Which Is Better To Market My Business, Google Ads Or Facebook Ads?
When small businesses want to gain exposure and generate revenue in cyberspace, they feature ads on Facebook and Google. However, Facebook Ads and Google Ads are not identical, so it’s important to know how these digital platforms perform before determining which one will deliver the marketing results you’re seeking.
Facebook Ads v. Google Ads
Facebook Ads
Now known as Meta, Facebook is a social media powerhouse connecting almost 2 billion people worldwide. This type of traffic makes it ideal for small businesses to get the exposure they need locally and globally. Facebook Ads is best for increasing brand awareness, generating leads, enhancing customer engagement, driving traffic to websites, and announcing events.
Facebook Ads allows users to create and run marketing campaigns with Facebook Ads Manager tool. Marketers can reach their target audience according to location, demographics, and profile data. As an added incentive, users can choose to run their ads on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and Audience Network because they are under the same corporate umbrella.
Facebook Ads lets users format their marketing campaigns for mobile or desktop and provides them with tools for tracking and analyzing the performance of each ad campaign. This ability comes in handy for business owners who want to identify which devices and platforms are generating the most revenue, so they know where to direct their marketing funds.
Google Ads
Formerly known as Google AdWords, Google Ads requires marketers be knowledgeable about popular and trending keywords because it works on an auction system that is engaged whenever users perform a keyword search.
For example, when sellers create a Google Ad, they must optimize their bid amount and maintain a high Quality Score if their ad is going to win the Google Ads auction and have their ad seen according to their chosen keywords.
Google Ads is an ideal way for business owners to drive quality traffic, or serious customers, to their website because each ad is pay-per-click (PPC).
Side-By-Side Comparison
When it comes to buyer intent, Facebook Ads is best for raising brand awareness, while Google Ads attracts customers who are likely to buy.
Concerning audience targeting, Facebook Ads is the way to go when identifying customers according to their demographics, interests, and behaviors. Google Ads struggles in this department because it can only accomplish broad targeting with keywords and only has limited ability to identify customer demographics.
Marketers who are focused on audience size face a difficult challenge deciding between Facebook Ads and Google Ads. This is because Facebook has 1.59 billion active users per day while Google boasts 3.5 billion searches per day. When scrutinizing these massive numbers, one can’t overlook the fact that they are different measurements. This provides a conundrum because there’s an obvious overlap of the same people using both platforms. Instead of comparing apples to oranges, it’s best that marketers forget about focusing on which platform is going to give them the largest audience because both offer great potential.
Moving on to audience engagement, the playing field is pretty equal as polled marketers are split practically down the middle when asked if customers engage more readily with Facebook Ads or Google Ads.
For marketers who want unique ad placements, Facebook Ads allows marketing campaigns to be delivered via messenger, while Google Ads offers shopping ads.
Of all the categories discussed, product cost is the deciding factor for most small business owners because Facebook Ads is best for low-cost products and Google Ads is best for high-cost products.
Which platform will help you reach your marketing goals?
Now that you understand the differences between Facebook Ads and Google Ads, you can make an informed decision as to which platform will result in your business achieving maximum exposure and increased revenue.
However, if you still aren’t sure which platform will help propel your business forward, you can always run ad campaigns on both, then analyze their individual Key Performance Indicators (KPI).
If you want to successfully advertise your products on a digital platform but aren’t sure whether Facebook Ads or Google Ads is the best option for your marketing campaign, Higgins Marketing Group can help. Contact us for a pressure-free chat about how we can evaluate your business and marketing goals to determine which platform will suit your needs best. We can also help you understand how to navigate the technical aspects of KPIs!
Not sure yet? Check out our work and let us know when you’re ready.