The best choice depends on your timeline, budget, market, and current website strength. Paid ads are usually better when you need immediate traffic, rapid testing, or predictable visibility for high-intent searches. SEO is usually better when you want compounding long-term visibility, lower dependency on ad spend, and stronger authority over time. In many cases, the smartest answer is both: use paid search to learn which keywords and offers convert, then use those insights to shape SEO content and landing pages. The channels should not compete with each other; they should share data.
Example
A California contractor could run Google Ads for emergency service searches while building SEO pages for service areas, project types, reviews, and educational questions that customers research before hiring.