Google Ads and Facebook Ads are giants in their industry. Both, however, offer something different to each other. Here we are going to discuss the benefits of each one and see if one is a better fit for your business.
These two marketing mediums are exceptional tools to reach your desired market. Both are pretty instant exposure and there is definitely a position in the marketing world for each one. These two ad platforms have a lot of common ground, but there a few significant differences that will determine which will possibly be the most beneficial for you business.
If you have not used either paid option for advertising before, then both can seem pretty intimidating. They claim to be easy to set up…and to be fair Google Ads is pretty straightforward. But there are so many variables that will bring your quality score up, keep your costs down and get you seen well, that actually Google Ads can seem a bit of a challenge. With Facebook Ads, the actual adsets and ads are actually pretty easy to do. But you need a Facebook Business Manager page set up first which can also prove a challenge!
The Main Differences
Both are pay per click advertising – you pay when people click on the ad. When you create an ad on either platform, you enter an auction where you place a bid for how much you want to pay for this required ad space. Then you’ll be charged a certain amount of money every time someone clicks one of your ads. Facebook ads can be using a single image, a short video or a carousel of images. Google Ads is just text with no imagery, unless you are thinking of Google Shopping.
With Google Ads, you will see paid Ads either at the very top of Google, normally 3 or 4 adverts, with some at the the bottom of the page as well. You can also advertise on YouTube, the Display Network (paid adverts on other platforms), Google Maps, Google Play and Google Shopping.
Facebook Ads will appear on your customer’s Facebook Wall, through Facebook Messenger, Instagram, Marketplace & on the right hand side of a Facebook page.
Facebook marketing reaches audiences based on location, interests, behaviour and demographics. With Facebook Ads, you are paying to get in front of new customers on social networks, instead of reaching them organically. Pay per click (Google Ads) target customers based on keywords as well as locations and you will see them when you are searching on Google.
The average click cost per action on Facebook is around £13. For Google Ads, it is £37.
Choose Facebook Ads for building awareness, growing your audience and advertising products. Choose Google Ads for immediate possible sales & leads, as well as products or services with a possibly higher buying intent.
Budgets, Cost & ROI
The average cost per click on Google Ads is around £2 but this varies by a massive amount depending on the industry. Solicitors can pay up to and around £10 per click, as can double glazing companies! Whereas with some consumer advertising it will be well under £1 per click. Insurance companies will certainly pay the most! Facebook Ads are normally much less and some B2C advertising can be less than 10p per click. Which can make it a very cost effective way of advertising your products.
Although average CPC is typically more expensive on Google Ads, bear in mind that the people clicking your ads may possibly be later in the buying cycle. Facebook is great for building awareness, although Google Ads can sometimes be better at reaching users at the time of their purchase decision.
Just like Cost Per Click, Cost Per Actions will vary by campaign. It’s largely dependent on how well-targeted your ads are and if you are able to convert at a high rate. Don’t let what may seem to be a high average CPA scare you off from PPC.
Know Your Market
Some products or services will work extremely well on both platforms. But some will only be beneficial on one or the other. We have recently had great success for a local catering company who were delivering afternoon teas to their local area. This has been exceptional and brought in many new customers through Facebook marketing…and it still is. However we would not have proposed a Google Ad campaign. This is an excellent form of advertising for a possibly one-off service that would make someone smile. And for a Business to Consumer advert. On Google Ads, the cost would have been too high, you would not have had any imagery and it would not have been so successful.
However, if you are promoting a product or service that is not something social, or not something that people would share socially, then Google Ads will possibly be your better option.
Targeting Your Market
Both Google and Facebook Ads give you options for targeting (and retargeting) specific audiences. On both platforms, you can target by age, gender and location, among other things.
However, Facebook is by far the biggest winner for advanced targeting options.
Facebook allows you to create audiences based on a large list of interests and behaviors, thanks to the wealth of information they collect from their 2.6 billion monthly active users.
Want to target someone who is married? ✅ Want to target parents? ✅ Want to target parents with children ages 5-7? ✅ Want to target vegetarian parents with children ages 5-7 ✅ – you can be very specific!
Annoyingly for the UK, you can’t currently target income levels and we aren’t sure when this is going to be an option.
Which Platform Should You Choose?
So….Google Ads Vs Facebook Ads…which should you choose?
Firstly, consider your campaign goals. Are you focussing on making sales as quickly as possible? If so, Google Ads could be the better choice. If you’re looking to expand brand recognition or reach a wider audience, on the other hand, Facebook Ads may be the better choice.
Next, take your industry into consideration. Both B2B and B2C businesses use Google Ads successfully. Facebook Ads often work better for B2C businesses, especially those selling less expensive items. People are more likely to impulsively buy these products after being exposed to them a few times. However, even for B2B there are going to be opportunities on Facebook Ads—especially for remarketing and lookalike audiences.
Your audience also affects which platform you should choose. Do people search for your business or service with an intent to buy? If so, Google will probably bring the best results. But if your client is trying to build their audience for a new product, Facebook will typically work better.
Consider which stage of the buyer’s journey you’re trying to target with PPC ads—AdWords is great for bottom-of-the-funnel prospects, while Facebook is usually best for attracting new top-of-the-funnel prospects.
Finally, consider your advertising budget and your level of technical skill. Do you have the money to invest in Google Ads, even if you’re in a competitive industry? Money can be very quickly wasted if you have not set up the campaign correctly. Do you have the ability to create strong image or video-based ads for Facebook? Discussing questions like this can help you sketch out a strategy that’s realistic and actionable.
Tracking Your Results
Tracking what you have done is critical. Always make sure that you have conversions set up, especially with e-commerce, along with Google Analytics. Google Tag Manager is great for adding e-commerce information as well as recording email conversions. You won’t know whether you are wasting your money if not!
Want to Speak To Us?
If you would like to dip your toe in the water and, having read this, have decided which way you would like to spend your money then why not have a chat with our marketing team at Sokada. We can set you up with either an effective Google Ads account, or perhaps you may be thinking Facebook Ads is the way forward… to do nothing however, will always limit your sales. Give us a call on 01435 817226 and have a chat with us. Or even have a go at it yourself – it can be time consuming but so satisfying when you make that first sale… Best of luck!