Facebook Ads vs. Google Ads: Which Platform Should You Use?

Digital marketing influences buyer behavior through retargeting and repetition. Retargeting is a facet of advertising that allows businesses to show ads to people who have already interacted with their brand. For example, if someone has visited your website but didn’t make a purchase, you can show them ads for your product on Facebook or Google. 

Additionally, most people need to see an ad a few times before buying a product, so online advertising allows businesses to show ads to potential customers multiple times. The more exposure they have to your product, the more likely they will be to make a purchase.

Digital advertising platforms like Facebook Ads and Google Ads have targeting options that make it easier for you to reach your target audience. You can adjust who will see your ads based on location, age, gender, personal interests, and other demographics. 

Since Facebook and Google have billions of users, narrowing down your reach using targeting features will help ensure that your advertisements are being shown to people who are more likely to purchase your products. Targeting the correct audience will save you money on advertising and increase your chances of making sales.

A digital advertising platform should provide multiple pathways for customers to purchase your product. They can buy products on your website or click on ads to be redirected to one of your partners or affiliates. Providing flexible payment options for your customers will make the checkout process easier for them and increase your sales.

One of the main goals of digital advertising is to increase brand awareness. With billions of users, Facebook Ads and Google Ads are perfect platforms for achieving this goal—you’ll have access to an entire new audience and be able to reach customers you may not have had without these tools. 

Now that you understand the importance of using online advertising, let’s get into one of the most popular platforms: Facebook Ads.

To run a Facebook advertising campaign, you’ll need to have a business account and business page already. From your business account, you can quickly build an advertisement. All you have to do is follow these simple steps:

As you can see, Facebook Ads are intuitive to use and easy to set up using the built-in Facebook Ads Manager. You’ll be able to create beautiful, informative ads in minutes and target users who might be interested in your product. With an audience of billions, you’ll be sure to reach more customers than ever before. 

Plus, Facebook advertisements can fit into any budget. As I mentioned, you’ll be able to select how much you want to spend per day. While the more money you pay, the more traction you’ll get, you can easily adjust your budget at any time as your business grows, making this option affordable and flexible. 

You can combine your emails with other forms of communication such as social media and pay-per-click advertising campaigns. Your audience won't see them as separate entities, and they'll be more likely to take the actions you ask of them. They'll have a better sense of your brand as a whole, and they're less likely to feel overwhelmed with the messages you send them.

Since Google is the world’s largest search engine, Google Ads is a fantastic resource for raising brand awareness and making more sales. With Google Ads, you can advertise with engine search ads or on other websites that Google is partnered with.

While Google Ads may take longer to set up than Facebook Ads, since you’ll have to account for bidding, the platform is still an efficient way to advertise to customers actively searching for products and services like yours. The emphasis on keywords and targeting options will help you find new customers quickly. 

Both Google Ads and Facebook Ads can reach billions of users, but there are some key differences to consider in terms of audience size. 

While Facebook Ads are limited to people connected to Facebook or any of its associated platforms, Google Ads can reach anyone searching for a keyword on Google. Facebook has around 1.93 billion daily active users, while Google processes over 5.6 billion searches per day. Therefore, if you’re looking to reach a larger audience with your ads, Google Ads is the way to go. 

However, it’s important to remember that not everyone who searches for a keyword on Google will see your ad. Google will only show your ad if your chosen keyword is in the search query and you’ve placed a high enough bid to be in one of the top spots. While Facebook has a smaller audience, you might have better luck reaching your target market at a lower cost.

Another benefit of Google Ads is that they tend to have a higher buyer intent than Facebook Ads. This discrepancy is because people searching on Google are typically looking for a solution to their problem. In contrast, people on Facebook are usually just browsing through their feed and not necessarily looking to buy something. 

Not only does Google have a bigger audience, but because they place ads in front of potential customers who are actively searching for a product or service, there seem to be more opportunities for ads to convert to sales. 

However, people typically spend more time on social media sites like Facebook than they do on Google, so you may have a better chance of attracting buyers who weren’t actively searching for your product with Facebook Ads by building a relationship with them first.

Both Google Ads and Facebook Ads offer targeting options for specific audiences. You can target leads by location, gender, and age, among other categories, on both platforms. 

However, Facebook does have more advanced targeting options. Facebook allows you to create audiences based on different behaviors and interests, which will enable you to be incredibly precise in your targeting. One way that Facebook allows you to target people is through Lookalike Audiences. A Lookalike Audience is a group of people similar to your current customers. This tool lets you target people who are likely to be interested in your product or service more efficiently.

While both platforms provide targeting, Facebook may be the better choice if you want to advertise to potential customers based on their interests and characteristics since Google has basic audience targeting.

Facebook Ads and Google Ads are based on pay-per-click, but the rates vary. Google Ads cost an average of $2.69 per click, while the standard for Facebook Ads is $1.72. It’s also essential to consider conversion rates, which are based on user behavior after viewing an advertisement. For Google, the conversion rate is 3.75%, while for Facebook, the average rate is 7.75%. 

Facebook Ads and Google Ads will place your advertisements in various locations. Below is an overview of where these platforms will show your ads.

Facebook Ads:

Facebook Ads is more straightforward than Google Ads regarding ease of use. When setting up advertisements, there is more automation, and the layout is more intuitive. Since you don’t have to deal with the bidding process, there is also one less extra step.

Google Ads is accessible for beginners, although it is not so easy to master the first time round. However, with a bit of practice and research, most people should be able to use Google Ads effectively. For very beginners, though, I would recommend Facebook Ads to start. 

Whatever platform you get started with, ensure that your budget is set to an amount that you’re comfortable spending.