Google Ads; search ads and display network adsWhen it comes to pay-per-click advertising (PPC), Facebook Ads and Google Ads are two of your primary choices. We all want increased traffic, leads, and sales. But the question is, which paid channel best fits your needs? Deciding where to spend your marketing dollars can sometimes be a confusing task and you want to ensure you’re getting the most ROI as possible. In this article, we’ll take a look between Facebook Ads and Google Ads to see which paid channel is right for your business.

Why choose Facebook Ads

Facebook Ads started back in 2004 and since then, it has become one of the ad networks of choice for many entrepreneurs. Facebook has tons of features that make it appealing over other ad networks and here are the things that make it stand out.

1. It’s a visual platform.

Since Facebook is a social network, the ads work by implementing a visual appeal to catch the attention of your target audience. Using vanilla text ads on Facebook won’t work because remember, it will appear on the newsfeed of billions of users. You want to grab their attention immediately the moment they see it.

This is one of the reasons why businesses and marketers love Facebook ads. They are able to convey their message through catchy images and videos instead of just a boring text ad that nobody would pay attention to.

2. Specific targeting.

With Facebook Ads, you can target a specific demographic with ease. For example, you can target males or females living in a small town in Melbourne who speak English, German, and own a Volkswagen. Your ad will only appear to people who meet this criteria. This means you can hone in on your target audience and focus your efforts on getting them to try out your brand.

This feature allows you to reach people that might be interested in what you have to offer.

3. Can work with any budget

What makes Facebook Ads an attractive ad network is that small businesses can use it to advertise their business even with a limited budget. You can run a campaign for just $5. Now, this might not appeal to large-scale businesses with let’s say, a marketing budget of $10k. In fact, ad networks will even request for you to use their services if you have a massive budget.

If your marketing dollars are small, then Facebook Ads are the ideal choice. For instance, the average cost-per-click (CPC) for Google Ads is around $1 to $2. If your budget per day is around $5, you’ll only receive 5 clicks. Unlike Facebook where you can boost a post for $5 and receive 10x more clicks than what you paid for.

Why Choose Google Ads

As your business begins to grow, you’ll want to use an ad network that can scale your advertising. This is where Google Ads comes in. Google Ads is the most used ad network in the world, achieving a net income of $6.67 billion during the first quarter of 2019. There’s two types of ads with Google Ads; search ads and display network ads. These ads are equally powerful in their own right and serve their own purpose.

Here are the features that make Google Ads worth considering.

1. Google Ads is massive

Google has a global search scale of over 60% and 4 million advertisers use Google Ads as their ad network of choice. Its search engine and display network are huge, taking in as much as 33% of global digital ad revenue. With such a massive search, it’s no surprise that large-scale businesses turn to Google Ads to run an ad campaign.

Statistically, you can reach almost 80% of the entire global internet users with a display campaign. 

2. Video ads

Both Facebook Ads and Google Ads utilise video ads, but the latter does it better. Google takes video advertising to the next level by allowing you to promote your business, products, and services thanks to TrueView. TrueView ads come in two types:

• In-stream ads
• Video discovery ads

In-stream ads show before the video starts, giving the viewer an option to skip the ad after 5 seconds.This makes it perfect for capturing the attention of your customers because it gives you 5 seconds of guaranteed attention to promote your business. You’ll be charged for the view if the user views the ad in full or if it reaches 30 seconds.

Video discovery ads on the other hand, can appear on a search page, YouTube homepage, and display network. Video discovery ads may not be ideal for driving mass viewership, but the advantage is that you have a higher retention rate because the viewer decided to watch the ad.

3. Google Map Ads

Google Map Ads enable businesses to target their local audience with ease. These ads are integrated with Google’s search engine, meaning that users who do a quick search might end up seeing your ad on Google Maps. Location-based searches account for roughly 32.5% of all mobile searches that can potentially transform into foot traffic for your business.

Google Map Ads are great because it displays the direction, the contact number, address, and other essential information. This makes it easier for people to discover your business and potentially avail your products/services.

So, which paid channel works better for your business?

The answer is; it all depends on your budget, goals, and your business in general. Facebook is great because it caters to all businesses whether it be big or small. You can target a niche market in a very detailed manner with out-of-the-box products that have huge viral marketing potential.

Google Ads on the other hand, is for businesses who want massive reach potential. This is because of its high CTR and better conversion rate compared to other ad networks. The TrueView Ads and Google Maps Ads place you in the right position to make an impact on a global market that isn’t as specific as the ones you’ll find on Facebook Ads.

At the end of the day, knowing when and how to Use Facebook & Google Ads will go a long way towards ensuring that you generate the most traffic, leads, and sales as much as possible.