Facebook Ads or Google Ads: What’s Best for You?
A comprehensive and efficient digital marketing campaign always incorporates online advertising. Pay-per-click and paid social advertisements can yield immediate outcomes, enabling you to pinpoint particular audiences and demographics that are highly likely to show interest in your offerings.
But here’s the dilemma: how can you determine which advertising platform is the best fit for your enterprise?
As a PPC agency, we possess expertise in this area. We’re well aware of the two primary ad platform contenders: Google and Facebook. If you find yourself grappling with the Google Ads vs. Facebook Ads conundrum for your business, rest assured that this guide is here to provide clarity.
What are Google Ads?
When undertaking a comparison between Google Ads and Facebook Ads, it’s crucial to examine each platform individually. Let’s start by delving into Google Ads.
Google Ads come into play when you desire your web pages to feature across various Google platforms. For Google search ads, your pages grace the top of search results whenever a user enters a relevant keyword. Google’s Display Network offers an expanded realm beyond traditional search ads, enabling you to utilise display ads that encompass text, images, and videos. These dynamic ads find their place on platforms like YouTube, Gmail, and third-party websites.
The query we frequently encounter is, “How much does advertising on Google cost?” The response, however, is not straightforward. It hinges on the keywords you choose to bid on and their current market value. Typically, the higher the search volume for these keywords, the greater the expense.
Additionally, it’s essential to note that Google Ads operate on a PPC (Pay-Per-Click) model, meaning you’re charged based on the number of clicks your ads garner.
Exploring the Advantages and Disadvantages of Google Ads
When weighing the options between Facebook Ads and Google Ads, it’s vital to scrutinise the merits and demerits of each platform. Here’s a breakdown of the key points to consider regarding Google Ads:
Pros:
- Precise Audience Exposure: Google is ubiquitous, and by targeting the right keywords, you can reach an audience actively searching for your products or services. Your ads enjoy prime placement at the top of search results, ensuring your company’s visibility before competitors.
- Enhanced Customer Insights: Google Ads allows you to experiment with keywords, landing pages, demographics, and more. This experimentation yields valuable data to deepen your understanding of your customers and their needs.
- Budget-Friendly: Even businesses with modest marketing budgets can harness the power of Google Ads. You pay only for actual clicks and have full control over your spending. Pausing ads is an option, enabling you to manage your budget effectively.
Cons:
- Clicks ≠ Conversions: Google Ads charges you based on clicks, regardless of whether they translate into desired actions. Inaccurate targeting or accidental clicks can lead to expenses without meaningful results.
- Short-Term Focus: While Google Ads can deliver rapid outcomes, it may not serve as a sustainable long-term strategy. Once your budget is exhausted, your ads vanish from the platform.
- Price Escalation Due to Competition: With numerous competitors utilising Google Ads, bidding on high-demand keywords can substantially inflate costs in fiercely competitive industries.
Evaluate these factors meticulously to determine if Google Ads align with your marketing goals and budget.
What are Facebook Ads?
Now, let’s turn our attention to Google’s formidable opponent in the advertising arena: Facebook. Facebook search ads, as the name implies, are primarily hosted on the Facebook platform.
The scope of Facebook Ads is extensive, encompassing a wide array of placements. These ads seamlessly integrate into Facebook’s standard feed, Messenger, and various mobile applications within the Audience Network. Interestingly, if you’ve ever pondered the merits of Instagram Ads vs. Facebook Ads, it’s worth noting that Instagram Ads are managed through the Facebook Ads advertising platform.
What truly sets Facebook Ads apart is its comprehensive targeting capabilities. While Google Ads rely heavily on keywords, Facebook Ads take a different approach. Here, you have the power to reach individuals based on various criteria, including:
- Location
- Demographics
- Behaviour
- Connections
- Interests
The versatility of Facebook Ads extends to the types of content you can utilise. Whether it’s captivating images, engaging slideshows, immersive collections, dynamic carousels, or compelling videos, the options are diverse and cater to various advertising needs.
The Pros and Cons of Running Facebook Ads
In the ongoing clash of Facebook vs. Google Ads, each platform boasts its unique advantages and drawbacks. Let’s dissect the pros and cons of harnessing the potential of Facebook search ads:
Pros:
- Expansive Audience: Facebook is an online behemoth with nearly three billion active users, providing you with an extensive audience pool for your ad campaigns.
- Laser-Sharp Targeting: Marketers who adeptly wield Facebook Ads often enjoy a high average conversion rate. The secret lies in the platform’s precision targeting capabilities, offering a myriad of options to zero in on your ideal audience. When fine-tuned effectively, this can significantly enhance your Facebook Ads’ average conversion rate.
- Budget-Friendly Options: In the Google vs. Facebook showdown, the neutral zone offers budget-friendly solutions with Facebook Ads. You can define a specific daily or campaign lifetime budget, granting you cost control over your ad expenditure.
Cons:
- Ad Overlook: While this predicament applies to most ad platforms, it’s particularly prominent with Facebook Ads. The relentless scroll behaviour of users often leads to rapid ad skimming. To combat this, crafting attention-grabbing content becomes imperative to boost the average CTR for Facebook ads.
- Relevance Issues: The average Facebook ad conversion rate can suffer when irrelevant ads are in the mix. Despite the platform’s comprehensive targeting options, some users may still encounter ads that hold minimal interest, affecting the overall effectiveness of Facebook ad search targeting.
- Spam Clicks: Facebook provides the option for cost-per-click (CPC) advertising. Now, you might wonder, “What constitutes a good CPC for Facebook ads?” However, this metric can be influenced by a pertinent concern: spam clicks. The presence of spam accounts and fake profiles generating interactions on the platform can impact the average CPC, affecting the performance of Facebook Ads.
Google Ads vs Facebook Ads: The Key Differences
In the relentless Facebook Ads vs Google Ads showdown, both contenders undoubtedly hold their merits within your marketing strategy. Nevertheless, it’s the nuances between them that can tip the scales in the Google Ads or Facebook Ads dispute, depending on your unique perspective.
Facebook vs Google? Delve into the Key Distinctions:
Ad Creative
In the initial stages of the Google vs Facebook ads deliberation, Facebook emerges victorious. While Google Ads permit a certain level of creativity, allowing you to craft enticing descriptions and incorporate multimedia based on your chosen platform, Facebook Ads elevate creative possibilities and overall flexibility.
Ironically, the constraints of Google Ads necessitate a heightened level of creativity, prompting the utility of our guide on “How to Elevate Your AdWords Campaign.”
Reach and Targeting
When evaluating Google Ads vs Facebook Ads, both wield considerable reach, yet Google holds the upper hand in this aspect, especially concerning the search segment of its platform.
In terms of targeting precision, Facebook Ads offer exceptional control. You can meticulously pinpoint your desired audience by selecting parameters such as location, interests, demographics, and more. Conversely, Google Ads predominantly rely on keywords for targeting, although demographic options remain available.
Average CPC and Billing Models
The average CPC across all industries for Google Ads hovers around £1.95 for search, while Facebook Ads command a CPC of approximately £0.91.
Billing models add another layer of versatility, as Google predominantly employs CPC. Facebook Ads, on the other hand, present a range of options, encompassing CPC, CPM, CPA, and CPE.
Buying Intent
Social media users typically engage with the platform without strong intentions of making immediate purchases. Their primary aim often involves casually scrolling through their feeds and staying updated on their friends’ activities. Consequently, what constitutes a commendable CTR for Facebook Ads may not align with the benchmarks for Google Ads.
This divergence stems from Google Ads’ capacity to target individuals actively seeking solutions to specific problems, thereby possessing higher buying intent.
Click and Conversion Benchmarks
Here’s what the statistics unveil: in terms of average click-through rate, Facebook claims a 0.90% CTR across all platforms, whereas Google’s search platform boasts a more impressive 5.06% CTR.
Conversely, the conversion rate narrative diverges. Facebook Ads maintain an average conversion rate of 9.21%, while Google Ads secure a 4.40% conversion rate. In essence, while generating fewer clicks, Facebook Ads’ conversion rate implies that those who do engage are more likely to complete conversions.
In the grand scheme of things, determining your ad campaign’s ultimate goal is paramount. Without a clear objective, the choice between Google Ads and Facebook Ads becomes an arduous task.
Google Ads excels in capturing demand and ensnaring those with a fervent intent to make a purchase. However, it would be remiss to overlook the potential of Facebook Ads, particularly when it comes to enticing customers at the inception of their buying journey.
To extract the maximum value from your advertising budget, deliberate upon the specific phase of the buyer’s journey you intend to target. This deliberate consideration should pave the way for your momentous decision: Google Ads or Facebook Ads.
In the event that you still find yourself wavering, don’t hesitate to reach out to us for expert guidance. Alternatively, you can leverage our paid social agency services to empower your ads, propelling them to perform beyond their weight class.
