Google Ads vs Facebook Ads Comparison
Last Updated on 13th September 2023 by Ajmer Singh
Facebook and Google are the two big fishes in the advertising world.
Marketers constantly debate over Google Ads vs Facebook Ads. But the answer is not really simple.
When it comes to choosing any one advertisement platform from the above two, the answer depends on several factors.
The problem is that there are lots of similarities and only a few differences between these two advertising platforms.
Most new companies with limited advertisement budgets face this dilemma when choosing an advertisement platform.
As each company has different requirements, the advertising choices also differ.
You need to understand the similarities and differences between Facebook Ads and Google Ads to make the right choice.
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Facebook Ads:
Facebook ads are paid. These ads are commonly known as Paid Social.
These ads appear on the Facebook platform.
As it is a huge social media platform, there are many places on Facebook where these ads appear.
These ads can appear on,
- Facebook Marketplace
- Facebook Newsfeed
- Instagram Newsfeed
- Messenger Inbox
- Right-hand Column
- Video Feeds
Facebook post most of the ads on Newsfeed as people spend maximum time scrolling through the feed.
Over recent years Facebook has grown quite popular in the advertising field.
There are 2.27 billion active users on Facebook, which makes it an ideal advertisement platform.
You can easily target different types of audiences, as there is a mixed crowd on Facebook.
These ads are more passive. You don’t need to search for a thing to get the ads.
The ads will directly appear on your feed based on the data collected by Facebook.
Facebook ads make up 25% of online ads. It owns a quarter of the online advertisement market.
It tracks the social behaviour of the users and shows them relevant ads.
They have a huge data bank that helps them in proper ad placement.
Many new companies go with Facebook ads because they target only those people who are actually willing to invest in the products and services.
Google Ads:
Like Facebook, Google Ads is also a paid service. These ads are commonly known as Paid Search.
Earlier it was called Google AdWords. Unlike Facebook, you will find these ads in search results.
Google is a very popular search engine. People use it to search for things, products, and services.
It makes advertising easier. The results actually depend on keywords.
You need to add keywords to your products. So when a person searches for that word, your site will appear in the results.
The user can then click on your site and check the products you are offering.
These ads are pay-per-click ads. So when the user clicks on the link, you need to pay money to Google.
You only need to pay as per the number of clicks.
Compared to Facebook, there are 3 billion daily searches made on Google.
It makes it easier to display ads to a wide range of audiences in a short span of time.
Google shows ads on the basis of keywords, which makes them more relevant.
It uses location to display ads as per the demography and location.
Advantages of Facebook Ads:
Facebook started advertising in the year 2007. And since then, it has only grown more powerful.
1. Audience Granularity:
When it comes to advertisement, number matters. Google has more numbers than Facebook. But it is not really granularly rich.
There are 2.37 billion users on Facebook. Each user is different from the others. They have different preferences and different choices.
The main advantage Facebook has is its ability to target the audience.
People share all their personal as well as private data on Facebook. It collects all this data and stores it to target them.
Facebook uses all this data to add passive ads to its feeds.
It knows exactly what the audience likes and how they will react. It gives lots of ground to make changes to the advertisement plan.
There is a lookalike audience option that helps companies and marketers gather audience information from Facebook.
They can submit their audience data, and Facebook will use it to create a new database from its existing database.
This way, marketers will get a new set of lookalike audiences.
2. Strong ROI:
Facebook is affordable compared to other platforms. Most new companies with a limited budget plan go with Facebook.
It charges 56% less amount on CPC compared to Google.
By charging a less amount, it provides 9 to 10% conversion. It is almost twice as much as Google’s.
In short, Facebook is affordable but provides a higher ROI.
3. Visual Ads:
Google mostly focuses on text ads, but Facebook is versatile. It mostly uses Visual Ads along with text ads to make it look more attractive.
These ads easily bend into the feed. It can be in the form of videos, images, and other visual content.
The ads contain high-quality videos and play along with the feeds without interrupting the user. It uses various ad formats as well.
Advantages of Google Ads:
Although Facebook provides high ROI, no one compares to Google when it comes to market reach.
You can easily target people from different geographical locations by using Google ads.
1. Audience Reach:
Google covers a wide range of audiences all at once. It is one of the best platforms to get new customers.
There are 2 trillion searches made on it annually. You can easily target the keywords that people mostly use, to promote your products and services.
2. Ad Formats:
You can use different types of Ad formats on this platform. Moreover, you can use add-ons and extensions as well.
You can use extensions like,
- Call extensions
- Location extensions
- Price extensions
- Sitelink extensions
By using these extensions, you can easily generate more traffic.
Here are the Ad Formats available on Google.
- Text Ads
- Image Ads
- Video Ads
- Call-Only Ads
- Showcase hopping Ads
- App promotion Ads
- Shopping Ads
You can easily use all these formats for advertising on Google.
3. Advertiser Equality:
You don’t need a lot of money to place your ads on Google. It uses an auction system for advertisement.
It consists of 3 steps.
1: Quality of Ad
2: Expected Impact of Advertisement
3: keyword Bid
You don’t need a huge budget for Google Ads.
Instead, you need to focus on the quality of the ad along with relevancy and extensions.
Google Ads vs Facebook Ads – The Better One?
Now that you know about Google Ads and Facebook Ads, it’s time to learn about the differences.
1. Paid Social VS Paid Search:
Facebook ads are known as Paid Social. And Google Ads are known as Paid Search.
In paid Social, you try to reach the customers on the social media platform.
It uses the vast platform and placement algorithm to place relevant ads in different places.
You will find Facebook Ads on,
- News Feed
- Instagram Feed
- Facebook Video Feeds
- Facebook Marketplace
- Audience Network
- Right Column
- Messenger
In Paid Search, the ads are placed in the search results. It depends on the keywords.
You can easily change the settings or the keywords to create maximum impact.
Google Place Ads on,
- Google Search
- YouTube Ads
- Google Shopping
- Google Maps
- Google Play
Both Facebook and Google use different places to display ads.
2. Audience Size:
Both these ad platforms have huge audience sizes. On a daily basis, there are 5.8 billion searches on Google.
On the other hand, Facebook has 1.73 billion users.
Facebook makes most of its revenue via a mobile platform. It is perfect if you want to place your ads on mobile.
Google, on the other hand, can have limitations as users need to focus on specific keywords.
If nobody searches for your keywords, it is pretty useless.
Unless you have a good SEO strategy, Google ads are not really useful.
Instead, you can go for Facebook ads to target different types of people.
3. Cost & ROI:
When you compare the cost, Facebook is cheaper. Google charges $1.16 per click. On Facebook, you only need to pay $0.45 per click.
The CPC difference is almost double when you use Google.
When it comes to ROI, Facebook again beats Google. The conversion rates are as follows.
Facebook = 9% – 10%
Google = 3.75%
You can clearly see the cost and ROI difference between the two platforms.
4. Buyer Intent:
Here, Google beats Facebook. Google shows ads actively.
The buyer’s intent is clear when they use Google. They search for the products to buy them.
While Facebook places the ads passively, the user doesn’t search for the ad but comes across it while surfing social media.
Here the buyer’s intent is not clear. They may or may not buy the product.
5. Targeting Options:
You can easily target different types of people using both platforms.
But Facebook wins here because they have more data than Google. They store the user’s personal data for targeting them.
In short,
Both Google Ads and Facebook Ads can be effective ways to reach your target audience and achieve your advertising goals.
The best platform for you will depend on your specific needs and goals.
Here are some things to consider when deciding between Google Ads and Facebook Ads:
Target audience: If you want to reach a specific group of people, you should consider where they are most likely to be.
For example, if your target audience is primarily on Facebook, then Facebook Ads may be a better choice for you.
On the other hand, if your target audience is more likely to be using Google to search for products or services, then Google Ads might be a better option.
Ad format: Google Ads primarily uses text-based ads, while Facebook Ads offers a variety of ad formats, including video, image, and carousel ads.
Consider which ad format is most likely to be effective for your business and choose the platform that offers that format.
Cost: Both Google Ads and Facebook Ads have their own pricing models, so you’ll need to compare them to see which one is more cost-effective for your business.
In general, Google Ads tend to be more expensive than Facebook Ads, but this can vary depending on your industry and the keywords you’re targeting.
Ultimately, the best platform for you will depend on your specific needs and goals.
It might be helpful to try both platforms and see which one performs better for your business.
Conclusion
These are the differences between Facebook Ads and Google Ads. Each platform has its own advantages.
The ideal choice depends on your budget, expectations, and goals.
Google Ads helps in quick sales and profit. On the other hand, Facebook Ads help in reaching the audience and building a reputation.
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