Which is better Facebook Ads or Google Ads?

Google Ads vs Facebook Ads which is better and why?

Facebook and Google are both popular digital advertising platforms. Both platforms have millions of users logged in at any given time. What makes one better than the other has little to do with the platform itself and more to do with the complicated nature of human motivation. Both platforms hold their merits and both produce measurable results, so how do you choose where to invest your advertising spend?

On one hand, you have Facebook Ads an easy-to-use platform with a massive audience reach; accurate anonymous user tracking AI that serves your ad to whomever it believes wants your product. On the other hand, you have Google Ads which admittedly is harder to set up, takes longer to optimize, and ultimately is a waste of money if you don’t know what you’re doing – but – Google has one invaluable feature that Facebook doesn’t, real human intention.

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When a person on this planet wants to find something or information on something such as to inform on a potential purchase decision, that person heads to Google way before they start reaching out to friends on social media for advice. I believe that the “recommendation” additions to Facebook are a direct reaction to the fact that Facebook is a place people generally visit to kill time or just looking to connect with others. 

When a user logs on to Google they are looking for something and from an e-commerce perspective, this is a very good thing. This means that – assuming you’ve set it up right – this potential lead or customer already wants your product. All you have to do now is drive them toward your site and convince them you’re the right seller to buy from. How you do this is of course up to you, and if you would like to talk to a team member about a potential strategy, just get in touch. 

In the meantime, we can get down to the biggest reason why Google Ads is not only more powerful than Facebook Ads but also what makes it so. Beyond just the intention of the user – which is incredibly important. Facebook is a website on the Internet, sure it does more than that, but at the end of the day when they built Facebook, they intended to build a website. When Google started it intended to become the internet, and while from a hardware perspective I think Amazon got their first, handling 33% of web hosting on the Internet, Google has done pure magic by making itself not only the first place you go to find something but it’s gone as far as to become a freaking verb! Google it!

It’s the level of user intention that makes Google Ads so powerful. While both platforms use anonymous user tracking to determine user habits and anticipate user needs and wants, we have to consider the mindset of the user. When someone logs on to Facebook and the platform starts to deliver them Ads – even for things they need – that isn’t what they logged into Facebook for. That’s why targeted advertising seems so much creepier when it happens on Facebook rather than when it happens on Google Ads, where it almost feels convenient.

Keywords. Coupled with user intention, and the world’s biggest search engine is by far the biggest advantage Google Ads has over Facebook Ads. On Google Ads, you can bid on the keywords that you want to trigger your ad. This is by far the most natural – paid – solution to drive relevant traffic to your site. The only downside to running a Google Keyword campaign is it becomes very important to monitor keywords and user search terms to make sure the algorithm doesn’t go too far off course from your product or subject matter. 

For instance, when advertising a site like dropoutentertainment.ca – a Canadian music news website – it’s important to monitor phrases like “listen to free music” and ensure they are not triggered by searches for something like “free stock music for videos”. Another example is when we’re advertising a site like teasquared.ca, we often have to sort out keywords for “teapots” or “tea infuser” to ensure they don’t trigger one of our Ads as Tea Squared only sells loose leaf tea, rather than teapots or infusers themselves.

It sounds like I’m dumping all over Facebook without even saying a word about them, but Facebook Ads do have their place and if used correctly they can be very effective for repeat customers and even help convince new customers to make their first purchase. Facebook has an incredible and dynamic remarketing system that can be utilized to remind site visitors that you exist and that you have exactly what they are looking for, in a more passive environment. They might not be ready to buy yet, but they did show interest so staying in touch isn’t a bad idea. On top of all of this Facebook Business has a straightforward user interface and is much easier to grasp for a novice marketer. 

In conclusion, Google Ads is fundamentally more powerful – regardless of technology – because of the intention factor. That said, it’s not the only place you should be advertising online, and to be most effective with growth you should consider a funnel strategy that employs both platforms at once. If you would like to discuss your online advertising strategy and even get a free quote on digital advertising management for Facebook, Google, or both, get in touch!

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