HOW WE WORK
Traffic management in 3 pillars
Paid without organic bleeds budget. Organic without paid grows slowly. This guide explains how we balance the two, and where AI search comes in.
1. Traffic audit: where the visits that sell come from
We start with GA4 and Search Console to see which channels bring visits, which convert and what each conversion costs. In many accounts, brand traffic (people who already know the company) is mixed with new traffic, which hides how effective each channel really is.
We separate brand and non-brand, new and returning, and cross-check with paid campaigns to see where Google Ads is paying for clicks SEO would bring for free.
2. The 3 pillars of traffic management
Each pillar plays a different role in the plan:
Why include Search AI in traffic management? More than 30% of Google searches already include AI-generated answers. ChatGPT and Perplexity are used every day for purchase recommendations. Businesses that are not cited by these AIs silently lose visibility, without it showing up in any traditional report. Search AI is currently the least competitive channel in Portugal.
- Organic traffic (SEO): the base that does not disappear when the budget ends. It takes months to build, but the cost per visit falls over time.
- Paid traffic (Google Ads and Meta Ads): results from the first week, fast tests of products and messages, and controlled scaling.
- Search AI (GEO and AEO): being cited in answers from ChatGPT, Perplexity and AI Overviews, where more and more searches begin.
3. Channel plan: how much to invest in each
There is no right percentage for everyone. A new store with no authority on Google needs more paid traffic at the start. A company with years of content can invest more in SEO and use ads only for new products and seasonal dates.
We set the split based on history, margin and competition, and review it every quarter. As organic traffic grows, part of the paid budget is freed up or reinvested in new markets.
How long until SEO starts delivering results? The first measurable results appear between 60 and 90 days. Solid, consistent results from 6 months onwards. That is why we run Google Ads in parallel: it secures immediate conversions while organic grows. The two channels work better together than in isolation.
4. Shared data between SEO and Google Ads
This is the biggest advantage of having both channels in the same team. Google Ads search terms show which keywords convert, and those become SEO priorities. When a page already ranks first organically, we reduce paid spend on that keyword and test whether sales hold.
The reverse also happens: keywords where SEO cannot compete (for example, dominated by marketplaces) are handled by ads.
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5. Qualified traffic, not just more traffic
More visits do not mean more sales. A blog post can bring thousands of visits from another country with no commercial interest. That is why we assess traffic by intent, market and conversion rate, and optimise landing pages so every visit has a clear next step: buy, request a quote, book a meeting or chat on WhatsApp.
Do you work with e-commerce and WooCommerce stores? Yes, it is our main focus. For e-commerce we run Google Shopping and Performance Max alongside product and category SEO. Combining organic traffic on category pages with Google Ads on product campaigns is typically the set-up with the best sustained ROAS.
6. Unified reporting
Every channel feeds one Looker Studio dashboard, with spend, visits, conversions, revenue and cost per acquisition by channel and market. A monthly meeting is enough to decide what to reinforce and what to cut, without stitching together reports from three suppliers.
How much traffic management costs
onOrbit Marketing plans are Traffic Start (€590/month) for those beginning to combine SEO and ads, Traffic Growth (€1,090/month) with all three pillars and continuous optimisation, and Traffic Scale (€1,890/month) for several markets and larger ad budgets. The ad budget is paid directly to the platforms.
Is the Google Ads budget included in the monthly fee? No. The monthly fee covers strategic management, optimisation and reporting. The media budget is paid by you directly to Google, with full transparency and control. This separation ensures there is no hidden margin on your advertising investment.
Traffic management or separate SEO and Google Ads agencies?
Two different agencies rarely share data and goals. The SEO agency wants more organic traffic; the ads agency wants more budget. Integrated traffic management has a single goal, the business's cost per customer, and decides channel by channel what lowers it most.
What is the difference between traffic management and just Google Ads? Traffic management is an integrated view of every channel that brings in qualified visitors: organic SEO, paid Google Ads and Search AI. Focusing only on Google Ads creates total dependence on budget. Our model combines the three channels to build a sustainable, scalable base, where organic protects the business and paid accelerates growth.