Google vs. Facebook Ads: Which Platform Is Best for Your Business?

Online ads are essential for any business, and today Google and Meta / Facebook are the online advertising dyad. However, with two comes a choice: which one to use? Large companies have the budgets to advertise everywhere, but smaller businesses need to be more selective and ensure they’re advertising or focusing their budgets into the space with the most ROI. We’ll explain the strengths of each advertising platform and help you determine which is best for your business.

Why Google or Meta Ads

While there are other options, Google and Meta ads are the current industry powerhouses. Along with appearing on Google Search, Google Maps, and YouTube, Google ads also appear on nearly half of all websites on the internet. With Google processing over 8.5 billion searches a day and having over 91% of internet search market share, it’s a massive advertising network for reaching potential clients and customers.

Meta Ads aren’t as gargantuan of a network, but that doesn’t mean it’s a slouch either. They appear on all parts of Meta’s platform including Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger to reach Meta’s 3.98 billion users. (Threads currently does not have ads, but some anticipate they will come later this year.) Meta Ads also go to the Facebook Audience Network. This system adds Meta ads into mobile applications and can be found in many of the most popular apps and mobile games.

Google and Meta Ads, Which is Better?

Both Google and Meta offer huge advertising platforms to help a business reach more clients and customers. However, there are subtle differences between each platform. They have different user contexts and advertising structure that give them individual strengths.

Features of Both Google and Meta Ads

Both platforms share some systems that help them excel for advertising to small and big businesses. First is that both platforms allow for a variety of ad formats, including text, images, and videos. Importantly, both platforms also feature a set of data tools. Google and Meta are extremely adept at allowing businesses to pick advertising targets based on a thorough assortment of demographics including gender, age, interests, locations, etc. Whether you know the kind of customers your business suits or have an audience where you want to expand, Google and Meta ads will let you target them. Following those targeted campaigns, Google and Meta then provide informative metrics and trackers to help analyze and improve your ads.

Google Ads Strengths

While Meta and Google share some of this key functionality, there are some important differences. A key distinction is the context of the ads. Google Ads appear while users are searching for something, whether it’s a product, answer to a question, video, etc. As a result, Google Ads are usually a form of pull marketing, where ads attempt to sway and grab someone who is already interested in that exact product/service or something related. This context also informs Google’s ad payment model. Google uses a pay-per-click model, where businesses target certain keywords or phrases where their ads should appear. These determine what kind of searches your ad appears in and your business will pay whenever someone clicks the ad.

Meta/Facebook Ads Strengths

The context for Meta ads can include searches, but primarily they appear in users’ feeds. As a result, Meta ads are usually characterized as push marketing. They slide a product or service in front of a user the system believes the user might be interested in but is not actively searching. As a result, Meta also uses a different auction/bidding system for determining where ads appear. This system considers various metrics and the bids a business has made for when and where ads appear. The other strength to consider is that since ads appear in feeds which are typically visual content, there are more opportunities for images and video ads in Meta.

Google Ads and Meta/Facebook Ads?

Since Google and Meta provide such a powerful advertising network with useful tools, either or both is useful for any small business. However, because of the different contexts where ads appear, certain businesses can perform better in one over the other.

When Google Ads Works Best for a Business

People often use Google to search to answer a question, whether it’s to find some information or a solution to a problem. As a result, B2B (business-to-business) or businesses that offer services perform well on Google ads. These ads will resonate with those searching about a problem because they are actively in the process of trying to find a resolution. Similarly, people looking for a kind of business or service on Google Maps will more likely be pulled to an ad for a relevant business. Similarly, product-based businesses can do well on Google ads. Users still search for products or items with Google. Plus, connecting your shop to Google shopping will help to highlight specific products in those searches.

When Meta Ads Works Best for a Business

Meta ads are more suggestive. People typically encounter Meta ads in recreational moments. As a result, they are usually not trying to find specific information or products. Instead, these ads play on pre-existing interests. While some research shows younger people are using social media searches more similarly to Google, most Meta ads are encountered while generally browsing social media content or playing games. As a result, product-based businesses can perform well on Meta Ads, since they can advertise specific products to users who have shown interest or follow other similar products/businesses. Service based businesses can also do well, where users might note or remember that business. An important note is that in these instances, the ads might not turn into an immediate conversion (which is why Meta uses an auction system rather than a PPC). Instead, they plant the seed for a later conversion when the users are actively searching for that kind of product. Because of your ad, your business returns to the front of their mind.

Choosing Between Two Powerhouses

Either Google Ads or Meta Ads is a powerful choice for any business. They offer a massive audience with in-depth functionality and metrics. Using both is not a terrible option but consider where and in what contexts your ads are likely to appear and have the most impact on each platform. Use their powerful data tools to determine where you can best invest your business’ advertising budget for the best ROI. Our digital marketing and advertising teams at Rosewood can help you start or revise your current strategies. If you’re ready to take control of some of the incredible power in Google and Meta ads, be sure to contact us.