Google Ads vs Facebook Ads

What platform is better suited for your business? 

Choosing the right promoting platform for your campaign can be a really challenging decision. This article provides a detailed explanation about the differences between Facebook Ads and Google Ads, which are the most well known platforms used for pay per click campaigns, leaders in the online advertising space.

Although both Facebook Ads and Google Ads share similar functionalities, understanding the differences between them will help you choose the most suited promoting platform for your business in order to properly provide maximum visibility, growth in sales and new clients.

Similarities between Google Ads & Facebook Ads

Facebook and Google are two of the most popular PPC advertising platforms. Although Google is a search engine and Facebook is a social media platform, they both offer effective, cost-efficient advertising strategies that allow businesses to sell more than ever before. They both run pay-per-click (PPC) ads and allow you to target in your campaigns users based on demographics markers like gender, age, and interests. Both Google Ads and Facebook Ads allow you to keep track of your conversions.

Differences between Google Ads & Facebook Ads

• Google is a Paid Search platform, which focuses on targeting keywords to find new customers while Facebook is a Paid Social platform that helps users find businesses based on their interests and behaviour.
• Lookalike Audiences it is Facebook's offer of an useful targeting option which lets you advertise to people who are similar to your current customer base.
• While they both run pay-per-click (PPC) ads, they run your ads in different places. On Facebook Ads, ads can be placed on Instagram, Facebook, Messenger, Audience Network; On Google Ads, ads can be placed on Google Search, Youtube, Google Play, Display Network. 
• Compared to Google Ads, Facebook campaigns don’t support some targeting options: no mobile targeting options, no keyword-based contextual targeting options.
• Different Stages in the Buyer’s Journey: Google Ads can be considered to have active user intent, ideal for demand capture, while Facebook Ads are shown to users not actively looking to purchase products, but they do explore and it’s a great place to discover your brand. 
• The main advantage of Facebook Ads is its granular targeting options that give advertisers more control over who is going to see the ads and target their ideal audiences in their campaigns using Facebook audience & interest targeting.
• Facebook’s affordable budgeting & potentially high ROI – On average, depending on vertical & location, Facebook CPCs tend to be lower as compared to Google. This makes Facebook Ads a very attractive proposition to small businesses with limited resources. But if you compare your Google Ads conversion results, keep in mind that on this platform people are actively looking for your offerings. 
• Ad formatting: A large advantage of Facebook Ads over Google Ads is how visual and seamless the ads are integrated with user interfaces, newsfeeds, games, and videos compared to Google’s text ads. On the other hand, Google Ads has industry-specific features such as Ad extensions, sitelinks, user reviews, and location targeting.

Google Ads vs Facebook Ads: Which One Should You Use?

Strategically using both PPC platforms simultaneously ( Facebook Ads and Google Ads) will provide you with the most efficient marketing strategy by generating a major impact to the growth of your business. Usually, these platforms complement each other, by being used concomitantly but still having a different personalized strategic plan. If you still need to choose between Facebook Ads and Google Ads, it is important to take into consideration your main business objectives. If your goal is to reach more consumers with high levels of purchase intentions, Google Ads is the best choice for you. On the other hand, if your aim focuses on building up your community and brand awareness, Facebook Ads will help you reach this goal by also providing a lower payment cost than Google.

Hopefully, this new information will help you in the process of successfully planning your marketing strategies. Do not hesitate to contact us if you need help not only when managing your online shop strategies but also when desiring a growth in sales by using pay per click techniques.

About Optimized

At Optimized we are specialized in e-commerce PPC campaigns (Google Ads, Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads, Pinterest Ads, YouTube Ads). Our portfolio includes online stores and our approach is based on clear performance objectives (CPA, ROAS, ROI). Our team consists of PPC specialists and certified Google trainers, as well as people with hands-on experience in e-commerce.