Google Ads vs. Facebook Ads, we marketers face this question every day. Business owners look towards us to provide them with the answer, that which one of these adversaries is better? We wish the answer to this question is as simple as it seems.
Every business has needs and certain requirements. From what seems, these two platforms are not competitors, rather businesses opt for these depending on what exactly they want to achieve from their marketing campaigns.
Here we look at what exactly are Google and Facebook ads and how are they the same and what makes them stand apart. Also, we shall reflect on which one should you choose for your business and generate leads from your target market.
What are Google Ads?
Google ads were known as Google AdWords till 2018, after which they were renamed to simply Google Ads. This advertising platform works around something referred to as auctioning in the digital marketing world. Whenever any user using the Google search engine searches for a certain word an auction system already in place runs a complete cycle.
In simple words, if you want your ad to appear when someone makes a relevant search query then you need to ensure that your ad has a good enough quality score, in combination with a suitable bid amount to win the auction and appear in the search results. Look at the example below.
Source: Google Search
It is imperative to note that you pay for every click on your ad and all the impressions that it receives. Google ads are a very effective way of diverting legit traffic to your website given that the keywords being used in your ads are following set guidelines.
What are Facebook Ads?
Facebook is one of the fastest-growing and most powerful social media platforms of the world with over 2.7 billion users on the platform, belonging to different regions of the world and different sections of this society.
This poses an opportunity for any business whether big or small B2B or B2C to interact and reach out to more than 25% of the world’s population using one single channel. When using Facebook ads, you as a business owner will take the help and guidance of marketing and outsourced lead generation experts such as those at scaleyourbiz.com to run meaningful marketing campaigns to target certain demographics and segments of your audience using their profile data supported by market intelligence.
You can also choose the kind of medium that you want your ad to run on i.e., Facebook mobile, Facebook Messenger, etc., and with the option of ads manager, managing all these nuances of a campaign become easy and manageable. For example, look at this image, a Facebook ad by Native Shoes running on a Facebook mobile application.
Source: newsfeed
Google Ads vs Facebook Ads – What should you choose?
Now did you have an idea of what Google ads and Facebook ads are, the question arises as that which one should you prefer and select to use as an advertising and lead generation mechanism for your business. But to reach that conclusion we first need to look at the individual characteristics of both these platforms.
Size of Audience
Facebook has one of the largest audience pools in the world when it comes to digital presence. For Google, we cannot measure the exact number that comprises its audience, but Google does report that more m than 3.6 billion searches are conducted using its search engine daily. And as far as Facebook is concerned out of the 2.7 billion users of the platform more than 1.8 billion are active every day.
Further adding to these statistics, we do know that Facebook is the world’s most popular social media platform whereas Google enjoys more than 93% of the search market when it comes to the USA.
Facebook reports that they have seen a decline when it comes to measuring these statistics in the younger audience whereas Google and the platforms that it offers such as YouTube etc. have a mass reach into the younger segment. This may help you decide on which platform to choose to keep in view the demographics of your audience.
Audience Engagement
A large number of audiences on a platform does not guarantee a higher lead generation or even sales. It is all in relevance to how the audience reacts to the content you post and how well it engages with your marketing campaign.
When it comes to audience engagement on both these platforms in relevance to different marketing campaigns both the platforms come to par with each other and there is no exact winner in this category. When it comes to deciding based on audience engagement, any of these platforms shall deliver in terms of impressions and interactions.
Audience Targeting
The capability to target the exact audience in a marketing campaign is critical when it comes to choosing a platform for advertisement. Facebook ads are the perfect choice to go for when you want to target your market segment right down to the nitty-gritty and very specified demographics.
But in case your marketing campaign is not necessarily backed up by detailed market research or customer persona then Google ads are the way to go, as they allow you to reach out to a bigger set audience without being too specific.
Buyer Intent
It is very important to determine at which stage of the sales journey or the sales funnels is your customer at when choosing a platform to reach out to them. Facebook ads are effective in reaching out to the top of the funnel customers where you are required to create brand awareness or generate leads.
On the other hand, Google ads have proven their proficiency in delivering results when it comes to targeting customers who are at the bottom of the sales funnel meaning they’re ready to make a purchase and are using Google as a medium to learn more just before making the final call.
Ad Placements
As demonstrated above Google ads are text-based one-liners or web URLs that appear when you search for a certain term using the Google search engine. On the other hand, as we’ve seen above Facebook ads can appear on different mediums in the form of images, videos, etc.
Even though Facebook ads have a higher open rate, the clickthrough rate that reaches a purchase is less than 35% whereas Google ads boast a purchase rate of more than 90% for their ads, once opened or clicked on.
Cost
Cost no doubt is an important factor when making any sort of marketing decision. As proven by research the cost of acquisition per customer on average is less than $12 when using Facebook ads, a number which is very hard to compete with.
On the other hand, Google ads compete on their cost per click, which is less than $3 per click, which means Google ads are a good option when you want to generate buzz or initiate conversations whereas to get customers on board to generate leads, Facebook ads are a better option.
Facebook Ads vs Google Ads – What should you choose?
Now that we have looked at the characteristics of each of these platforms let’s determine which one should you choose and why.
When to choose Google Ads
Based on the individual characteristics and what they’re capable of delivering, you as a business owner should choose Google ads when the product or services that you are offering are high priced and require a significant amount of investment.
This is also supported by the higher pricing model of Google and how it also helps in retargeting customers throughout the sales funnel journey to increase sales and purchases. The higher initial cost in terms of Google ads is justified when you receive a higher click-through and purchase rate in return.
When to choose Facebook Ads
Given the social and interactive nature of Facebook ads are well suited for low-cost products and products that have a social element to them. Facebook ads can be used to generate conversations and interactions within your social circle and even across different social segments.
Social influences play a major role when it comes to generating leads and eventually increasing sales and purchase rates for your product or service.
Way Forward
As business owners, you might have heard that try both Google Ads and Facebook Ads and then decide which is better for your business depending on the result they achieve for you.
Therefore, reflect, analyze and research and then with the help of seasoned experts make the right choice in the first attempt.
