Google Ads vs. Facebook Ads: Which is Better For Your Business?
Running ads successfully involves more than just blindly throwing dollars at a campaign. In addition to nailing the creatives and positioning, you need to make sure your ads are being distributed on the right platforms.
Google Ads and Facebook Ads are two of the biggest players in the online advertising space.
Google controls roughly 25% of all digital ad revenue in the US—which is enough for the top position—and Meta (Facebook’s parent company) is a close second at around 21%.
Which one is best for your business? Read on to find out.
Pros and Cons of Google Ads
Google Ads (formerly known as Google AdWords) has been around for roughly 25 years. It started with just 350 businesses but has since evolved into the world’s largest PPC advertising platform—used by millions of companies of all shapes and sizes.
Despite Google’s immense popularity and incredible benefits, the platform isn’t perfect for advertising strategy.
Pros
- Instant Results — You can start getting clicks within 24 hours of running ads on Google. It can take some time for Google to learn more about your audiences, but the results are still fairly instant compared to other marketing strategies.
- Supports Highly Targeted Ad Campaigns — Google automatically makes sure that your ads are targeted based on content and audience. It uses factors like context, personalization, and placements to make this happen.
- Only Pay For Clicks — Google operates on the PPC advertising model, which means you only pay when people actually click on your ad, as opposed to just viewing it.
- Ability to Target High-Intent Searches — When your ads appear in the SERPs, you’re targeting people who are actively searching for terms related to your products and services.
- Built-in Remarketing Capabilities — Google has remarketing capabilities that let you engage with people who have already visited your website, showing them tailored ads as they search the web and browse other sites.
- Massive Ad Network — In addition to having your ads appear directly in search results, your ads can also be placed in Google’s display network, which is comprised of over two million websites, apps, and videos where your ads can be served to customers.
Cons
- Lots of Competition — Google’s popularity is a double-edged sword for advertisers, as it means you’re competing with thousands of other businesses for the same keywords.
- High Costs — Google Ads are expensive, especially for certain industries (like all keywords related to lawyers, law firms, and attorneys).
- Requires Careful Maintenance — You can’t just set and forget your Google Ads. These require meticulous monitoring and tweaks to optimize results, which isn’t easy for the average business to handle on their own internally.
- Not Always Sustainable on its Own — For Google Ads to be effective you typically need to use them in conjunction with other strategies, like content marketing and SEO. If you solely rely on Google Ads for leads and traffic, your business could drop to zero overnight as the algorithm changes, new competitors enter the market, or your ad budget shrinks.
- Tough to Get Accurate Data Early — Google provides decent data for advertisers, but this data isn’t great for the first three months and could take up to a year to really get the most impactful data to optimize your campaigns.
Pros and Cons of Facebook Ads
Facebook is a pioneer in the advertising space, and it was the first platform to have sponsored content that essentially blended into the user’s feed.
While many believe Facebook is declining, it’s still the most popular social media platform in the world. With over 3.1 billion monthly active users on Facebook and an additional 2 billion MAUs on Instagram, Meta is in clear control in this space (with over 8.1 billion total MAUs across all Meta channels).
Over 10 million advertisers use Facebook Ads, and it’s trusted by a whopping 93% of marketers.
Pros
- Low Costs — Facebook Ads are typically much cheaper than Google Ads, making them a great choice for businesses on tighter budgets.
- Real-time Performance Metrics — You’ll have more detailed information about your ad performance right away, making it easier for you to tweak your ads accordingly and make the necessary adjustments.
- Great for Building Brand Awareness — These ads are great for businesses that just want to get their product, service, and brand name in front of a broad audience.
- Ability to Target Specific Audiences — You can leverage Facebook’s audience data to run ads based on age, gender, location, and other demographics.
- Easier to Control Budget — Compared to Google, Facebook makes it much easier to stay within your budget (Google can multiply your average daily budget by two).
- One Ad Platform For Multiple Channels — You can run ads on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Threads, all from a single ad dashboard.
Cons
- Users Aren’t in Buy Mode — Users scrolling through social media aren’t necessarily ready to buy whatever product or service you’re showing them. So while these ads are good for brand awareness, they’re not great for sales.
- Complex Remarketing — Like Google, Facebook Ads also support remarketing. But this is not always easy to set up, especially after Facebook’s consumer privacy issues that they’ve been dealing with in recent years. Meta can’t always accurately track users across channels the way they used to, which can hurt the effectiveness of your remarketing efforts.
- Fewer Clicks — Since Facebook is better for brand awareness, it typically underperforms Google for CTR. Research suggests that the average CTR on Facebook Ads is 0.90%, whereas Google Ads have an average CTR of 5.06%.
- Typically Requires Hyper-Targeted Landing Pages — The performance of your Facebook Ads relies on more than just getting users to click. You also need to have custom landing pages that are aligned with the specific ad you’ve served to turn those clicks into conversions.
- Dealing With Negative Comments — Users on Facebook can comment on your ads, which isn’t always a good thing. If you’re not policing these comments carefully, you can essentially be paying to promote negative experiences to prospective customers.
Side-by-Side Comparison of Google Ads vs. Facebook Ads
Now that we’ve looked at the pros and cons of both Google Ads and Facebook Ads individually, we can compare them side-by-side using the same core evaluation criteria. This will help you decide which option is better for you based on what’s most important to your business.
Costs
Exact costs will always depend on the keywords you’re targeting. But with that said, Facebook Ads are almost always cheaper than Google Ads. So your budget can go a lot further on Facebook compared to Google.
Winner: Facebook
Reach
Your ads have a significantly higher potential reach on Google. This search engine processes over 8.5 billion searches per day, and that doesn’t even account for the potential for your ads to appear on the two million sites, apps, and videos within Google’s display network.
Winner: Google
User Intent
Facebook Ads are more passive, as you’re reaching users who are doing something else. But the user intent on Google Ads is significantly higher—as these people are actively searching for keywords and terms directly related to your products, services, and business.
Winner: Google
Ad Types and Formats
Both Facebook Ads and Google Ads can be displayed in a wide range of formats. Google Ads in search results are limited to text-only, which can be tougher than the highly visual components associated with Facebook Ads. That said, you can still run visual ads through Google’s display network.
Winner: Tie
Ad Placements
Facebook Ads can be placed anywhere on Meta’s platforms—including Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, Threads, and WhatsApp—reaching over 8.1 billion active users. Google Ads can be displayed across SERPs and over two million sites in Google’s ad network.
Winner: Tie
Analytics
Both platforms have robust analytics, but neither is perfect. I personally think Google’s analytics are more accurate, but the ad manager is a bit clunkier and can take a lot longer to deliver accurate results. Facebook Ad analytics aren’t quite as accurate as they once were, but I like the way they’re shown on the backend in real-time.
Winner: Tie
Clicks
The average click-through rate on a Google Ad is over 5x more than a Facebook Ad (5.06% vs. 0.90%). This varies by industry, but it’s a good benchmark with enough of a separation to confidently say you’ll get more clicks on your Google Ads compared to Facebook.
Winner: Google
Conversions
Despite Google Ads driving more clicks, research shows that Facebook Ads actually have a higher conversion rate. The average conversion of a Facebook Ad is 9.21% compared to 4.40% on Google—meaning even though fewer clicks are generated, people who click on your Facebook Ads convert are more likely to convert at a higher rate.
Winner: Facebook
ROI
This is another instance where there are lots of factors at play, including your industry, ad types, audience, and quality of your ads. But broadly speaking, Google Ads have an average ROI of 200% (meaning you can expect to generate $2 for every $1 spent. Facebook Ads have a bit more variance, but on average, the ROI is anywhere from 400% to 800% (remember, Facebook has a higher conversion rate).
Winner: Facebook
When to Use Google Ads
It makes sense to use Google Ads when your campaigns are focused on user intent and you’re targeting people who are ready to buy. For example, if your business provides HVAC services and someone searches for something like “how much does a new air conditioner cost” or “air conditioner under $500” then you want to make sure your ads are appearing for these types of searches.
There’s a high likelihood that anyone entering these types of queries into Google is ready to replace their AC. So you want to catch them when they’re in buy mode.
When to Use Facebook Ads
Facebook Ads are better for brand awareness. It’s a good opportunity to simply let prospects know who you are, what you do, and what products or services you offer.
Focus on educational content and let people know about what type of brand you are. So down the road when they’re ready to buy something, you’ll be more top of mind.
Final Verdict: Which is Better For Your Business?
Most businesses should be using a steady mix of both Facebook Ads and Google Ads.
These are the two most popular advertising platforms for a good reason—that reason is that they’re both good for different things and they both deliver results.
That said, you shouldn’t be solely relying on Facebook Ads and Google Ads alone to increase brand awareness, get leads, and generate revenue. Your advertising strategy should be used jointly with content marketing, social media marketing, and SEO.
Plus, you can leverage other ad platforms beyond these two—like LinkedIn Ads for B2B marketers.
In short, there’s no single platform or ad that will change your business overnight. You need to spread your reach across multiple channels and let the data decide which one actually works best for you. I think most of you will find that it’s worth allocating your ad budget to both of these platforms.
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