If you’re looking to grow your business by expanding your marketing budget more in the direction of online advertising, there are two top tier options that immediately stand out beyond the rest: Facebook Ads and Google Ads.

Both Ad Platforms offer a larger audience, better targeting options and a more cost-effective approach than just about anything else out there. But… which one is better suited for your business? Here, we’re going to look at the arguments for both paid ad platforms and help you figure out which one your business should consider.

About Facebook Ad and Google Ad Platforms

First, let’s break down what each of the paid ads options are, highlighting a few of their key differences before exploring further:

  • Facebook Ads: These are ad campaigns that fit into the Facebook news feed. This helps them blend in more effectively than most kinds of interruptive advertising and allows you to use multimedia to create more engaging ads. Facebook also makes it easy to directly target your followers, helping to further convert them.
  • Google Ads: If you use Google, then you’ve seen these Ads show up in your “search”. They appear as the first and last results on every search results page. Using specific keywords or phrases, your ads match up with users searching for exactly what your brand offers, making it easier for them to stumble upon your site.

Now that we’re all on the same page, let’s investigate a little more closely.

Which Ad Platform reaches more people?

Reaching as many people as possible may seem like a worthy goal. For that reason, you might start by looking at how many people use each platform and where you’re more likely to reach more of them. There are 2.27 billion Facebook users, with more people using it every day, but Google has it beat in terms of sheer numbers with over 3.5 billion users and 1.2 trillion searches every day.

Advantage = Google (but Facebook is hot on Google’s trail)

Which allows you to better track and customize your ads?

In terms of tracking, Google has Facebook beat for now, but not by much. Google Analytics allows you to attach code to your web pages that help you see click through rates, time spent on page, conversion rates and more. Facebook tracking takes up a little more effort to set up, with a few internal engagement metrics you can follow, but you can still use Google Analytics with a few extra steps to see much the same results.

Advantage = Google (Google is a bit more comprehensive, but Facebook does allow you to track more Social related data such as “Likes”, Comments, etc)

Which can more effectively target your audience?

The methods by which you target users in each paid ads service has its own specific benefits. With Google Ads, it’s all about learning which keywords and phrases your audience is using, allowing them to find your ads through their own searches, making your brand, products and services seem all the more relevant to them.

However, many prefer Facebook’s approach, which uses the data that Facebook has on audiences to help you target by demographic, including age, gender, location, and even specific interests.

Advantage = Toss Up (both are great at allowing you to target your audience)

So what Ad Platform is better for your business?

Whether you choose Google Ads, Facebook Ads or some mixture of both depends on the aim of your business. Whether you’re looking to generate new leads, improve conversions on the site, grow brand visibility or otherwise, finding the best approach is easier with a team that knows what they’re going.

Recommendation = Use Both! (by using both Google Ads & Facebook Ads, that allows you to reach a broader, more comprehensive swath of your target audience)

For more info on what goes into setting up an Ad Campaign on either Google or Facebook, check out our PPC Management page or call us at (800) 617-6975 for a Free Consultation. Of course, you can also Get a Quote on your project by clicking here.