Google Ads and Facebook Ads make up the two mammoths of digital advertising. According to rough statistics, these two platforms captured an overall ad share of 60% globally. Both are precision targeting and present ad content that humans ‘still’ love to consume. Both of these platforms extract what people particularly search for. Then, they present recommendations and personalized advertisements based on users’ location, age, gender etc.
Many companies are torn between Google Ads vs. Facebook Ads, but most of them use both of these in congruence to maximize their reach.
However, both of these types of ads have different purposes, costs and time of yielding results. So which one should you bet your money on? While there are similarities between these two platforms, it’s the difference that determines their ideal usability for different natures of businesses.
Your business goals and target audience are the major variables here. Both options can bring you success only if they’re used appropriately and in sync with your business.
Choosing between these two rivals comes down to ROI, which makes it critical that you select one that generates your desired ad revenue levels.
Google Ads vs. Facebook Ads – The Difference between the Two Ad Platforms
There is no ‘better’ option on the ground because both of these platforms perform differently and bring unique characteristics to the table. Some of the questions that can help you find the right path can include:
- How big is my audience?
- What product or service am I selling?
- Which one will be better for reaching my target audience?
- How big is my advertising budget?
- Which stage is my business on?
- Which stage of my buyer’s journey am I trying to impact the most?
Since internet users regularly use both of these social media channels, several factors come into play that may help you decide which platform to invest in. For instance, age, lifestyle, income range, and many other elements that make your audience distinct and help you narrow down your choice.
Let’s jump in and look at the major difference between the two before committing to one in this battle of Google Ads vs. Facebook Ads.
What are Google Ads?
The technological advancements of our age have brought the many choices that exist before us today. This has resulted in revolutionizing how we receive and deliver information. Not to mention the impact it has brought on how we shop and purchase products.
Google has not only embraced this change but has cultivated it to a whole new level. The search engine is used by over 70% of internet users to find anything under the sun. Within seconds thousands of best results are on your screen relating to product search, reviews, and so much more.
Previously known as Google Adwords, it has now become the biggest and most popular pay-per-click advertising platform. Google allows advertisers to advertise through Search, Display, Google Shopping, Video and even Apps.
Advertisers can bid on keywords hoping that their ads will be visible to users when searching for these queries. Every time someone clicks on their placed ad, the advertiser is charged some amount, increasing their exposure based on keywords. Lets took an example and see how we are promoting online course with Google Ads.
What are Facebook Ads?
In contrast to Google Ads, which are synonymous with ‘paid search,’ Facebook Ads are referred to as ‘paid social.’ Social networks have become common by constantly changing consumer behavior and patterns.
This allows consumers to keep in touch with their friends, express their concerns about all of their experiences and engage with businesses they like. Facebook has 2.27 billion active users and counting, making it an optimal channel for business owners. 25% of online ad spend for this year alone can be accredited to Facebook Ads just because of this impressive user data.
What is the Major Difference between Facebook ads and Google Ads?
In terms of reach of content:
AdWords helps you search for new customers, while Facebook helps new customers search for you.
Google Ads are placed strategically in places where users are most likely to find you by using keywords. In contrast, Facebook Ads helps its users find new businesses based on their interests and their online behavior.
When to use Facebook Ads and Google Ads
If you want to focus on one of these advertising channels, then there are few things you’d want to consider:
- Campaign goal: what do you aim to achieve through your campaign? Is it leads, sales, brand awareness, or something else? Knowing the answer to this will lead you to the right path. When hoping for demand capture, Google Ads is the one to choose since it reaches users who have a high purchase intent. Facebook Ads is suited to reach customers who are higher at the funnel, i.e., for brand and product awareness. Both of these platforms can be used at the same time in an effort to target each stage of the journey. But if that isn’t possible, then knowing what you want will help you make your choice.
- Budget: any ad campaign’s objective is to maximize ROI. You will have to research keyword price and competition when using Google Ads. A higher-priced cost-per-click may not suit a limited budget, whereas the same amount could be used on Facebook Ads to reach more people. You just need to find where your money will go the furthest to attaining your goals.
- Audience size: your target audience is on both of these platforms, so asking these questions may help: is my product social or search-oriented? How active is my target audience on these networks? If you have a huge following on social media, choose Facebook Ads. Otherwise, use Google ads to build a following, then convert interactions into transactions.
- Buyer intent: Google Ads always beats Facebook Ads when it comes to buyer intent. You need to consider your product or service—do people search for it before making a purchase? Facebook Ads are typically less effective at getting leads to convert. It’s hard to turn socializing into shopping, but it is extremely viable for building your audience.
- Buying Experience vs. Cost of Product or Service: If your audience wants a visual engagement with the products, plus your product or service is a cheap, one-time thing, then Facebook ads is the way to go. You can always cover the cost of advertising in the volume you sell and balance buyer experience. In contrast, if you are selling a renovation service, or a heavy tech equipment, where buyers rely more on the content you provide and the product is pricey – go for Google Ads.
Advantages of using Google Ads
Google claimed that for every dollar a business spent on ads, it earned an $8 profit in 2019. How can this be used for brands? Initially, Adwords was quite simple and offered text-based ads on its UI. It has now evolved to include features that dramatically enhance click-through rates, such as detailed contact information, reviews, mobile optimization, and comparisons.
Google has a better CTR in comparison to Facebook, which is most likely because it prioritizes ads based on relevance. When you use keywords that are relevant to users’ search, it gets you in the house.
To top it all, the user interface is simple to use, and advanced features make it convenient to build, launch and monitor campaigns.
Advantages of using Facebook Ads
Marketers revealed that Facebook was the only paid channel offering the highest ROI in 2019. One of the many reasons is that Facebook is the ultimate social media channel with over 2.7 billion active users.
It also offers marketers targeting capabilities such as reaching potential customers based on behaviors, life events, demographics, and interests. You can create a ‘lookalike audience’ before launching your campaign, which will give you a glimpse into who matches your audience description. It is much more detailed in who you target your ads to when compared to Google Ads.
Thinking of Google Ads vs. Facebook Ads and which ads work better doesn’t have a cut-and-dry answer. By accounting for the factors mentioned above in this post, you can see which platform’s unique features can be optimally used for your brand and its growth.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Are Facebook Ads cheaper than Google ads?
The price of running ads generally depends on your business since every industry is different. It could be anywhere from $1 to $3 on Facebook, which is a lot less than Google Ads.
2. Are Google ads worth it?
Yes, especially for small businesses with websites. Google Ads has the potential to be one of the most profitable ways to get more sales.
3. Is SEO better than Google ads?
Both of these strategies enhance your visibility in search, but it is like comparing oranges to apples. SEO works when trying to get your site higher in organic rankings, whereas Ads allow you to use keywords and create an ad to promote your product/service.
4. Google Ads vs. Facebook Ads cost
Facebook Ads are somewhat cheaper than Google Ads. Setting aside which field you represent, the CPC is only $3.77. CPC is generally more expensive on Google Ads, but people clicking on your ad are also in the last stages of the buying journey. The average CPC depends mainly on industry, the placement, the keywords you choose and of course, the overall competition in the industry.
Conclusion
There isn’t a clear winner to this Google Ads vs. Facebook Ads debate, showing that the answer isn’t black and white. Harnessing the power of both these channels is the key to effective advertising. It is, however, worthy of investigating the strengths of each and how they factor into your overall business goals. A dual advertising campaign that aligns with the advantages of both of these platforms is necessary to see maximum results.
Still, the secret lies in gaining a deeper knowledge into the working of Google and Facebook Ads and how best to use them for more remarkable growth and optimal ROI. As for a clear cut difference, if you have a very creative, visual kind of a business with unique followers who want engagement and communication, yet you want to spend little money, Facebook Ads is the answer.
For businesses that have full flash websites, and have a medium to high competition business, with a target audience that takes time in searching and makes decisions based on valuable content, Google Ads is the way to go!
