Facebook Ads VS Google Ads: Which is Best for You and Why?

We recently reported on changes to iOS and Facebook that will be tough on advertisers. If you
can make the changes we recommend and remain viable on Facebook, this may mitigate
reasons not to consider Facebook ads over Google. That said, Facebook is very much like an
internet all on its own, with just about everything online available via the social media site.
Conversely, Google is the most powerful and far-reaching internet search engine by far. So the
question is, which service offers the most valuable advertising capability. That’s going to
depend on your business model, budget, target demographics, and more.

These two advertising services are similar in many important ways, making choosing between
them difficult. Each platform has different features, many of which are unique to their
prospective hosts. Here, we’ll discuss which features would serve you best to help you make
the most beneficial decision for your business needs.

Your Marketing Goals

The advertising service you use should depend largely on the goals of your advertising
campaign. Are you looking to develop brand awareness, sales, or leads? Are you trying to
achieve a few goals or all of them?

Google ads is excellent for capturing demand. This means buyers looking to make a purchase,
already sold on the type of purchase they want to make, are best approached through Google
ads. This is because buyers who know what they want will go straight to the Google search
engine and search for what they want.

Facebook ads are much better suited to developing interest. This means targeting buyers who
do not yet know they want what you’re selling. Do you have a new device, an innovative
service, or something else new and wonderful? Then Facebook ads is probably the better fit.

Your Advertising Budget

The purpose of any ad campaign is to bring in more money in sales than the cost of the
campaign. If you choose Google ads, you’ll have to consider the cost per keyword for SEO
services and the competition over your keywords and phrases.

If you want to spend only $100 and rank under the term “flower shop,” and you find that the
cost for that keyword is $20, this limits you to just five clicks a day. That’s not very impressive.
What’s important here is knowing which platform will help you get the most value out of your
advertising dollars. This will mostly be determined by your marketing goals and whether
demand exists or if you need to create it. But you should definitely compare prices before
pulling the trigger.

Understanding Your Buyer’s Journey

Understanding the journey your average buyer will go through before making a purchase is key
to designing and housing your ad campaign. We’ve already talked about the difference
between capturing demand and developing demand. This difference is critical to the buyer’s
journey and should be your first consideration.

Beyond that, you need an accurate buyer’s profile. Know who is interested in your product or
service and where they live. You need to know what problem or desire they are trying to
remedy, how much they are willing to spend, and what determines whether they choose your
brand or a competitor.

When it comes to choosing Facebook or Google ads, it’s about knowing whether demand exists
or not, where your customers are, and what their related interests are. With Facebook, this is
much easier because you can target specific groups in the places where they gather. Google is a
much bigger wading pool, and buyers there tend to know what they want.

Historical & Competitor Data

Advertising is always part art, part science, and part spray and pray. You want to reduce the
third part as much as possible. But the best results are those based on experience. That means
you’re going to need to base your choice on personal experience. That being the case, you may
consider performing an exploratory advertising campaign. That means creating an outreach
effort that is far under budget purely for exploratory purposes. Use the data from your
experimental campaign to guide more serious efforts later.

You’ll also need to research your competitors. Find out what similar merchants are doing. Study
their mistakes and their successes and plan accordingly. Finally, you’re going to have to learn
how to make a Facebook ad and/or how to make a Google ad. It’s not straightforward in every
case, and the system on Facebook is rapidly changing.

Contact Strategic Growth Advisors today to find out more about what we can do to help your business.