As social marketing experts, we’ve been asked so many time this question by clients.
“So Google Ads vs Facebook Ads"
1. Which is better for my business?”
And almost every time we have a similar response – it depends!
Google and Facebook are great, and yes one can be better than the other depending on your business, your audience, and your goals. Let’s take a look, shall we?
The Most common Debate on Google Ads vs Facebook Ads
We understand that small businesses often have a low marketing budget and deciding where to use their ad spend money can be extremely challenging. Let alone completely understanding the difference between Google Ads vs Facebook Ads. Which is why we are taking it upon ourselves to solve and put out some clarity to this debate once and for all. And in the process, help fellow business owners decide which one gets the best return on their marketing investment.
Before jumping straight to the part where we tell you which of them one gets you a far better ROI within the epic battle of Google Ads vs Facebook Ads, let’s start by watching a number of the most differences between the 2 .
What are Google Ads?
The advances in technology over the years has given us as marketers and even consumers more choices than we could have possibly imagined in our lifetime. As a result, it’s changed how we discover , deliver, and receive information. it’s even changed the way to buy and buy products today.
One such internet company who has not only embraced change but helped cultivate it’s Google. Founded in 1998, Google may be a program that’s employed by nearly 70% of online users to look for love or money and everything under the sun. Literally. Thousands of best results concerning products, tips, videos, local businesses and far more during a fraction of a second. Google today processes quite 40,000 search queries every second, quite 3 billion per day and a touch over a trillion per annum . And it’s shown this consistent growth since the first 2000. Imagine how this has and can still change the advertising landscape.
Formerly referred to as Google AdWords, Google Ads has become one among the world’s largest and hottest pay per click advertising platforms. Meaning advertisers on this platform only pay when a user clicks on their ad. Other search engines use similar techniques for his or her advertising platforms also . But Google is so commonly employed by consumers and advertisers alike the term paid search is most famously related to Google Ads.
The image above shows a fast Google search of house cleaners near me. Notice how all of the listings are marked with a green “Ad” label to the left of the listing or “Sponsored” within the top right corner of the screen. Google not only showed me ads most relevant to my search query, they also showed me relevant results supported my location.
Now that you simply understand a touch more of what Google Ads are, take a moment to observe this clip from one among our staff experts as he explains a preview of Google Ads vs Facebook Ads.
What are Facebook Ads?
If Google Ads are popularly mentioned as paid search, then Facebook Ads most definitely are given the title of paid social. Changing consumer behaviors and patterns have undeniably given rise to social media giants that permit consumers connect with their friends, voice concerns about their experiences, and have interaction with topics and businesses they like.
In a previous article, we explained why business owners got to include Facebook advertising in their marketing plans. We highlight how Facebook has become the social powerhouse today with 2.27 billion monthly active users (and counting).
Setting an example for why Facebook ads are so popular among advertisers and business owners. Boasting such impressive user data, it’s of no surprise that last year alone, Facebook Ads accounted for 25% of all online ad spend.
Probably the most important advantage of Facebook over Google is that the incontrovertible fact that it knows our social behavior. We might not be fully conscious of it but we subconsciously reveal information on Facebook about ourselves quite what we shall .
Yes, Facebook collects tons of knowledge . Maybe quite you even realize. The pages you wish , topics you engage in, your friends, your birth date, your current location, your vacation in 2018 then on. Imagine what value can such a knowledge bank created for advertisers looking to focus on specific users. And these emotions, our behavior and what we like features a huge impact on our purchasing decision.
Introducing…(drumroll please)…Facebook Ads!
The below graphic shows Facebook Ads targeting options available to advertisers.
facebook custom audience
For this reason alone, Facebook Ads remain popular among many small business owners as they provide the power to pinpoint your target customer and only advertise to people that are literally likely to get your product or service.
Another example of this is often with Facebook Google Search. you’ll have seen some ads on Facebook for products or services that you simply had previously researched, and located yourself asking, “how does Facebook know what I searched on Google?” Facebook itself doesn’t know this information, however, if a business is partnered with or connected to Facebook, then that data are often wont to wont to show their ads on your Facebook feed.
This amount of specificity are some things that not many advertising platforms can provide, a minimum of not in as great of detail.
facebook google search ad example
Schedule a consult our digital experts today to ascertain how (not if) Facebook ads will help solve your business objectives.
Google Ads vs Facebook Ads – How They Work
What’s the difference between Facebook Ads and Google Ads? the most difference is how products/services are shown to consumers. Facebook shows ads to users supported their interests, while Google shows relevant ads to those that are specifically checking out a product. In simple terms, Facebook tends to specialise in brand outreach, while Google focuses on lead conversion.
Let’s explore both during a little more detail.
Google Ads with its paid search based offerings, lets business owners target users supported the search query they enter on Google, also referred to as keywords. Primarily text based, these ads are aimed toward showing relevant promoted results to users which will help them in their search further.
From a user’s point of view, once they perform a Google look for a specific keyword, they’re shown pages of leads to usually but one second. But at the beginning of every search result page, the initial few listings (the ones with the tag “Ad” on them as seen below) are the promoted listings that advertisers have paid to showcase when that specific keyword is searched.
From an advertiser’s point of view, the Google Ad platform lets them create campaigns which will only appear when users search a keyword that they need to advertise for. For a good more targeted approach, local businesses can target people checking out their keywords in specific geographical area . That way they don’t waste paid clicks on a customer in Wyoming who will probably never visit their mechanic shop in Florida.
Once these campaigns are found out , your ads enter a bidding round with advertisers who have selected similar keywords. and eventually , Google will show the ad that has the very best bid and with the foremost relevant content. Of course, there’s a military of tools Google provides to line up these campaigns but these are the fundamentals you would like to understand .
Facebook Ads on the opposite hand, allows you to target your ad to people supported the behaviors and patterns you select as a targeting profile on its platform. Unlike Google Ads, it’s not supported a user’s search query. Not only does it provide a good range of targeting options supported demographics, it also lets an advertiser target users supported their behaviors, likes, and dislikes.
For these reasons, you would like to form sure you truly know your customer. If you would like help figuring this out, one among our social media advertising experts can put together a customer avatar profile for you.
The below image shows an example of the various ad formats available in Facebook Ads. Choose different display formats (image, video, carousel) and placements.
What Exactly is that the ROI for Google Ads vs Facebook Ads? How can we Determine It?
There was a time when traditional channels like print ads were the go-to-market strategy for business owners. counting on mass communications in local newspapers then hoping that somebody sees their ad and visits them to form a sale . Not knowing needless to say how effective their recent advertising campaign was.
We have come an extended way from those times and today business owners and advertisers have advanced digital tools at their disposal. The newer advertising technologies lets them promote their businesses in several ad formats all while targeting specific customers.
It gets better…
Computer science and data analytics has made it possible to trace these campaigns and count conversions right down to the very hour that they occur. it’s wonderful how advertising platforms tag each and each visit to your website that happen through the ads. Further, the tag follows them even while they create a sale or bounce off. This level of detail means there’s more data than ever before to assist you optimize your campaign’s performance.
We at as Marketing, have technical experts that love taking over this challenge. We track conversions on a day to day and inform business owners how their campaigns are performing.
Moreover, we also help our clients put codes and scripts on their websites that capture website visitors. We then create remarketing campaigns on both Google Ads and Facebook Ads targeting people that have visited our website landing pages before. the power to retarget those past visitors is when the important ROI gets rolling. Because now, you’re not only sending out touches to users once and hoping that they purchase from you. Instead, you’re retargeting everyone who visited your website but didn’t convert.
Testing Google Ads vs Facebook Ads
So, which one finally generates a far better ROI? And make a tough choice simple.
For a business owner, the talk on Facebook Ads vs Google Ads boils right down to one thing and one thing only – which of the 2 choices will provide the foremost profit? and that we completely understand that.
For this reason, we decided to conduct a test of our own then let our opinions be known. The test subject we began to review was an area gym business. The client came to us with the first business objective of accelerating memberships to the gym. And a secondary objective of accelerating awareness of his new business.
We found out two campaigns and ran them for 30 days to measure the marketplace for the merchandise before we presented our recommendations. The below two tables is what our campaigns achieved at the top of this trial period .
Google Ads
Facebook Ads
We first checked out the Facebook campaign. It did great! Exceeded our client’s expectations, even. By getting over 103 membership purchases and quite 150K impressions we thought we had a transparent winner during this test. Further, it helped achieve this at a price per conversion of $11. Not bad, right? The client was blown away with the results and was happy to continue the Facebook ad campaign knowing these results could only improve over time.
Next up, we checked out the Google Ads we had created. Not only did it spend but what we had found out the campaign to spend, it also helped us get quite 200 memberships at the speed of only $4 per conversion. We found some pretty interesting data points to optimize our campaigns further. By the top of the test, our Google Ads had been seen by users specifically checking out gym memberships. We knew they might become lifelong customers. These sorts of results during the invention phase are an excellent indication of what sort of ads work best for our client.
The campaign found out and infrastructure are often overwhelming. But trust us, we’ve been doing this for a short time now (8 years to be precise). and that we skills to urge you the results you would like . Get a free consultation with our digital marketing experts today to ascertain how you’ll get the simplest return on your investment.
If you’re still trying to make a decision between Google Ads vs Facebook Ads, our experienced staff knows just the way to make that call . We don’t promise overnight success, but we’ll scale business opportunities for you and obtain you the higher ROI you crave.
Our Recommendation within the Google Ads vs Facebook Ads Debate
If the judgement goes to be supported return on the particular investment dollars spent, Google Ads has often proved to be the undisputed king. the very fact that we managed to realize more purchases all by utilizing a lesser ad spend, goes on to point out the effectiveness of Google Ads in terms of ROI.
The answer might surprise some but from what we saw through this test, just reconfirmed what we’ve believed for a short time . If you’re a replacement business and wish to form a tough choice supported getting more sales immediately , a lead campaign on Google will provide you with the higher return on investment, supported a sales outcome.
Even though Google Ads generally require a bigger advertising budget, they also require experience. Google wants to deliver the simplest to its user, so you’ve got to deliver an equivalent . the standard of your ad and website content instead of the ad spend may be a significant Google ranking factor when it involves ad bidding wars and your ads being shown over the competition. to form sure you’re the triple threat you would like to be, we highly suggest working with workplace who has advertising experts in your industry.
So with all of this being said, if you’re a replacement business with an honest budget and an easy goal, Google Ads could be the simplest option for you when trying to find an easy answer within the battle of Google Ads vs Facebook Ads.
The Flip Side to Our Recommendation in Google Ads vs Facebook Ads
Facebook Advertising beyond a doubt should be at the middle of a business owner’s marketing plan. Especially when it involves his/her paid social strategy. Not only does it offer you a deeper insight into your audiences’ social behaviors, but also allows you to grow a social community around your business.
One that we all know is that the most vital factor for business growth – word of mouth. No other advertising platform has greater power when it involves creating communities and fan experiences around businesses like Facebook does.
The return on investment from Facebook Ads is far deeper than something are often measured by dollar amount alone. We all know the large potential of the channel and the way big of a crowd puller it are often . that creates its advertising platform a force to be reckoned with.
As we said, every business is different.
With different products and unique customer profiles.
This means what might work for one business owner, won’t for an additional . this is often certainly true once you are judging your return on investment in advertising.
Talk to our team today to ascertain how different ad platforms fit into your business and find out how we will get you a far better return on your investment.
Our Final Verdict
Sure, we had a transparent winner during this particular debate. But the larger debate of paid search vs paid social is clearly one that needs tons of testing with many various variables. We also understand that the solution isn’t always as simple because the one we discussed today. the selection depends on various factors like your business objectives, your business type or your customer audience. All have an equal role to play within the success of a campaign and therefore the ROI achieved.
The choice might not always be clear. But we often recommend business owners to seem beyond ROI and consider judging campaigns supported the entire value they carry to your business – even within the case of Google Ads vs Facebook Ads. Value are often anything from building brand awareness to reaching potential customers or getting more leads, conversions, and purchases.
We want to wrap it up and leave you with the subsequent thought:
Google Ads will assist you find new customers directly and within the process, offer you a moment return on your marketing investment. While Facebook Ads will help new customers find and explore you. And this manner offer you a far better ROI within the end of the day .
Interested to find out more or discuss your thoughts? inspect these related articles or drop a comment below to start out a discussion.
Reff Lyfe
