Why does SEO get all the attention, while paid ad intelligence gets overlooked?

I’ve noticed that in most growth discussions, people tend to focus heavily on SEO — optimizing blogs, backlinks, keywords, etc.

But very few talk about paid traffic strategies, especially analyzing competitors’ ad placements, creatives, and media buying patterns.

In our experience, paid ad data often gives faster, clearer direction — especially when entering a new market or launching a product.

Curious to hear from others:

• Do you analyze competitors’ ads?

• Has it impacted your growth more than SEO?

• Or is SEO still your go-to strategy?