from $3.1 to $4.3, while e-commerce is $1.1 to $1.7.
Armitage monitors your marketing metrics across every channel, every day. Get a free growth audit to see where you stand.
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