SEO can still be worth investing in when there is relevant search demand and the resulting customers are valuable to the business. It should compete for budget on that basis, rather than on the assumption that organic traffic is free.
For ecommerce, start with the collections and product questions that match buying intent. Improve the pages shoppers land on, ensure they can be indexed, and make the catalog easy to navigate. Useful guides can support those pages without becoming a large volume of generic content.
Paid advertising offers faster testing and more direct budget control; SEO takes work and time, and rankings are not guaranteed. The two can complement each other. Use paid campaigns to learn about offers and customer language, then apply what you learn to useful store content.
Compare acquisition costs, conversion quality and contribution margin across channels, accounting for seasonality and branded demand. Which products and markets are you trying to grow?
