Today, the two most popular pay-per-click ad systems are Facebook Ads and Google Ads. However, they are fundamentally different platforms with separate audiences and use cases. Google Ads were created to act as an online marketplace for advertisers to compete for the right to show product listings, short commercials, or videos to website visitors. On the other hand, Facebook Ads are a web advertising tool that is primarily used for sponsored social marketing on Facebook.
The two PPC platforms share a significant learning curve, which makes them similar in that regard. Let’s examine the differences between Google Ads and Facebook Ads, how each ad platform functions, and why you ought to think about utilising both as part of your overall digital marketing plan.
Google ads
Google Ads is a Pay-Per-Click advertising network that was formerly known as Google AdWords. Despite the fact that other platforms like Bing Ads function similarly, it is so frequently utilised that the word “paid search” has come to be associated with it.
Here, marketers are required to bid to display ads, product listings, service offerings, and videos to the web users where the advertisements are placed in the results of Google searches and non-search websites, apps, and videos.
When it comes to businesses with a product or service, Google Ads are the best viable option to promote the brand in front of the intended audience that are actively searching for similar solutions. Google ads primarily target users that are already in the buying phase and are ready to make a purchase.
The ad copy for this type of ad is, for this reason, concise and unambiguous. That makes it simple to contact the business while highlighting the obvious reasons to buy the product or service.
The following are some of the factors to consider when it comes to creating a Google ad.
Quality score and AdRank:
These two factors are the most important ones when Google ads are concerned. Always try to keep the quality score higher in order to lower the acquisition costs as well as better placements of the ads.
Location:
Make sure to set up a geographical location where a particular ad needs to be shown.
Match type:
With match types, you will be able to match a search query with your ads so that they appear whenever a user searches for similar queries.
Headline and description:
When it is about attracting traffic to your ad and making them take an action, it comes down to making the ad copy highly appealing, which makes all the difference.
Keywords:
This is another crucial factor when running Google ads, as keywords are the bridge between your ads and how Google shows them to relevant audiences.
Apart from these five factors, you might also want to consider ad extensions and Google Ads retargeting to better target the ads to the intended audience.
Facebook ads
Where Google ads are all about delivering ads in the search engine results and other platforms, Facebook ads run exclusively on different platforms owned by Facebook. These ads can be shown on the feed, messenger, and non-Facebook apps that are within the Meta ecosystem.
Running ads are the best examples of running ads on social media platforms, or in short, “paid social” ads. However, when compared to other social platforms, Facebook has an edge over other networks, which makes them highly competitive and potentially advantageous elements of many organisations’ online advertising strategies.
When compared to Google ads, Facebook ads are most suited for businesses aiming to increase awareness of their products or services among an audience that is still unaware of their brand. Facebook comes with an extensive range of features and options that help marketers introduce their products and services to the target audience in the form of text, images, and video ads.
So, which one is better for your business?
Both of these advertising methods are successful in their own way; however, the differences become evident when the business goals tend to vary from one organisation to another. Rather than making them adversarial, it is always advised to consider them complementary. Use the two platforms can be merged together to establish a stringer advertising strategy.
