Welcome to the topic “Google Ads vs. Facebook Ads.”
Finding it hard to choose between Facebook and Google ads? This comprehensive guide and comparison of both these marketing platforms will provide you with all the insights and other necessary information you will need to make the right choice for your next marketing campaign.
Google and Facebook are the biggest platforms in the digital advertising world. Both have billions of active users and massive data sets that help all types of businesses get their ads in front of their target audience and ideal customers.
Furthermore, the audience sizes and targeting capabilities of both Facebook and Google advertisements are great. However, it can still be confusing for advertisers and marketers to choose between the two, especially when you have a limited budget or cannot advertise on both.
Besides, there is no quick and simple answer to the question: “Facebook Ads vs. Google Ads. Which is the best?”
Hence, we analyzed various factors of both platforms to determine which platform is best, and we polled experts and dozens of marketers to find their opinion about each platform.
In this read, we will cover:
- Why is Online Advertisement Essential?
- Facebook Ads vs. Google Ads: Breakdown and Comparisons Of Various Factors
- Google Ads vs. Facebook Ads: Similarities
- Facebook Ads vs. Google Ads: What They’re Best For
- Google Ads vs. Facebook Ads: Which one is best for Your Business?
In this guide, here’s what we mean:
“Google Ads” in this guide means and describes search ads. We have not covered YouTube Ads in this post due to their change mechanism and some other differences.
The term “Facebook Ads” takes in all placements, and we will look specifically at discovery.
Now that we are on the same page, let’s compare Google ads vs. Facebook ads!
Why is Online Advertisement Essential?
The rise and popularity of tech gadgets such as laptops, tablets, and smartphones have changed things dramatically in the online world, especially for information and products.
“Google it” has become such a popular term among online users that is has become a part of our everyday vernacular and routine, whan looking for information of any type..
According to a 2019 study, an average person spends more than five years and five months of their life using various social media apps or websites such as Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
Every day, we spend hours on all these sites, and sometimes we become extremely keen, demanding, and restless while searching for services, products, and information.
Another major reason to use online advertisements is that users want an instant response to their queries. This also means that they are more motivated these days.
Besides, shopping online has become simpler than ever. Hence, you can help customers in making the right choice that will reassure them that you have the product or service they need. And this becomes possible via online advertisement.
Online advertisement is also a perfect way to differentiate your business or company from the rest. Due to an abundance of choices, consumers’ journey has drastically changed and shifted in a whole new direction. So, you can take advantage of and benefit from this online chaos. Online advertising platforms such as Google and Facebook can help you reap the benefits of this situation.
Now that you understand how important online advertisement for your business is, let’s move on to Google Ads vs. Facebook Ads:
Google Ads vs Facebook Ads: The Breakdown
When it’s about Google Ads vs. Facebook Ads, differences are many. In fact, they have only a few things in common. Both are effective, both require proper testing before implementation, and both utilize an auction-based system that enables you to place your bids against specific actions.
On the other hand, many differences begin with how they work. Below we will compare all the differences so that you can best decide which suits you the most.
How They Work
The functionality of both is entirely different at its core.
How Google Ads Work
Google’s primary form of advertisement is the search ads, which are display relevant ads as per the customer’s search query. Suppose, if a user looks for “the best leather sofa,” for example, and you have the business of leather sofas, you can bid to have your ad shown against this query.
Usually, Google displays these ads above the search results with brief descriptions and two or three lines of ad text that states why users should click on the ad.
Search ads are extremely useful and powerful as they are displayed to the relevant users that are actively looking for such content or products. In this way, it becomes simple for you to target them when they’re in the vital research stage of the process.
You can force them through your ads to make a purchase from you and snag them from your competitors. You will have to use the right keywords as your main targeting option.
Thus, we can say that Google Ads is more focused on lead generation and conversions.
Moreover, Google’s Display Network is very much similar to Facebook, but works in a little bit different way. Here, your ad will be displayed via an image or video on participating websites across the internet, either through posting relevant and useful content on the relevant website or by retargeting. This method focuses more on creating demand on the user’s hand, which we’ll discuss more in the Facebook section.
How Facebook Ads Work
Facebook Ads involve creating demand and need at the user’s end. In this advertisement method, interest-based and demographic targeting is used along with various retargeting routes to place your ads in placements and off the platform.
Similarly, you don’t have to wait for user searches and for customers to look for services or products like yours. Instead, you place your ad in front of users, introduce your offering to them and remind them that you offer this product.
Quite often, Facebook Ads includes multiple sales funnels that help to drive users while promoting your brand all the way to conversion. You can also perform this in an Omni-channel way through multiple and different placements. Through this, you can reach the customers via Messenger, Instagram, and other participating apps that are not associated with Facebook.
You will find different ad formats on Facebook such as video ads, carousel ads, Instant Experiences, Stories, and much more to provide you a ton of creativity and flexibility.
Facebook Ads vs Google Ads: Audience Targeting Or Buyer Intent Targeting
Effective advertising or marketing requires targeting the relevant audience with the right prospects. And you can target your audience as per their location and according to your marketing funnel, as we have discussed above, but there are various factors that you can use for your business.
Facebook Offers You Extra Granular Targeting Options
Facebook always has a targeting advantage over Google ads. Besides, Facebook includes accurate, granular audience targeting options and provides you full control over who can view your ads. This is because Facebook contains plenty of data and knows an impressive amount of information about the users, including their life events, hobbies, behaviors, and much more.
All these factors allow Facebook to create a comprehensive demographic of individual user profiles, and businesses who know their audience can benefit from this valuable data.
According to Ben Huber from Breaking the One Percent, “Facebook contains massive databases that have been provided to it by the users themselves.”
Google Ads Are Ideal if You Aren’t Sure about Your Target Audience
Obviously, Facebook’s targeting competencies will be useless if you are not sure about your target audience. It is not possible for you to hop on Facebook and then find out who your prospective customer is. You should know exactly who needs your product/service when using Facebook’s ads.
Conversely, Google Ads target the keywords that users type into a search engine, so no need to know your audience to display your ads in front of interested consumers.
Many expert marketers say, “If we are working with a popular and reputable brand and have a clear and well-defined persona, we prefer using the Facebook Ads. Though, if our main goal is only lead generation and we know we have a well-defined persona, then we use a Google Ads campaign.”
However, many marketers also stated that if you opt for Google Ads, avoid spending too much to target branded keywords. This is the common mistake that most companies and businesses make on branded terms.
Similarly, marketers also recommend that if you’re using Google Ads for branded terms or keywords, it will be better to invest your money in Facebook Ads and target similar audiences of active prospects with the same buyer intent.
Facebook Ads vs Google Ads: Average Cost
Cost is a vital factor in any marketing and advertisement campaign. It also helps you divide up your ad spend and indicates which type of advertisement campaign will be more profitable.
However, there is no straightforward answer about the cost of Google Ads or Facebook Ads because many factors impact each of them. Still, there are some general rules and guidelines that you must follow. Let’s look at them.
Google Ads Cost
When you are using Google’s search ads, the costs can vary to the extreme. A simple keyword such as “water shoes” might cost you $2 or 3 per click, but a keyword such as “car accident attorney” can cost you above $100. The reason for this huge difference is that the advertisers can fix their bids based on what they want to spend. Similarly, some other keywords are likelier to trigger high purchases and orders than the other keywords.
For example, water shoes may cost from $3 to $100, but a car accident attorney may charge you more than $150 an hour. Hence spending $100 to get that click and the customer is totally worth it.
Having said that, on average, you will have to spend a $1-3 CPC when using Google Ads for most of the keywords. However, it will be better to check Google’s Keyword Planner for a precise forecast about the CPC costs that you will have to pay for that specific keyword. This also helps you to judge whether or not the keyword is cost-efficient.
Note: It is also possible for you to set maximum bids when using Google Ads, to help you decide the max amount you’re willing to spend per click. You can also limit the ad placements to gain more control.
Advertisements on the Display Network have much lower CPCs than Google’s search ads. Usually, the cost is under $1 per click. However, as these ads do not have to capture demand, conversion rates are much lower.
Facebook Ads Cost
Facebook’s costs also vary like Google Ads though, though not as drastically as Google Ads. Factors that affect cost include your relevance scores, competition in the market as high competition costs more, the placements you’re bidding on, your actions that you’re optimizing for, and your target audience.
To give you a rough estimate, Facebook CPC usually costs $0.25 on average for clicks, and you might have to pay $1.21 for reach. Commonly, cost per acquisition (CPAs) can be as high as $3, but it is just an estimate. So, an effective and relevant advertisement campaign with diverse placements can take advantage of lower CPCs.
Facebook Ads vs Google Ads: Average Click-Through Rate
The average click-through rate indicates how much and how often you get clicks on the ads after the users have viewed them. It also indicates how relevant your advertisement campaign is and how interested the users are in your campaign.
Click-through rates are a vital part of any ad campaign because they’re your first step to conversions. Let’s check out what both these platforms offer for average click-through rate.
Google’s Click through Rate
Google search ads have an average click-through rate of around 2%. Some businesses, such as the legal and advocacy industries, might have lower click-through rates, whereas some have higher click-through rates, such as dating profiles, finance industries, and insurance.
You can also view the average click-through rates of any specific industry by simply performing a search on Google. However, Google display ads have much lower click-through rates, around 0.35%.
Facebook Click through Rate
Click-through rates for Facebook ads also vary as per their placements, and types such as carousel ads have higher rates due to their potential. That being said, the average CTR of Facebook ads is around 0.80%. This is half of Google’s CTR.
Paid Search vs Paid Social
Facebook ads and Google ads have some similarities, and both are effective ways to promote your products and services. But some things go beyond that; when it’s about Google Ads vs. Facebook Ads, it’s more of a paid search vs. paid social.
Google Ads
Google Ads are paid search system, which includes specific keywords to drive users to your online store, website, or landing page. These keywords and terms also determine when your ad shows up to the users as per the terms that consumers may use while searching.
Facebook Ads
On the other hand, Facebook ads are paid social networks or systems. It shows your ads to consumers as per their routine, habits, lifestyles, locations, and many other factors. For this purpose, Facebook’s in-depth audience targeting tool is highly effective.
Facebook Ads vs Google Ads: Average Conversion Rate
When considering the average “conversion rate,” the simplest definition is the “sale.” Conversions are known as the finishing point of any action that you’re working for, such as views of a landing page, fulfillment of lead generation forms, registrations for events, and more. The conversion rate also indicates how many users will purchase after clicking on the ad.
Google Average Conversion Rate
Google’s average conversion rate is 3.48% for all search ads and 0.74% for Google’s display network. Further, display ads are more suitable for strong, intensive retargeting marketing campaigns if you want to generate sales through them.
Facebook Average Conversion Rate
The data reveals that Facebook’s average conversion rate is 9.01%, which might be higher for some users, especially when considering the platform’s nature.
However, retargeting ad campaigns can boost the overall conversion rate. But mostly, conversions are frequent in the early stages of the funnel when you’re asking users to register for a webinar or when you want them to download an eBook instead of making a purchase directly.
Facebook Ads vs Google Ads: What They’re Best For
In view of the comparison mentioned above between both these advertisement platforms, here’s what we learned.
Facebook Ads are perfect for promoting Social Products and Low-Cost Products
It is obvious that most users head to social media, including Facebook, due to social reasons that also impact how they react to your ads.
For example, chances are higher that a good advertising project management software’s ad campaign on Facebook will drive more users and conversions. Why? Because project management is an entirely social field. And Facebook offers you the ideal environment to share your ideas for social networking and project management. Similarly, FB is also perfect for low-cost items and bulk sales.
Google Ads Are Well-Suited for High-Cost Items and Retargeting
On the other hand, Google Ads are more suitable for expensive and higher-value purchases, according to professional marketers. This is because you can choose the best time to remain visible to the users. While the initial cost might be more expensive, you will get much higher conversion rates for high-value items.
According to James Pollard, CEO of the Advisor Coach, Google ads are more beneficial than Facebook Ads when it comes to retargeting. Why? Google Ads offer a wider retargeting perspective than Facebook ads, says James Pollard. In James’ opinion, when talking about Facebook ads vs. Google ads, Google is the winner.
Google Ads vs Facebook Ads: Are there any similarities?
As you know, that buyer’s intent is one of the major differences between the platforms. However, they still share some similarities.
You can set your budget on both these platforms and allocate the set budget across campaigns to drive your desired outcomes. You can also generate leads at your target cost or achieve a set ROI as desired.
Furthermore, both these platforms reward marketers that provide quality, relevant ads to their users with better ad delivery or cheaper traffic.
However, creating these high-quality ads needs expertise that will ensure that the ads will be delivered in an efficient way. Some other similarities between these are:
• They allow you to create high-performing and creative ads.
• Besides, Allow you to allocate your budget effectively.
• Therefore, allow you to apply strategies strategically.
Google Ads vs Facebook Ads: Which one is best for Your Business?
So, here we are at the end of this long debate. Lastly, we can say that there is no definite answer to which is better between the Google Ads vs. Facebook Ads, and it all comes down to your specific marketing campaigns.
If you want to target consumers looking for a “neurosurgeon,” nothing can be more effective than running a tight Google search ad campaign as Facebook ads might not be suitable for this specific keyword query. However, if you want to create brand awareness for your new product, Facebook is a great call.
Moreover, Facebook’s lower costs and high conversion percentages are much more appealing than the Google ads. Due to this very purpose, it is the first pick of most advertisers.
In many cases, companies and businesses, regardless of their shapes and sizes, use both these platforms. While Facebook is more effective in generating brand awareness but you cannot deny Google Ad’s effectiveness in capturing the audience in the buying cycle and retargeting the same through display ads if they don’t convert straight.
We will advise you to consider your particular needs, target audience, and the best way to reach out to them. Similarly, consider the keyword’s cost that you plan to target and reach on each platform. This will assist you in making the best decision as per your needs.
So, what do you think? Which platform will work best for you—Google Ads vs. Facebook Ads? Share your thoughts with us, and do let us know if you have any questions!
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