Social media and SEO do different jobs. Social builds interest in your company. Search is where people go when they’re ready to hire. A 2026 Semrush study of 50,000+ websites found organic search (SEO) sends about 11 times more website visitors than organic social, and a 2026 Siege Media study found Google visitors are about three times more likely to engage with a website than people who click a paid social ad. For most trades businesses, social works best when search is already in place to catch the customers it creates.
What the 2026 data shows
Two large studies published this year looked at where website visitors come from and what they do once they arrive.
Where visitors come from. Semrush analyzed traffic to more than 50,000 websites across 17 industries for all of 2025. Organic search brought in 16.04% of all website traffic. Organic social brought in 1.47%. That’s roughly 11 times more visitors from Google than from unpaid social posts.
What visitors do when they arrive. Siege Media analyzed 546 Google Analytics 4 properties covering more than 16 billion sessions from January 2024 to August 2026. Here’s the median engagement rate by channel:
| Where the visitor came from | Median engagement rate |
|---|---|
| Organic search (Google) | 63.4% |
| Paid search (Google Ads) | 60.4% |
| Organic social (unpaid posts) | 49.9% |
| Paid social (Facebook and Instagram ads) | 20.2% |
An “engaged” visit, in Google Analytics, is one where someone stays longer than 10 seconds, views more than one page, or takes an action like calling or filling out a form.
People who find you on Google were already looking for what you do. People who click a social ad were doing something else when your ad showed up. That difference shows up in what they do next.
What the numbers don’t tell you
These studies are useful, but they aren’t the whole picture, and you should know the limits before you make a decision based on them.
- They measure website visits, not jobs. Neither study tracked calls, quotes or booked work. Engagement is a sign of interest, not a signed contract.
- They cover every industry, worldwide. Neither breaks results out for local trades by channel. Your market in Simcoe County or Muskoka will have its own numbers.
- A lot of social media’s value never touches your website. A good video builds your reputation, shows the quality of your work and keeps your name in front of people. None of that shows up as a website visit.
So the takeaway isn’t “social media doesn’t work.” It’s that social and search do different jobs.
How social media and search work together
Here’s how it plays out for most homeowners:
- They see your video on Instagram or Facebook. They like your work.
- Weeks or months later, they need a roofer, a builder or an HVAC company.
- They don’t scroll back through Instagram to find you. They open Google and search “roofer Orillia” or “custom home builder Muskoka.”
- They call one of the first few companies they see.
If you’re not in those first few results, the interest your video created goes to whoever is. You paid to make them want a company like yours, and a competitor gets the call.
That’s why we treat search as the thing that protects your social media spend, not something that competes with it.
What this looks like for a trades business
If you’re putting money into social media, make sure these four things are in place so it actually turns into work:
1. You show up on the Google map for your main service and town. Search “[your service] [your town]” in a private browser window. If you’re not in the top three map results, that’s where most local calls are going.
2. You have a page for each service and each town you want work in. One “Services” page can’t rank for furnace repair, heat pumps and AC in five different towns. Each important job and area needs its own page.
3. Your reviews are working for you. Reviews are one of the biggest factors in where you show up on the map. A steady flow of new reviews matters more than a big batch from years ago.
4. Your videos live on Google too. Add your best project videos to your Google Business Profile and to the matching service pages on your website. The same content that works on Instagram helps people choose you on Google.
When social media is the right spend
Social media is often worth it when:
- Your work is visual. Custom homes, decks, landscaping and renovations sell on photos and video.
- You’re hiring. Many trades companies find their best recruits through social media, not job boards.
- You’re new. Social can build awareness while your Google presence is still growing.
Even then, it works best with search in place to catch the people it reaches.
Frequently asked questions
Is SEO better than social media for contractors? For bringing in customers who are ready to hire, search usually does more. Search sends about 11 times more website visitors than organic social, and those visitors engage more. Social is better at building awareness and your reputation. Most trades businesses do best with both, with search in place first.
Should I stop running Facebook and Instagram ads? Not necessarily. Check what they’re producing in calls and booked jobs, not just likes and views. If people who see your ads can’t find you on Google when they’re ready to hire, fixing that first will make your ad spend work harder.
How long does SEO take for a trades business? Google Maps results can move quickly. One of our roofing clients in Orillia was getting calls from the map in week three. Organic rankings usually take 3 to 6 months, depending on how competitive your town is.
Want to know where you show up right now?
We’ll check where your business shows up on Google Maps and search for the jobs you want, in the towns you want them, and who’s ahead of you. One page, plain English, free.