09⁰²
2020

Let’s cut straight to the chase: neither Facebook nor Google ads is better than the other. The choice comes down to what better suits your needs, and highly depends on who you are as a business and what you’re hoping to gain from your advertising.

It’s time to ask the right questions: which platform better suits your budget, type of ad, or type of product? How much presence do you already have in the market? Do you want to target a particular group of people?

Let’s break it down and see how best to make the right choice for your business.

Budget And Cost Per Click
First thing’s first, you have to know how much you’re willing to pay to attract new clients to your website. Setting an advertising budget will ensure you don’t overspend when gaining your clicks, as any site will have the potential to run up your advertising costs without a proper plan.

Industry And Competition
Now that you have your budget, it’s time to consider which industry you’re in, and how much competition you have for the keywords you want.

While there is always going to be competition in every industry, there are some that are far more competitive than others. For example, nearly every law-related keyword on Google is loaded with competition, and you’re going to find it difficult to break through the well-established juggernauts who have already cemented their advertising to beat the competition. It’s generally going to be much more expensive for a new law firm to gain traction in Google, and it might be worth switching to Facebook for a much more targeted approach. That being said, there is also a chance that Facebook has more competition than Google for your industry, although this happens less frequently.

This is why competition research is fundamental to your business success. Finding where your competition is putting their advertising dollars can either give you insight on which keywords or platforms to stay away from, or which areas are wide open to gain the most traction quickly.

Marketing Objectives
Choosing the right platform might be a matter of determining how you want to market your business. Facebook is a good general platform for trying to make your business known and allowing your name to reach a greater number of people. With its highly visual style and direct approach, it is the ideal method for giving your ads to the right people at the right time.

In terms of sales and leads, however, Google is likely your better option. Rather than stumbling across your ads based on a profile, Google is the place most users tend to go when they are ready to purchase, and ranking high for key terms can drive a lot of traffic.

Buyer’s Journey Stage
Depending on how likely a person is to buy, they are more or less likely to be found on a certain platform. For the most part, Facebook ads are more directed at people who are casually scrolling, probably in the early stages of the buyer’s journey. It is here that you can make your product known, and catch their interest in purchasing. Rarely is Facebook the end location for purchasing, but with the addition of Facebook Marketplace, it has become more popular as time goes on.

Google is still the king of end-stage buyers though, as the vast majority of people tend to take their queries to Google when they’re actively searching to buy. With a marketing objective of sales and leads, Google is your choice for late-stage buyers.

Maturity And Search Volume
In this circumstance, you need to be aware of how established your particular product or service is, and ask how much search volume it generates. If your product is not really all that new and has already been given a head start by a few of your competitors, they have already done the hard work for you, and gaining traction in either platform should feel easier.

The problem occurs when you have a cutting-edge, brand new product or service that is not yet widely known. Nobody is going to be searching for your product if they have no idea what they’re searching for, which is where Facebook’s scroll-through ad style comes to your advantage. While both platforms are excellent for established products, Facebook will set you off on the right track as a newcomer.

Demographic Targeting
This is the heart and soul of Facebook marketing and is one of the most powerful tools in its arsenal. Because the grand majority of Facebook users fill out their profiles when using their services, they have a lot of information at their disposal as to who you are. This allows for a vast amount of specialized targeting for a whole host of demographics, including age, location, gender, and many many more. This allows you to get down to the nitty-gritty of who it is you really want your target audience to be, making the most of your advertising budget.

In this sense, Google is limited by what a user searches to drive its advertisements, as the majority of Google users are completely anonymous, as they are not required to be signed in to a Google account to use their service. Even if they are, it is still severely limited by search, and can’t serve irrelevant ads that don’t match the searching criteria.

Summary
Both Facebook and Google have very powerful networks at their disposal to allow your ads to be successful. While they are both excellent at what they do, choosing the right platform can make all the difference when choosing your marketing strategy.

Have a look at the following chart, which summarizes what we have talked about above.

As a result, Facebook tends to be best suited to a new business hoping to expand awareness of their name and product, looking to reach targeted people early in the buyer’s journey to get them interested in what they have to offer. Google, on the other hand, rewards medium to well-established businesses with an existing fanbase, hoping to reach late stage buyers to generate leads and sales..

This, of course, is all based on generalities, and you may have unique and interesting quirks about your particular business that makes one type of advertising uniquely suitable to you compared to your competitors. Whether you’re looking for a brilliant social media campaign or looking for the best SEO for reaching the top ranks on Google, BreezeMaxWeb can make your marketing dreams come true as we are both a Google Premier Partner and a Facebook Marketing Prefered Partner. Contact us today to start on your next incredible marketing campaign!