When it comes to your digital marketing strategy, two leading advertising platforms stand out: Google AdWords and Facebook advertising. Each option offers effective and affordable advertising strategies that allow you to expand your reach more than ever. But what are the pros and cons of Google versus Facebook, and which one should you choose for your business? Our team is outlining the differences between these two online advertising options and how they can benefit your business!
The Basics of Google and Facebook
When you’re deciding on the best marketing strategy for your business, it helps to know the background of the platforms you’re considering. Let’s look at the details of Google and Facebook and how each one works.
Facebook Ads
Data shows that a typical Facebook user clicks on 12 ads per month, so it’s a great place to advertise your business. Advertising on Facebook is a great way to reach a more expansive audience in their everyday lives. Since you pay to have your ads on the social platform, this is known as a paid social strategy.
Essentially, you choose how much you want to spend per day or the total run-time of your ad to guarantee you never go over your budget. There are a variety of ad formats and targeting options to choose from, so you have a bit of freedom with your audience. You can target those with specific interests and online behaviors to increase your chances of turning leads to starts.
Google Ads
Google is the first place many people go when they have a question, so it goes without saying that Google ads have an expansive reach. It’s estimated that Google makes up nearly 40% of digital advertising spending in the United States. Google Ads is another paid search platform since ads appear in search results.
Google ads are cost-effective for any budget, so you can really make the most of your advertising dollars. Pay-per-click ads typically show up before organic search results on Google, giving you an excellent opportunity to reach a wider audience. When you choose a PPC campaign, you pay each time a consumer clicks on your ad instead of paying a fee to take up ad space.
The Differences Between Google and Facebook Ads
Now that we’ve established the basics of each advertising strategy, let’s look at the differences between Google and Facebook ads.
Targeting
Ad targeting is one of the main differences between Google and Facebook. With Facebook ads, you can target your audience based on demographics, interests, previous searches, etc. That means you can target users based on who they are and what they want. So, while users may not be directly searching for your product or service, the various targeting options allow you to get yourself in front of the consumer in their daily lives.
Google ads, on the other hand, are targeted based on keywords. That means you already know what your targeted user is searching for, so you can focus your advertising efforts on what’s ranking.
What the user wants
Another key difference between Google and Facebook ads is what your audience wants. Since you can target Facebook ads to specific factors, your ads will likely show up for people who haven’t heard of you but have interests relevant to your product or services. So, while the user may gain interest and awareness of your brand, they may not be at the buying point in their journey yet.
Google ads are based on what a user searches, so it’s more likely that they will engage with your PPC ads. Since they’re further along in the buying journey, it’s more likely that a user will complete the process, whether that’s making a purchase or scheduling a consultation.
Goals
The goal of every ad is the same – to sell your product or services. However, how you achieve that goal will depend on the two factors we mentioned above: your target audience and what they want.
For Facebook, the main goal is spreading brand awareness. Since you’re advertising to people based on their interests, you should focus more on exposing your brand rather than gaining starts. This will help you achieve a following in your community and put you at the top of the list when they’re ready to take the next steps.
The opposite is true of Google ads – your goal is to sell since ads are based on a user’s specific keywords. The PPC strategy is ideal for these searches because users are further in the buying process, so leads are more likely to convert. Google ads are also incredibly effective at building brand awareness. Since you can add photos and videos to Google ads, you can work with a marketing company like our team at Neon Canvas to create content that makes an impression.
How to Choose Between Google and Facebook Ads
Google and Facebook each have their own set of benefits for your marketing strategy. Our best advice is that if you have the budget to keep both in your marketing budget, do it! However, that isn’t always an option, so here’s a breakdown of when and why to use each.
Use Facebook to:
Reach a more expansive audience
With more than 2 billion users, Facebook certainly offers a large advertising market. This will help you gain brand awareness, leading to website traffic and gaining starts.
Fine-tune your targeting options
Facebook ads allow you to target your ads based on geographic location, marital status, education level, etc. This will enable you to focus on a particular group of people, helping you reach your target audience more directly.
Get more aesthetically pleasing ads
Facebook ads allow for a little more creative expression than Google ads to be more eye-catching. This can help you stand out from your competitors and adds to your memorability as a brand.
Use Google to:
Target users who are ready to buy
Google is a great place to target users who are ready to convert. As we mentioned before, Google allows you to target users based on their keyword searches, so you can find them when they’re ready to commit to your business.
Get quicker SEO results
Google allows you to add various features to your ads to encourage users to click, including reviews, a link to your website, and more. These features can help boost your SEO getting you quicker results from your ad campaigns.
Get a deeper analysis of your ads
Google Analytics is top-notch when getting a thorough understanding of how your ads are performing. This feature gives you many metrics, including cost-per-click, impressions over time, and more.
“Google is the best tool to handle intent and capture audiences who are more than likely to convert. Google is where the conversions live.” –Patrick Weeks, Neon Canvas Director of SEO/PPC Strategy.
Find the Perfect Balance for Your Marketing Budget with Neon Canvas
When choosing Google or Facebook ads for your business, it’s important to have a game plan for your budget and your goals. That’s where we come in! Using Google and Facebook ads to your advantage can be game-changing, and we would love to help you find your perfect balance.
As Google Premier Partners, we have the knowledge and experience to use Google ads to your advantage. Contact our digital marketing experts to help you perfect your marketing strategy. We can’t wait to get started!