Google Ads vs. SE Ranking

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Google Ads
Score 8.3 out of 10
N/A
Google Ads (formerly AdWords) is Google's pay-per-click online advertising program. With Google Ads users set their budget and choose where their ads appear in search listings, and on partner websites. Google Ads uses cost-per-click (CPC) bidding.
$500
in Ads credit in the first 60 days
SE Ranking
Score 9.2 out of 10
Mid-Size Companies (51-1,000 employees)
An SEO toolset for agency and in-house pros.
$65
per month
Pricing
Google AdsSE Ranking
Editions & Modules
Offer A
$500
in Ads credit in the first 60 days
Offer B
$1500
in Ads credit in the first 60 days
Offer C
$3000
in Ads credit in the first 60 days
Essential
$65
per month
Pro
$119
per month
Business
$259
per month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Google AdsSE Ranking
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsSE Ranking’s subscription plans are available at a 20% discount for annual pricing.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Google AdsSE Ranking
Considered Both Products
Google Ads
Chose Google Ads
Google Ads is by far the best PPC advertising mechanism I've used especially when compared to the Microsoft/Bing platform. It's easier to navigate and the budgets are spent more effectively and efficiently. The display of the search results is easier to read and the quality of …
Chose Google Ads
Google Ads remains at the top advertising channel within our business for both lead volume and revenue generation, whilst maintaining a reasonable cost per lead (CPL). Both Meta Ads and Microsoft Ads have a much lower CPL, those channels don't contribute as much revenue and …
Chose Google Ads
Google Ads is one of the more advanced tools, all the above tools listed are great and provide very advanced features for advertising on those platforms. Usually a business would use multiple tools. Google Ads is great as it is very fined and established so you know what you …
Chose Google Ads
Google is a lot better at not just banning you for no reason. The platform is very intuitive and gets you in front of many people. Meta Ads is notorious for banning people and not giving them any reason. Google is very reasonable and has guidelines. Google clicks are also much …
Chose Google Ads
These are different channels, with different audiences and targeting options. It is important to first understand your objective, who you want to reach and at what stage of the journey.
Chose Google Ads
Well, I use Facebook/Meta pixels sometimes. But it is not as good as Google Ads. There are a lot of people searching on Google for good web development firms but how many are there finding the same sort of person on Facebook or Linkedin?
Thus, I like the abundance of users …
Chose Google Ads
It's gives me better results than the other platforms, cause by setting up keywords that are relevant to my business I can really target people who are actively searching for the topic. This really filters leads and brings better results.
Chose Google Ads
It is part of the Google suite of tools for content management for advertising and ads in the Google search engine.
Chose Google Ads
Google Ads is more robust and has more features as compared to Microsoft Advertising, aka Bing Ads. Google has better and more reach than other search engines in the market. Google stands well against all its competitors when it comes to media planning and buying. Go for it any …
Chose Google Ads
Google Ads can be more useful than LinkedIn & Facebook Ads because it is reaching a larger pool of users. Both platforms have even better/more targeting options, but they limit the amount of reach you will receive. Google Ads catches users at the top of the sales funnel.
Chose Google Ads
Google ads provide no customer service.
Chose Google Ads
We had to stop using Bing as the results were all over the place and so we couldn't trust the service.
Chose Google Ads
Google Ads clearly has high potential as more users search for their product when compared to other channels hence getting the desired audience.
Chose Google Ads
Neither platform seems to perform in my opinion. Google Ads is much more complicated while Facebook Ads are simpler to implement and run. No positive ROI on either though!
Chose Google Ads
We would use Facebook advertising often to generate strong reactions online. The benefit of using Google Ads is that people are always searching on Google and it's quick to pull your name first in a search ranking, where a majority of people are likely to click on compared to …
Chose Google Ads
In most cases, it's better between features, usability, performance (though Bing can sometimes cost less). Google is also smarter about its keywords. Bing is more similar to how Google was five or more years ago (needing to add variations to those keywords). I will say, though, …
Chose Google Ads
Google Ads is pretty strong when it comes to search and shopping campaigns. It's a great tool to target people who are ready to buy and actively looking for products we have to offer. On the other hand, Facebook has been a great tool for raising awareness, brand uplift, and …
Chose Google Ads
Other platforms like Facebook Business Manager or Twitter Ads do not allow the same level of optimization and control of targeting as Google Ads. In same cases it may have less reach, but being more precise is better to see a ROAS sooner.
Chose Google Ads
Google is the largest search engine with the most users so this is the first choice. Other advertising options can give results but not to the same degree that Google Ads does. They have a better platform than other types of platforms available. This makes it the best option …
Chose Google Ads
Google Ads has far more reach/audience capabilities than Microsoft Ads. More users use Google than Microsoft products.
Chose Google Ads
While it is still important to be present in those engines, Google Ads still offers the largest inventory, which helps reach more users and drive bigger volumes of conversions and achieve higher ROI.
Chose Google Ads
Facebook can be less expensive but everyone uses Google, so you have to run ads on Google. Other search engines also have similar features. The traffic on Google is significantly higher than its competition. Facebook ads can be an alternative but it doesn't quite work like a …
Chose Google Ads
I have used all forms of online ad platforms. In my experience, Google is by far the most expensive on a per-click and per-impression basis. None of these major players have much or any concern for small businesses.
Chose Google Ads
Everyone uses Google. They have and will always be the leader when it comes to search engines. Not only was Bing Ads more difficult to use, but the results didn't even come close to what we were (are) getting from Google Ads. It also seemed easier to get support from Google …
SE Ranking
Chose SE Ranking
It has a simple user interface and gives me the exact overview I need to take my next step.
Chose SE Ranking
SE Ranking is way more budget-friendly and suitable for less demanded SEO projects.
Chose SE Ranking
SE Ranking just made the most sense for us. It was an account separate from our SEO company so we could actually see what was going on.
Chose SE Ranking

The interface is much more friendly. The databases for the backlinks database seems to be bigger and more qualitative.


Chose SE Ranking
For us it's mainly a tool we use and/or suggest because of the price. It's complete enough to get yourself kickstarted and learn about your website and its positions in Google. But once you grow bigger and want more data it's smart to look around for more complete tools.

For as …
Chose SE Ranking
Backlink checker seems to be far less thorough than Ahrefs. It's also less thorough than Screaming Frog. But we got it for rank tracking and it does as a decent job at that.
Chose SE Ranking
SE Ranking was our choice based on the suite of features it offered compared to competitors as well as the # of projects you could manage. From a cost perspective, we feel it provides the most value for your money. Other SEO tools did not offer the lead generation features …
Chose SE Ranking
SE Ranking is really easy to use and it's rather cheap. So there is no reason why we should switch to other services.
Chose SE Ranking
We chose SE Ranking because of the price as it was very affordable and also helped us cover our needs.
Chose SE Ranking
SE Ranking is better than SERPstat or MOZ or Ahrefs when it comes to tracking keyword rankings, but it lacks in every other SEO category, such as onsite and offsite SEO metrics, content analysis, etc...

It's a good choice for agencies that are interested in tracking keywords for …
Chose SE Ranking
SE Ranking is perfect due to its price.For $84/year, you can enjoy most of its features, which makes it perfect for bloggers who are looking to beef up their site's SEO. For small agencies, their $39/month is affordable enough to help client track their keywords and manage SEO …
Features
Google AdsSE Ranking
Ad Campaigns
Comparison of Ad Campaigns features of Product A and Product B
Google Ads
3.9
Ratings
3% below category average
SE Ranking
-
Ratings
Ad campaign creation2.50 Ratings00 Ratings
Ad deployment2.50 Ratings00 Ratings
Display advertising9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Ad display and retargeting segmentation8.80 Ratings00 Ratings
Sequence targeting1.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Contextual advertising2.30 Ratings00 Ratings
Social advertising1.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Ad Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Ad Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
Google Ads
6.4
Ratings
20% above category average
SE Ranking
-
Ratings
Ad dashboards2.50 Ratings00 Ratings
Ad performance reports9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Ad conversion tracking9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Ad attribution reporting9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Ad forecasting and optimization2.50 Ratings00 Ratings
Ad Auctions
Comparison of Ad Auctions features of Product A and Product B
Google Ads
7.0
Ratings
3% above category average
SE Ranking
-
Ratings
Ad bidding7.00 Ratings00 Ratings
SEO
Comparison of SEO features of Product A and Product B
Google Ads
-
Ratings
SE Ranking
7.9
Ratings
2% above category average
Keyword analysis00 Ratings7.90 Ratings
Backlink management00 Ratings7.30 Ratings
SERP ranking tracking00 Ratings7.90 Ratings
Page grader00 Ratings7.60 Ratings
Competitive analysis00 Ratings7.90 Ratings
Site audit / diagnostics00 Ratings7.90 Ratings
Site recommendations00 Ratings8.40 Ratings
Task management00 Ratings7.90 Ratings
SEO Channels
Comparison of SEO Channels features of Product A and Product B
Google Ads
-
Ratings
SE Ranking
8.1
Ratings
6% above category average
Local SEO00 Ratings8.10 Ratings
Mobile SEO00 Ratings8.10 Ratings
Global SEO00 Ratings8.20 Ratings
SEO Platform & Account Management
Comparison of SEO Platform & Account Management features of Product A and Product B
Google Ads
-
Ratings
SE Ranking
8.4
Ratings
1% below category average
Multi-domain support00 Ratings8.50 Ratings
Integration with web analytics tools00 Ratings8.40 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Google AdsSE Ranking
Small Businesses
WordStream
WordStream
Score 6.9 out of 10
Nozzle
Nozzle
Score 10.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
WordStream
WordStream
Score 6.9 out of 10
Advanced Web Ranking
Advanced Web Ranking
Score 8.2 out of 10
Enterprises
Adobe Advertising Cloud
Adobe Advertising Cloud
Score 8.6 out of 10
Dupli Checker (DupliChecker.com)
Dupli Checker (DupliChecker.com)
Score 8.5 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Google AdsSE Ranking
Likelihood to Recommend
5.8
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.6
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
1.0
(0 ratings)
7.3
(0 ratings)
Performance
9.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
9.0
(0 ratings)
7.3
(0 ratings)
Online Training
9.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
1.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Google AdsSE Ranking
Likelihood to Recommend
Clients who are selling products such as dresses, clothes, jewelry, beauty products, etc., generally work well. Also, in some cases, it doesn't fetch a good ROAS for very small business owners. If a client is already doing well in SEO, the probability for it to perform well over Google Ads is always enhanced, and if it doesn't have a good organic reach, Google Ads also suffers.
Read full review
SE Ranking is on a good track when it comes to rank tracking. It displays a graph of your average position over time which is helpful and it can also help you when it comes to identifying some basic SEO issues with your website. It boasts as an all-around SEO tool, which it definitely isn't because it lacks a link database to be your go-to tool for everything SEO. Its UI is not optimized for ease of use, thus offering sub-par user experience. It has two different interfaces for different SEO tools which, I hope, they can incorporate into one.
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Pros
  • Keyword Research - Google Ads has a handy built in tool that helps determine important keywords to target both for Ads & SEO
  • Intuitive Analytics Dashboad - Google Ads makes it fairly simple to see and analyze important metrics on how your ads are running week after week
  • Intuitive Setup - Google Ads makes it easy to figure out how to run ads with little to no training (although training is highly recommended to run effective ads), as their interface is clean and easy to figure out (unlike competing products).
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  • Rank racking. It’s really important for us that the ranks are tracked accurately.
  • Monitoring of changes made on the website. We’ve found this feature really useful.
  • Reports. This includes auto reports and manuals. We can easily and quickly create reports to check our SEO progress month by month.
Read full review
Cons
  • Google's heavy dependence on AI makes many of the campaign behavior inscrutable and, often, it performs poorly as a result.
  • Their responsive ads, for example, which are heavily recommended by them, often perform significantly worse than normal text ads.
  • Their support, while relatively quick, becomes useless if you need any deep insight/help.
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  • I really don't think SE Ranking has many flaws. They are also rolling out an app at the moment - SE Ranking Pro - need to test that one.
  • Some more video tutorials on the site on how to use some tools would be helpful.
  • More in-system popups would be more helpful too.
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Likelihood to Renew
As of today Google AdWords leads approximately 90% of paid searches globally. There is practically is no other network that can offer such a relevant and engaging audience at the price. The PPC model is also unique in that no media dollars are wasted, since PPC models ensure brand interaction versus traditional media which has heavy ad avoidance and clutter but still charges a hefty amount for ads.
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No answers on this topic
Usability
This is more of a subjective rating, because I think it can be increased with how much our ad spend is. The more of an ad spend, the more visibility we can get, and therefore all features can climb. With an overall larger presence the usability is that where we can get messages out quick, and that's the main thing we try to do with our campaigns.
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They had a huge update recently and the platform is now even better. Although not all the tools are yet in the new design.
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Support Rating
We have not yet had an account rep who hasn't tried to bully me or other employees to raise our budgets. At the same time, several years ago, one attempted to help refine our ads and ended up changing the ads to be something we were not affiliated with
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The support is great but they don't have 24/7 support. And time zones can also be an issue sometimes. On the other hand there are plenty of guides and videos around to get yourself started. I never really needed support for "big" issues. And the help I got was good enough.
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Online Training
Daily use with advanced account structures. Familiarity with reporting/api and complex setups.
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No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Google Ads remains at the top advertising channel within our business for both lead volume and revenue generation, whilst maintaining a reasonable cost per lead (CPL). Both Meta Ads and Microsoft Ads have a much lower CPL, those channels don't contribute as much revenue and lead generation.
Read full review
SE Ranking was our choice based on the suite of features it offered compared to competitors as well as the # of projects you could manage. From a cost perspective, we feel it provides the most value for your money. Other SEO tools did not offer the lead generation features that SE Ranking offered as part of their monthly plan.
Read full review
Return on Investment
  • Once we got the hang of it and had everything setup, it was a great monthly expense that we could count on ROI from. Either by obtaining new customers or literally staying above our competition in search rankings.
  • We also started consulting on ads for customers and helping them set things up, which created a new revenue stream for us.
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  • The website "health" report has allowed us to fix things that Google might find strange or cause us to lose rankings, which has been very helpful.
  • It's given us more visibility into what exactly our SEO management company is doing and how they are performing, and if things are changing or not. It's very easy to see right from the dashboard.
  • Being able to see how our competitors stack up against us has helped us know where to improve, what to focus on, and how to be even better.
Read full review
ScreenShots

SE Ranking Screenshots

Screenshot of SE Ranking main dashboardScreenshot of SE Ranking keyword researchScreenshot of SE Ranking website auditScreenshot of SERP CompetitorsScreenshot of Organic SERP HistoryScreenshot of Content tool