I know—I’ve said this before, but it’s worth repeating:
Stop obsessing over SEO and AdWords.
They’re not a strategy. They’re just tactics.

Think about it this way: back in the day, you wouldn’t walk into a media agency and say, “I just want to do radio,” or “only TV.” You’d ask, what’s the best way to reach the people I want to reach? And the agency would build a media mix to help you get in front of them.

Now? We’ve somehow gotten stuck thinking SEO and AdWords are the only options. They used to be cheap and effective. Now they’re expensive, saturated, and complicated. And if you build your whole marketing plan around one channel? You’ve just created a single point of failure.

I know businesses spending a fortune on AdWords now because they relied on it too heavily. And weaning yourself off that dependency? It’s expensive and painful.

So if a digital agency comes along promising 4x ROI or a magical jump in revenue—be cautious. That’s either inexperience or overconfidence talking.

Big brands don’t just spend on SEO or AdWords. They also invest in social, outdoor, partnerships, sponsorships—you name it. They build a media diet. A balanced approach that gets them in front of their audience wherever that audience actually is.

So here’s the brief:
Who is going to buy my product?
Where are they spending their time?
And how do I get in front of them?

That’s where your budget should go. Not “SEO at all costs.”

Also, let’s not forget—we used to have real conversations about attribution. Now it’s just last-click this, last-click that. We’ve somehow gotten dumber with smarter tech. We’ve gone backwards.

So yes—SEO and AdWords are useful. They still have a role.
But they’re not your strategy. They’re not the business outcome.

Stop chasing the sugar rush. Start asking smarter questions. Build a proper mix. Your business deserves more than just one trick.