Are you new to online advertising? Well, you will probably be wondering which platform you should use. If you ask any digital marketers like us, the answer will be either Facebook or Google or perhaps both!

Google and Facebook are the most popular and most effective platforms for online advertisements today. Before we go in depth into each of the two platforms let’s look up the math.

Google has roughly about 3.5 billion searches per day and Facebook has more than 2 billion active monthly users. Together, they account for around 80% of the money spent on online advertisements. Which means that these two are your best options for doing online ads.

Is one better than the other? Should you focus only on one or both? I will be answering these questions here.

Before we move on, if you need any kind of help with your digital marketing campaigns, you should definitely reach out to us. Check out our team. Let’s talk.

What types of ad do you prefer?

Both Google and Facebook have their advantages but choosing the platform depends on your requirements.

There are two types of online Ads, one is Search Ads and the other is Display Ads. When it comes to Search Ads, Google being the largest search engine on the planet is the undisputed king. People see your Ads when they search for your products with the keywords you set.     

Facebook, on the other hand, have more detailed information about their users. They can target content and ads according to the interests of their users, their job titles, fields of study and a lot more. If you want to target your Display Ads on to specific demographics, Facebook has some definite edge over Google Display Network.  

Do your customers know about your products?

When it comes to Google Search Ads, your ads only work if people are searching for keywords that you have put in your campaigns. Do your customers know about your brand? Will they recognize you from your competition?

If your products or services are new, or people still do not recognize them, Facebook can help you establish yourself with the right audience by using their precise targeting options.

It doesn’t mean that Google Ads targeting is totally inefficient. In fact, many of their in-market and affinity audience types bring a lot of value. But if you look at an overall picture, Facebook targeting options are a lot more diverse and useful.

So, if you are looking to build brand awareness by using visually appealing ads, right targeting and a limited budget, Facebook is the place where your ads should be.

How much are you willing to spend?

There are two factors to consider while deciding to advertise on Facebook, Google or any other platforms for that matter: Number 1,  Is your product a necessity? Number 2, Is it something that people buy out of impulse?

We have seen that Facebook is a good medium to drive traffic for products that generally have an impulsive buying pattern – such as clothing, jewellery, or online shopping in general.

On the other hand, Google has millions of searches happening every day with pure buying intentions. You may get a lower CPA in Google for a certain type of products.

So, probably you may want to advertise on both the channels initially and find out which channel and targeting are bringing you the best value.

Who are you targeting?

One of the biggest benefits of Facebook is that it offers a wide range of targeting options.

While Google has a large number of users, Facebook has more detailed information about its users. This will allow you to target your customers more precisely. You can target your customers based on different factors like age, sex, location, educational qualification, job titles, and many more.

On the other hand, Google PPC search campaigns show your ads only to people searching for your keywords. Google also has a display network by which you can target audience with options like, location, placement, device etc but the targeting options are not as diverse as that of Facebook.  Both Facebook and Google have excellent retargeting options.

Choosing between Facebook Ads and Google Ads depends on the type of business you run or the objective you have for advertising. Doing ads simultaneously on both platforms is also a good idea if you have the budget for it.   

When it comes to B2B marketing, Facebook may not be as effective as Google but Facebook does perform well when it comes to B2C marketing.

Key takeaway

The type of platform to advertise depends on many things like the nature of your business, the objective behind the Ad, the audience that you are trying to target and many more.

Both Facebook and Google have their advantages when it comes to online advertising. Carefully study the benefits of each platform and spend your money wisely. As always, feel free to reach out to us if you need any help with your digital marketing campaigns. That’s all for now.

Happy advertising!