SEO vs PPC: Where Would You Spend £100k? | Search Beef Ep1
28 October 2026
Show notes
If you had £100k to spend on search today, is SEO the smarter long-term bet over PPC? SEO consultant Hannah Bryce says yes. Maddie Lightening, Head of Paid Media at Hallam, says no.
Search Beef is a video debate podcast for search marketers who disagree. Two practitioners, one question, no winner. Just the strongest case from each side of the SEO vs PPC divide, so you can make up your own mind.
"PPC rents traffic while SEO builds it." Hannah thinks SEO is a mortgage: you build equity that keeps paying after the budget's gone. Maddie thinks speed to revenue, precise targeting and the ability to pivot overnight are worth more than waiting for rankings, and that PPC is the best research tool SEO has.
WHAT WE GET INTO
• Is SEO really "free" once you count content, tech and authority building?
• What happens to your SEO investment if AI Overviews or a core update hit?
• Using PPC data to shape your SEO strategy (and the other way round)
• The risk of a business relying on paid search alone
• PMax as "a toddler loose with your money"
• Does "fail fast" work in B2B, where deals take 6–12 months?
• Why the SEO vs PPC debate is different now
• Did either of them change their mind?
⏱️ CHAPTERS
0:00 Cold open
0:19 Welcome to Search Beef
1:40 £100k: SEO or PPC? Meet the guests
4:59 Hannah's case: SEO is a mortgage
7:12 Maddie's case: speed, precision, pivots
9:53 Mortgage vs rent: is SEO really free?
13:25 What if AI Overviews wipe you out?
18:43 Is paid the faster way into AI answers?
21:40 Can PPC data build long-term value?
24:30 When a business goes all-in on paid
27:58 How fast can SEO pivot?
28:57 PMax: a toddler with your money
32:47 Does "fail fast" work in B2B?
35:34 Why this debate is different now
38:14 The verdict
40:05 Where to find Hannah and Maddie
👥 THE GUESTS
Hannah Bryce, SEO Consultant (16 years in SEO, e-commerce specialist)
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannah-bryce-99848144/ · Website: https://hannahbryce.com/
Maddie Lightening, Head of Paid Media at Hallam (10 years in paid media)
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maddie-lightening/ · Hallam: https://hallam.agency/
🎧 LISTEN AND FOLLOW
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7jLLfOgnWGPqBRh4oJHPyt
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/search-beef/id6824666351
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/search-beef/
Website: https://searchbeef.com/
🔥 NEXT WEEK: Is broad match actually good now? Two PPC pros debate this exact question.
New episode every Wednesday. Hosted by Joss Froggatt.
#SEO #PPC #SearchMarketing
