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

Facebook Ads makes it easy to increase brand awareness within an advertiser’s target market. Meeting prospective customers early in the buying process can create a competitive advantage that generates leads quickly and produces sales over time. Conversely, its inherent weakness is that members of the audience aren’t necessarily shopping for the product or service, so conversions take more time.

Another advantage of using Facebook ads is the platform’s targeting capabilities. With the right campaign setup, advertisers can control costs and reduce wasted ad spend by only displaying ads to individuals who meet a wide range of criteria, from demographics to education, job title or industry, and more.

The downside of the targeting capabilities is in the sheer volume of options. You’ll need to spend time learning how to set up targeting for your campaign, and will likely want to tweak your audience criteria over time as you start evaluating performance metrics. You can pause campaigns at any time and control your spend by the day, time frames you specify, or the campaign as a whole.

Another potential roadblock to using Facebook Ads is that you’ll also need to create assets for every campaign. This includes writing creative copy that is persuasive and converts as well as images and videos that support your ad campaign. In some cases, you may even want several assets, as carousel-style posts get more engagement on Facebook, for example.

The main strength of Google Ads is the advertiser’s ability to connect with customers right when they’re ready to buy. Set up effectively, a campaign can produce almost immediate conversions in leads and sales. Plus, costs can be controlled by click, campaign, daily spend, and more.

While both platforms involve a learning curve, Google Ads does a great job of helping advertisers get started by walking them through a basic campaign setup when they sign up. However, keep in mind that this won’t teach you everything you need to know, and won’t offer anything by way of advice for reducing wasted spend or increasing conversions.

While Google Ads is primarily thought of for the ads displayed in search engine results pages (SERPs), it offers another advantage. You can set up remarketing on Google Ads for a low cost and display web banner ads to people who previously visited your site when they are on other websites in the Google Ad network. This can keep an advertiser top of mind during the buying journey.

Ads are created on the Facebook Ad Manager platform and displayed to a target audience defined by Facebook user demographics, interests, behavior, and engagement patterns. As part of the ad creation process, advertisers also designate an ad budget, ad placement, and schedule.

Learn how Facebook Ads work to create your own campaign with ease

Advanced audience targeting distinguishes Facebook Ads from Google Ads since Facebook users aren’t actively looking for a product or service on social media. Facebook Ads produce conversions by giving advertisers comprehensive targeting options—including factors like age, gender, income, and interests—that align closely with ad content.

The actual ad creation process on Facebook is relatively easy with the user-friendly Facebook Ads Manager. To build ads:

• Click the “Create” button on your account dashboard
• Choose your ad format, select your audience, edit ad settings, write your ad’s copy, and add images (or video).

When thoughtfully crafted and expertly targeted, Facebook ads capture latent user interest, generating brand awareness and driving sales. It’s important to note, however, that it may take more time to convert Facebook leads to customers (especially for expensive products or have an inherently longer customer journey) as they are not actively seeking your product or service.

Example of a Facebook Ad in the user feed (Source: Facebook)

Google is a search engine that allows businesses to advertise on its network with pay-per-click ads. Ads are targeted using keywords, and advertisers can set parameters for maximum bids, overall budget, ad scheduling, and location (e.g., ads can be displayed to users in specific geographic areas).

Google Ads appear at the top of search results pages in almost the same format as organic search results based on the keywords searched by the user and how those keywords align with ad content. To create a Google Ad, advertisers sign up for a Google Ads account and then add text-only ad copy and keyword targeting information.

Advertising on Google is built on keywords and search terms

User search intent is the primary driver of Google Ads vs Facebook Ads. On Google, users actively search for a specific product or service or the answer to a specific question. If you can provide the exact information they’re looking for, they are more likely to purchase your product or service or engage with your brand. Unlike Facebook Ads, Google Ads are triggered by keywords and search terms.

Ads are built in the Google Ad Manager interface, which is generally regarded as not very easy or intuitive to use (though it’s getting better). Still, advertisers can quickly build a text-based ad by creating Campaigns, Ad Sets, and individual Ads with a headline and description.

Businesses that advertise products or services with clear use cases benefit most from Google Ads. It’s easy to capture keywords in search and encourage users to click and buy using simple, actionable language. More nuanced campaigns—such as those for brand awareness or multi-step engagement—will likely not fare as well on Google in terms of return on ad spend (ROAS).

Example of Google Ads shown in search pages (Source: Google)

Another way to use Google Ads is through remarketing ads. Remarketing ads are display advertisements shown to people who visited your website recently, such as in the last 90 days, on other websites. For example, someone who visited your website after clicking on your ad or your URL in organic search results might then see your display ad and branding on a media or news site, reminding them of your offer. Read our article on website banner ads to learn more.

Local service ads are another way for your brand to get discovered on Google search pages. These are ads specifically for local service-based businesses that are shown to users whose search query indicates a high probability of buying intent, and often immediate buying intent.

An example of Google local search ads (Source: Google)

For example, someone with a burst pipe might search for “plumbers” and then be shown local service ads at the top of the page, giving them immediate access to a service they need quickly. Learn more about local service ads to see if they’re an excellent PPC advertising option for your company.

A lack of active audience intent is a weakness of Facebook Ads. The platform’s users are not actively searching for your brand, product, or service like they are with Google Ads. Instead, users are generally on Facebook to connect with other users or browse entertaining content.

Some advertisers consider passive intent as a detriment to advertising return on investment (ROI). However, many find Facebook to be an excellent platform for introducing a brand and its offerings to new audiences and staying top of mind over time. The audience who knows their brand is at the top of the funnel. Afterward, advertisers can follow up with social media and email marketing campaigns to move prospects to conversion.

Facebook Ads overcomes its lack of audience intent by providing the ability to hone in on specific audiences using a wealth of targeting parameters. This allows advertisers to closely align ad audiences with their brand’s target audience, increasing the likelihood of engaging their ideal customer and landing a sale.

Facebook’s comprehensive targeting options include demographic information, interests, browsing behavior, location, political affiliations, life events, industry, job title, and dozens of other parameters. Advertisers can pinpoint the exact people they want to see their ads. Google Ads does offer some basic demographic-based targeting but primarily leans on keyword searches to display ads to the right audience.

The conversion rate indicates how often your ad successfully achieves the action you want users to take, whether it’s signing up for a newsletter, filling out a form, or completing a purchase. The average conversion rate on Facebook ads is 6.57%, meaning that for every 100 clicks on an ad, more than six users complete the desired conversion on the connected landing page.

Ad placement refers to where ads are displayed on Facebook and its affiliated sites. Facebook Ads offers a wide array of ad placement options. For example, ads can be seen in user feeds, in the right column, in stories, in the marketplace, and in streaming videos. They also appear on Messenger, Instagram feeds and stories, and throughout the expanded Meta Audience Network.

Facebook currently has six different ad types or formats advertisers can choose from. These include images, video, slideshow, carousel, collection, and instant experience (formerly canvas) ads. Unlike the text-based Google Ads displayed above organic search results, Facebook Ads look and feel like organic social media content, allowing advertisers to get more creative and use visuals to encourage audience engagement.

Active buying intent is a key benefit of Google search ads. Related ads appear at the top of search results whenever a user searches a keyword. This allows advertisers to capture the audience’s attention, often when they intend to buy a product or service. This increases the likelihood of a sale and, as a result, increases the return on advertising investment.

However, for users to search Google for your relevant keywords, they need to know that your type of product or service exists. In other words, there need to be people searching Google for a business like yours, or the products or services your business sells. If they don’t, using Facebook’s refined audience targeting options is likely better for building brand awareness and capturing new customers.

Google Ads are displayed based on the alignment of keyword searches and keywords used in (or assigned to) ads. Google’s Keyword Planner Tool enables advertisers to research the average CPC of specific keywords and see how much search traffic exists for each one. This is a helpful way to gauge buyer interest and possible ad spend. In addition to keywords, basic audience targeting parameters include age, gender, location, and device type.

Google Ads Keyword Planner (Source: Google Ads)

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An example of keyword ideas generated by Google Ads’ Keyword Planner (Source: Google Ads)

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Google Ads does offer more robust audience targeting options such as remarketing or retargeting ads and affinity audiences. Remarketing ads are web banner ads (display ads) shown to users who previously visited your website. They bring your brand, product, or offer back to mind to entice someone to buy from you, such as a shopper who abandoned a cart.

Different ways to create Google remarketing audiences (Source: Google Ads)

Remarketing ad audience lists can be created in several ways. For example, you can add code with the Google Ads tag to your website, which will then identify site visitors and add them to your remarketing list for up to 540 days. Other ways to set up remarketing are through Google Analytics, YouTube, Google Play, and even via third-party apps and Zapier integrations.

Affinity audiences are custom audiences you create for specific initiatives like remarketing, Facebook video ads, YouTube, and LinkedIn InMail campaigns. They are typically used by larger marketing teams and PPC management companies, as they are generally beyond the scope of the average small business. Due to their complexity, they were not a primary consideration in this article.

The average conversion rate for Google Ads is 7.26%. While the rate varies from advertiser to advertiser, it is slightly lower than that of Facebook Ads. However, it’s worth noting that Google Ads has a higher ad click-through rate than Facebook Ads. Plus, users are generally in the buying vs discovery or research stage of the customer journey.

Google Ads currently offers two main ad placement options: Google search results and display within the Google Display Network, which includes well-known company sites like Amazon, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and over 2 million other supported websites. However, most advertisers start with text-based ads on Google search pages as it gives them the most control over where their ads are displayed.

Google Ads currently has four main ad types, or ad formats. These include text-only ads, call-only ads, shopping ads, and banner ads for remarketing. Text-only ads appear on the top, and sometimes the right-hand side, of search results pages in a nearly identical format as organic search results. They are marked with the word “Ad” to differentiate them from organic results.

Call-only ads are similar to text-only ads, with the difference that when the ad is clicked, it automatically calls the advertiser’s phone number. Click-to-call ads are ideal for businesses using calls to action, such as “book an appointment now” or those which customers want to reach immediately, such as placing a restaurant order or finding a plumber.

Google shopping ads have images, making them more similar to Facebook ads. However, while Facebook ads are better for product and brand awareness, Google shopping ads encourage direct and immediate purchases. Remarketing display ads can also include images, and most have a combination of text-based ad copy and imagery, such as a product image or brand logo.

It’s worth noting that many online stores prefer Facebook Ads for creating shipping promotion advertisements. Plus, unlike Google, the Facebook Ad platform allows advertisers to include multiple images or videos in a single ad, and carousel image ads, in particular, have proven highly engaging.