Google Ads or Facebook Ads: What to Know Before You Advertise

Keep reading to learn all about Google Ads vs. Facebook ads, plus discover which platform is best for your business and various ad campaigns. If you need help setting up your paid advertising program, contact us online or call us today at 888-601-5359 to speak with a strategist.

[Table] Google Ads vs. Facebook Ads or Facebook Ads and Google Ads

For a quick summary of the differences between Facebook ads and Google Ads, use this table:

Keep reading to learn more about Facebook vs. Google Ads in-depth!

Facebook Ads vs. Google Ads: What is the difference?

In digital advertising, Google Ads and Facebook ads are the top two ad platforms.

While Google ads appear in Google search results and across websites in Google’s ad network, Facebook ads display across Facebook, Instagram, and other sites in the social media platform’s network. Both platforms offer demographic and behavior targeting, though Google Ads also includes keyword targeting.

What is Google Ads?

Google is the world’s largest and most popular PPC advertising platform. Paid ads, known as pay-per-click (PPC) ads, appear at the top of Google search results. They are tagged with the word “ad” to indicate paid content.

Where do Google ads appear?

Ads created with Google Ads can get delivered through several networks, including:

• Google Search Network
• Google Display Network
• Google Play
• Google Maps
• YouTube

How can you target people with Google Ads?

When you run a Google advertising campaign, you can target audience or content features like:

• Audience demographics
• Audience location
• Content topics
• Ad placements
• And more

Keyword targeting is one of the most popular strategies for Google Ads, especially when using the Google Search Network. If you want your ad to appear in relevant search results, you must choose the right keywords. Your keywords will determine where your ads appear in search results.

To find relevant keywords, you’ll conduct keyword research. Keyword research will help you find relevant keywords for your campaign. You’ll want to stick to long-tail keywords, which contain three or more words, because they’ll drive the best leads for your campaign.

Advertisers will bid on keywords to get their ad to appear in relevant search results. The bid you set is your maximum bid, which is the amount you’re willing to pay each time someone clicks. It’s also known as your cost-per-click (CPC).

What kinds of ads can you create with Google Ads?

With Google Ads, you can make a range of advertisements, including:

• Text
• Responsive
• Image
• Video
• App
• Call-only
• Shopping

The ad format you choose will depend on your audience, goals, and offer.

What are Google Ads good for?

If you’re looking to reach leads that convert, Google ads are the best option. PPC visitors are 50 percent more likely to convert than organic visitors. These leads know exactly what they want and just need to find the right business to get what they need.

A Google ad can help them choose your business.

They’ll click on your ad and see what you have to offer. If you’re a good fit for their needs, you can earn more conversions for your business. With remarketing on Google Ads, you can even bring back users that previously had an interest in your product or service, but weren’t quite ready to convert.

How much does advertising with Google Ads cost?

Google ads can be pricier than Facebook ads. The cost generally falls around a few dollars for each click, but some industries can get as high as $50 per click! If you fall into a higher CPC bracket, it can get expensive to run a campaign via Google Ads.

What are Facebook ads?

Facebook ads consist of paid social ads that appear in users’ newsfeeds. They’re tagged with the word “sponsored” to indicate paid content. These ads help companies expose their business to interested leads, increasing visibility and engagement with their target audience.

Where do Facebook ads appear?

Facebook ads can appear on several platforms, including:

• Instagram
• Facebook
• Messenger
• Audience Network

On Facebook, your ads can earn placements in the following locations:

• News feed
• Marketplace
• Suggested video
• Right column
• Stories
• Instant Articles

How can you target people on Facebook ads?

With Facebook ads, you can target people based on:

• Location
• Interests
• Behavior
• Demographics
• Connections

These ads operate based on people’s interests and behaviors. Your ads appear in front of people that are interested in your business, products, or services. You’ll help your business connect with the right leads.

What kinds of ads can you make with Facebook ads?

Facebook gives you the option to run numerous ad formats, including:

• Image
• Video
• Slideshow
• Carousel
• Collection
• Instant Experience

What are Facebook ads good for?

Facebook ads are best if you’re looking to gain brand exposure and new leads.

These ads don’t always entice people to convert, but they do get them to follow your page or check out your website. It’s a great way for you to earn more leads for your business because these ads get people comfortable with your business.

A few additional ways (or objectives) you can use Facebook ads include:

• Generating traffic to your website, Facebook page, or app
• Raising engagement on a Facebook post
• Attracting views to a video
• Earning messages from prospective customers
• And more

How much does it cost to advertise with Facebook ads?

Generally, Facebook ads are cheaper to run than Google ads. Facebook ads have a CPC that ranges from a few cents to a few dollars. It all depends upon your industry. Some industries are a little more expensive than others.

Facebook ads vs. Google Ads: How each platform benefits your business

In the Facebook ads vs. Google Ads, you have to look at the advantages of each platform. While each comes with different options (and costs), they both offer benefits that can help you build brand awareness, generate sales, and more.

Take a look at their perks, and learn more about the difference between Facebook ads and Google Ads:

The advantages of Google Ads

Here are a few benefits you’ll experience from using the Google Ads platform.

1. Reach more leads for your business: Since Google is a leading advertiser which fields billions of search queries per day, this creates an opportunity for you to reach dozens of leads for your business.
2. Use different types of advertising: Google offers both search network and display network advertising. This means you can either create ads that appear in the search results or have ads that display on other websites. You have multiple options to try to reach new leads.
3. Bid on millions of keywords: With Google, you’re able to bid on dozens of keywords to get your ads to rank for them. It allows you to gain more exposure and reach new people. Even better, you can access other targeting options that go beyond words or phrases.
4. Earn positions based on relevancy: Money won’t buy you a top advertising spot, but relevancy will. This means that, regardless of your budget size, your ad has an opportunity to compete with top brands for relevant queries.

The advantages of Facebook ads

Facebook has billions of active monthly users that engage on their platform.

Here are a few benefits you’ll receive by using Facebook ads.

1. Access to quality data: People share an abundance of information about themselves on Facebook. They share life events, interests, hobbies, beliefs, and more. When you advertise on Facebook, you can target people based on this information to help your business reach more relevant leads.
2. Create lookalike audiences: If you already have a database of information about people most likely to be interested in your business, you can upload that information to Facebook. You can target quality Facebook users based on the data once it’s uploaded into your advertising campaign.
3. Use Facebook’s visual elements: All Facebook ads are visual, which makes your ads more interesting and engaging for your audience. Video, image, and carousel ads can all help you capture the attention of your target shopper and get them excited about your product or service.
4. Earn a high conversion rate: Conversions are a critical part of your ad campaigns. If you don’t earn conversions, you don’t earn the sign-ups, sales, followers, or leads that you want. Facebook ads, however, offer an impressive conversion rate of almost 10%.

Which is better for your business: Facebook or Google Ads?

In the Google Ads vs. Facebook ads debate, there isn’t a clear winner. And maybe it’s not about Facebook vs Google Ads at all.

That’s because both platforms offer value. Whether your business operates in the business-to-business (B2B) or business-to-consumer (B2C) sector, you can use Google and Facebook to grow brand awareness, increase online sales, and even generate phone calls, store visits, and more.

The best platform for your business will depend on your advertising plan and campaign goals.

Keep in mind, the above table is only a guideline.

Your business may find that Facebook ads, for example, work well for generating online sales. Or, that Google Ads performs better when it comes to earning more downloads for your mobile app. Every company and their advertising experience, so you may have to engage in some trial-and-error.

Either way, both these advertising options have their perks.

In fact, no rule says you have to choose either Google Ads or Facebook ads. These two advertising programs work well together. As long as you have the budget to run both campaigns, they can work together very effectively.

3 tips for using Google and Facebook ads together

If you’re thinking about taking the “vs.” out of Google ads vs. Facebook ads, use these tips to get started:

1. Launch your Facebook ad campaigns with Google Ads’ data

Whether you have past or zero experience with Facebook ads, you want to use this tip for a combined Google and Facebook strategy. That’s because user data can help your business a better and stronger campaign that drives better results.

Via Google Ads, you can access a ton of helpful data points, including:

• Gender
• Household income
• Parental status
• Locations

This data can help your team refine the targeting of your existing Facebook ads. Or, you can use the information to launch a brand-new and targeted campaign. Either way, Google Ads can help you make data-driven decisions about your Facebook ad targeting.

2. Leverage your Facebook Lookalike Audiences for Google Ads

While Google Ads offers a feature similar to Lookalike Audiences in Facebook ads, you can still use this Facebook-specific tool in your Google ad campaigns. For reference, Lookalike Audiences help you build an audience similar to an existing one.

That means you can find people most likely to have an interest in your products or services.

Since Google Ads includes a range of targeting options, you can update or tweak them according to your Lookalike Audiences data. Even better, you can apply this data to Facebook ad campaigns. For your business, that means stronger ads across each of these advertising platforms.

3. Target every stage of the buying funnel

Remember how Facebook ads work well for brand awareness, while Google Ads excel when it comes to securing leads? You can leverage these differences with a coordinated Google Ads and Facebook ads approach.

While your Facebook ads focus on top-of-the-funnel users, your Google Ads can target middle- and bottom-of-the-funnel users. This kind of approach can prevent blind spots or openings for your competitors to target (and steal) sales from your business.

Plus, it can keep your company top-of-mind as users browse the Internet.

Let WebFX help you set up your paid advertising campaign

Ads on Google and Facebook help you gain brand exposure and reach new people interested in your business. By running these paid ads, you’ll earn more leads and conversions for your business. At WebFX, we have years of experience creating both PPC and social media advertising campaigns.

We’re a full-service digital marketing company that specializes in paid advertising campaigns. Our team of over 500 experts will bring their knowledge and expertise to your campaign. We’ll help you create a customized campaign that is unique to your business.

If you’re looking for a company that drives results, look no further than WebFX. In the last five years, we’ve driven over $10 billion in sales and over 24 million leads for our clients. You can count on us to create a campaign that helps your business grow.

Don’t believe us? Just ask our clients! Check out our 1,100+ client testimonials that attest to the great work we do for them!

Get started today

If you’re ready to start creating paid advertising campaigns with our Google Ads services and Facebook advertising services that help your business grow, contact us online or call us today at 888-601-5359 to speak with a strategist.

We look forward to hearing from you!