Google Ads Vs. Facebook Ads: Which One to Choose?

Google Ads and Facebook Ads are the most popular paid advertising platforms because of their reach, powerful analytics, and impressive conversions. But which one can deliver the best ROI?

While Google Ads and Facebook Ads are often pitted against each other, they are actually complementary because of their unique strengths and benefits. Additionally, they target consumers at different stages in the buyer’s journey, even though they both run on pay-per-click advertising platforms. 

In reality, there is really no “better” option; however, you need to answer the specific questions below to understand that one is better than the other in certain situations and goals.

• How much is my advertising budget?

• Where do I want to meet my target audience in terms of buyer’s journey?

• What is my specific campaign goal? (e.g., generate sales, boost brand awareness, increase phone inquiries, etc.)

Simply put, these two paid advertising platforms are equally powerful but different. For instance, Facebook Ads help new customers find brands, while Google Ads help brands find new customers.

What Is Google Ad?

Google Ads can generate and maintain customer interest at each stage of the buyer’s funnel thanks to its different types of campaigns such as: 

• Video campaigns

• App campaigns

• Search network campaigns

• Google Shopping Ads

• Display network campaigns 

For years, Google has dominated the search engine industry, accounting for more than 92% global market share as of June 2021. As a result, its paid ad platform is the go-to PPC tool for marketers around the world. 

The search engine giant’s advertising offerings are categorized into two basic types: the Display network and the Search network. 

The Display network comprises visual ads (e.g., banners) that focus more on boosting brand awareness than driving conversions. By contrast, the Search network is a group of search-related web pages and apps where your ad campaign appears, allowing your advert to show near search results when a person types the terms related to your keywords.

Benefits of Google Ads

Wide reach

One of the most notable benefits of Google Ads is its reach, with more than 63,000 queries done every second, or around 5.5 billion searches every day, according to a 2021 report. 

The immense popularity of Google, both among consumers and marketers, stems from its artificial intelligence that continuously evolves to further improve user experience.

Extra features to entice consumers

While Google Ads primarily depend on text, there is a wide range of features that make the adverts more enticing to the target customers–e.g., shopping ads, sitelinks, ad extensions, user reviews, location targeting, etc. Simply put, the level of customization and control makes it ideal for almost any type of business.

Cost-effective

Contrary to popular belief, your success or lack thereof on Google Ads does not primarily rely on your budget. Remember that ads that convey a clear, complete message and reach the target audience win the “game,” while how much you spend on them has no or very little influence. In fact, excellent advertisers often need smaller budgets than sketchy marketers who don’t know how to create relevant, high-quality ads.

Remarketing

With Google Ads, you can remarket or reconnect with users who have previously interacted with your brand. For example, a person visited your e-commerce site and added some items but did not complete the purchase. 

With Google’s remarketing function, you can re-engage users while they’re watching YouTube (which the search engine giant owns), searching on Google, and navigating a website within its Display network.

What Is Facebook Ad?

As a paid social, Facebook Ad uses your target customers’ online behavior and activities, allowing them to find you. By contrast, Google Ads help you to find your clients. 

Additionally, Facebook promotes interactive communication as it allows customers to share their feedback, connect with your other clients, and stay up to date with your company. 

Compared to Google Ads, Facebook Ads are more visual as they rely on these formats: 

• Photo

• Video

• Carousel

• Slideshow

• Lead form ads

• Dynamic product ads 

According to a 2019 Facebook report, more than 93% of businesses are active on the platform, with around 200 million brands using its apps and free tools.

Benefits of Facebook Ads

Wide reach

The social media giant has more than 1.55 billion monthly active users worldwide, which means about a fifth of the global population. Take note that this number does not even include the infrequent users.

Visual-focused paid ad platform

Unlike Google Ads that are text-based, Facebook Ads are hyper-focused on visuals that in the past it even limited the featured text, requiring that it should not occupy more than 20% of the total advertising space. But recently, the social media giant has relaxed this rule a bit. 

With Facebook, your ads can integrate well with images, videos, and other visual content in your target audience’s News Feeds.

Powerful functionality called “lookalike audiences”

This functionality allows you to upload customer details from your own database to Facebook, which then uses its own data to match users based on the information you provide. This collection of data combines consumer behavior and activities, interests, and demographics. 

With “lookalike audiences,” you can double the potential reach of your ads.

A goldmine of user information

Facebook users share valuable information about themselves, such as their hobbies, beliefs, interests, etc., allowing advertisers to whittle down their target, which in turn increases their conversion rates while at the same time reduces the cost.

Final Thought About Google Ads Vs. Facebook Ads

To reiterate, Google Ads are not inherently better than Facebook Ads (and vice versa) because each platform has its unique benefits and strengths. However, some advertisers claim that the social media giant has a more robust tracking insight than Google Ads. 

In general, Google has a wider potential reach, although Facebook offers more niche targeting. 

Did you enjoy the article? If so, you may also want to read our blog post, PPC for Local Businesses: How to Create Effective and Affordable Paid Ads. You can also call us at 916-303-4080 to learn more about creating an effective paid advertising campaign.