“Google Ads vs. Facebook Ads: How to Choose?” This is a common question for those looking to invest in advertising the right way. At the end of the day, both platforms have their advantages and disadvantages and can even be used simultaneously. So, do you want to understand everything about them?
You’re in the right place. By the end of this article, you will have a complete understanding of both tools – including the benefits they offer and the ultimate differences between them.
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Google Ads vs. Facebook Ads: How to Choose?
For those entering the world of digital marketing, this is a common dilemma, whether you are a professional in the field or a business owner looking to advertise your company on the Internet. It’s normal to be puzzled at the beginning by trying to figure out which platform is best for your needs.
Well, do you know why this dilemma exists in the first place? There are three reasons behind it: the features, the reach, and the different results provided by these platforms.
Do you want to understand more about how these factors work in each tool? Let’s take a look:
Google Ads
In summary, Google Ads is an advertising platform owned by the world’s largest search engine.
Being part of Google, such a large and well-known company, the tool is considered the biggest and most comprehensive platform.
To illustrate this more clearly, take a look at the following numbers:
- Over 40,000 searches are conducted on Google every second.
- Approximately 180 billion searches are conducted each month.
- 2.6 billion searches display paid ads monthly through Google Ads.
- The platform reaches 90% of all internet users worldwide.
Analyzing these numbers, it’s needless to say how promising the results can be for a company. In fact, the platform allows you to choose between two types of ads: Search and Display.
The first option is a sponsored link displayed at the top of search results pages, and the second involves Google’s partners who provide space on their websites for these ads.
As one of the giants of technology, Google utilizes many artificial intelligence and machine learning resources, which continually improve the quality of search mechanisms.
However, nothing is perfect. Using Google Ads does have its drawbacks.
One of the disadvantages that stands out on the platform is the difficulty of advertising a product when you are new to the field, for instance. If you start selling a product or service that most of the audience is not familiar with, you won’t have access to search history on the topic. This makes it difficult to advertise the product because you don’t know the information and keywords users use to find it.
Another significant drawback is related to the cost of keywords, which can be quite high if they are highly competitive. However, this depends directly on your business niche – if you don’t have a solid marketing strategy in place, you’ll likely spend a lot and not get the expected results.
Facebook Ads
Google and Facebook are the largest and most relevant in their respective fields. While the former is known as the world’s largest search engine, the latter is considered the world’s largest social network.
Facebook is a massive platform – which means that investing in advertising on it can yield a good return. To better understand, let’s look at some numbers:
- On Facebook, there are over 1.28 billion active users per month.
- There are about 1 trillion views per month.
- The potential reach is 43.8% of all internet users in the world.
Facebook Ads, like Google Ads, is a paid advertising platform owned by Meta (former Facebook) and is also used to create ads on Instagram. The tool offers several advantages for those who choose to advertise through it.
One of these advantages is the ability to target your ads, i.e., segment them by various audience characteristics, which allows you to target by gender, age, location, and preferences. This same feature is not as comprehensive in Google Ads, reducing segmentation possibilities. Thus, with Facebook Ads, the chances of your ad reaching the desired audience are higher.
Moreover, the platform offers different ad formats, such as gifs, videos, photos, and more. This allows your ad to be more personalized and dynamic – a significant advantage depending on your target audience. Facebook also does not require users to search for your ads, as they can view them at any time.
Despite all the significant advantages, though, some drawbacks are also present in Facebook Ads.
One of the main disadvantages is that Facebook Ads does not guarantee that your ad will reach customers who are ready or intent on making a purchase. This is the opposite of what happens with Google, where users search for the topic and are usually already interested in the product. Therefore, on Facebook, the chances of reaching people in the sales funnel are much lower.
Google Ads vs. Facebook Ads: Which one is right for you, then?
Throughout the article, you may have noticed that the advantages and disadvantages of each platform lead to a conclusion: the choice depends solely on your objectives.
Determining your goals and objectives for your ads and your target audience is essential even before publishing any advertisement. This information is crucial for you to choose the most appropriate tool for your brand.
While Google Ads works to improve your company’s sales results, Facebook Ads focuses on building your brand and establishing a stronger relationship with your audience.
This means that the platforms do not compete with each other but have different purposes related to advertising. In fact, they can work together to help you achieve success in both sales and customer attraction.
Google Ads and Facebook: Is it a viable strategy to use both platforms?
Yes – although the best approach is to first understand your target audience, finding out where they are and how they prefer to be approached. Your mission is to understand the ways that make the most sense for them to be impacted by your ads.
Therefore, it is necessary to thoroughly understand your audience’s buying journey and study your company’s sales funnel.
Google finds customers who are more likely to be in the final stage of the sales funnel, while Facebook targets those at the top. Taking this into account, make your plans, set your goals, and use as many advertising channels as necessary.
Is it really worth investing in online paid advertising?
It is undeniable that traditional media still play a significant role in advertising. When it comes to advertising, magazines, TV, and radio have always worked and continue to work very effectively.
However, over the years, with the increased reach and accessibility of the internet and technology, companies that do not participate in this digital world have a hard time surviving in it.
The Internet is a vast network of connections and offers advantages for both companies that sell and advertise, as well as for the audience that searches and buys. This communication complex has become increasingly accessible, forcing search engine algorithms to become more selective about displaying ads and other content.
This makes organic search increasingly selective – and today, those who want to be found on digital platforms need to improve their SEO skills and use paid media. Therefore, for many entrepreneurs in today’s market, investing in online paid advertising has become essential.
Get professional help with marketing strategies for both Google Ads and Facebook Ads
We invite you to a brand-new world of profits – and we can help you with anything marketing-related during this process.
As a digital marketing agency specializing in small and medium businesses, Laços provides the right team for all your needs on this front. In fact, you can schedule a free meeting with us right now – and you’ll leave the reunion with a vast overview of what your company requires, the first steps to creating lucrative strategies, and how to optimize your current online activities.
Speak to our agents today and leave all the hard work to specialists!