Many people view digital marketing as competition in every aspect. Yes, there is competition in reality, such as when you are trying to beat your competitors. However, when it comes to Facebook ads Vs Google Ads, is the competition valid? Of course, there is a rivalry between the two; they are both separate entities wanting to promote your business for you, But, which is best for your business?
Keep on reading to find out.
Google Ads Vs Facebook Ads – The Beginning
Let’s get something straight right from the start. Both of these platforms can have a significant impact on your business. We will not get to the end of this article saying that you should only ever pick one over the other. The fact is that there are differences, and they will fit different companies, and perhaps different industries, better than others. That usually depends on what your end goal is.
The second truth that we would like to point out is that many larger companies use Google Ads and Facebook Ads in conjunction with each other. That alone shows that there are benefits in both. However, we also understand that many businesses do not have the money to invest in both platforms to check simultaneously, to see which performs better for your requirements.
When you are starting in PPC advertising, there are better questions that you can ask. Instead of going straight for the killer question: Facebook or Google Ads, you should think of other ways around getting the answer you need. The reason for that is simple; different people have different requirements, thus different opinions.
- What do you need from the Ads?
- Which fits your requirement better?
- Which of the two fits your budget better?
What Do Google And Facebook Ads Do? – Decide Your Intention
Having a clear and concise objective is the key to everything business-related, especially paid advertising. Are you looking for lead generation, sales, brand awareness, traffic, social engagement, or learning about your audience? There are other objectives that you may have in mind. Still, those six are the main reasons why businesses usually go into paid advertising in the first place.
If you want to increase your brand awareness, you may have more success on Facebook. The main reason for that is because the majority of users on Facebook are there to browse. Therefore, there is a lot less buyer intent than Google.
For those of you who are aiming towards leads and sales, Google may be a better option. Google has a higher user intent. The primary reason for that is because your Ads are keyword-based, not views. You can target specific keywords that match your intention.
Though that is not to say that there are no conversions from Facebook, you may have better luck with Google.
Google Ads Vs Facebook Ads – Target Requirements
Google Ads are great if you want to target people who are searching for specific terms. For example, if you want to target people who are searching for “Discount gym membership in my area,” then you have the opportunity to show your Ad to the people searching for it.
However, if you need to be more specific, such as age, gender, location, interests, relationship status, education, etc., you are likely to have more luck with Facebook Ads than Google Ads.
Budget – Google or Facebook – Which Suits Your More?
Now that you know what you need from your advertising campaign, you need to think about the budget that you have to spend. Many people think that you should consider this first. However, you need to look at the platform that suits you the most first. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have a budget in mind though.
If you can afford to spend money just on brand awareness, then you need to find which will provide you with the most views for the money. That is pretty simple to work out, the more impressions you get, the better.
On the other hand, if you want to convert as many of your clicks as you can, you need to think about how much it will cost to acquire a customer. For example, if you can afford to pay £5 to make a sale, but it costs you £1 to get a visitor to your site, do you convert 20% of all of your traffic? If not, then you are paying too much.
Other Considerations Before Choosing Between Google And Facebook Ads
While the three points that we have spoken about above are crucial to making the decision, there are other things to think about before spending your hard-earned cash,
Industry
The industry that you are in has a huge impact on cost and success. For example, if you are in the insurance sector or law, then be prepared to pay a lot of money for Google Ads clicks, especially for the more competitive keywords such as “car insurance” or “injury lawyer.”
You may want to consider getting some information from Facebook Ads before transferring over to Google Ads in those cases. Of course, the main aim is to get the most out of your campaign as possible. That means that by spending £20 on one click that doesn’t convert on Google, you haven’t learned anything. However, spending the same amount on 200 clicks that don’t convert on Facebook will have some information behind it, such as age, gender, interests, and location of the people clicking.
When you know who is or isn’t converting well, you can target your ads to the people who do convert well.
Location
If you have an e-service or product, you can advertise everywhere that speaks the same language as you, and even in places that don’t, if that service allows it. However, what happens when you need leads in the same town as you, or even narrower, the same area of the town?
Google can target those requirements, but you are limited to the people who are searching for those terms in that area. If there are no searches in the area for the keyword you want to target, you get zero return. Nothing. With Facebook, you put your business, service, or product in the faces of those in the area you want. You show them your advert whether they like it or not. While that may sound sneaky, it can be precisely what you want.
The more people who see that you have opened a new gym only streets away from them, the better. People who live in that area are unlikely to search for “new gym in my area,” as they are likely to “know” that there isn’t one.
Service Age
The age of the service is one that should be higher on the list. So, why didn’t we put it there? Simple; we forgot. Just kidding. We left it until now so that it would have a lasting impression as it is so important.
If you have a new service, it is unlikely to have anyone searching for it. For example, I can bet that there is almost no one searching for “Bio magnetic ear stickers for weight loss near me.” That is because the product is so new that you have probably never even heard of them. If you’re interested, here is an article that talks about them. If no one searches for them, you will have no impressions and no conversions. But that is just an example.
The theory applies to everything. If you have a service that people search for, then Google may do a better job. However, when you need people to see your custom made rotisserie chicken oven with coffee maker and alarm clock, you may want to showcase it on Facebook. You get the point.
Facebook Ads Vs Google – ROI
ROI is a challenging topic that you need a whole article about in itself. There is no specific percentage number that we can give to you that shows better or worse ROI for a single Ad type. That is because it depends on all of the factors above.
However, Forbes has given a good breakdown of, what appears to be, a theoretical ROI test. Again, though, you cannot take this as gospel, and you need to test it for yourself. But there are still more things that you need to consider when pitting Google and Facebook Ads against each other.
For example, you may get fewer conversions with Facebook Ads, but you are likely to get more impressions of your Ad. Getting those impressions gives you valuable branding marketing without spending any more money. So, you may have 100 conversions on a Google campaign that cost you £1,000, but no extra impressions. Or, you may have 50 conversions on the same campaign with Facebook, but gain 100,000 impressions, too.
Conclusion
Ad campaigns are as individual as we are. Your business’s requirements will determine which of the two are better, but there is certainly no clear cut winner. If you have a product or service that already exists, you may be better with Google, if the competition is not too high. If you have a new product or service, you may want to try Facebook Ads instead.
The best way to understand which will be better for your own requirements is to talk to someone who has a proven track record of successfully running both types and discussing your needs. If you want to find out how we can help you, feel free to contact us.
0 Comments