Determining the best online advertising platform for your business can be a challenging task. With so many options available, it’s difficult to know where your marketing dollars are best spent. Two of the most popular online advertising platforms are Facebook and Google Ads. But which one should you choose? Here is an in-depth comparison of advertising on Facebook versus Google to help you decide.
Reach and Targeting
One of the first factors to consider is the reach and targeting options available on each platform.
- Has over 2.9 billion monthly active users worldwide as of Q4 2021
- Offers sophisticated targeting options to reach your ideal audience, including:
- Location
- Age
- Gender
- Interests and behaviors
- Custom audiences from your email lists or website visitors
Google Ads
- Display ads can reach over 90% of internet users worldwide
- Search ads reach people actively searching for products or services
- Targeting options include:
- Keywords
- Locations
- Languages
- Devices
- Time of day
- Remarketing to past site visitors
Both platforms offer extensive targeting capabilities, but Facebook may have an advantage with the size of its user base and ability to target very specific demographics and interests.
Ad Types and Formats
The types of ads you can run differ across the platforms.
- Photo ads
- Video ads
- Carousel ads
- Slideshow ads
- Stories ads
- Messenger ads
- Text ads
- Display ads
- Shopping ads
- Video ads (Youtube)
- App install ads
Both offer a range of ad formats, from simple text to rich media. Facebook provides more options for visually engaging ads like photos, videos, and stories. Google search ads are limited to text, but display ads can be highly visual. Ultimately the ad format should align with your campaign goals and audience.
Costs
The cost structures also differ between the platforms.
- Runs on an auction model, where advertisers bid against each other for ad placement
- Pricing is based on the auction results and your budget
- Average CPM across Facebook and Instagram is $7.19 as of Q4 2021
- Search ads are also auction-based like Facebook
- Display ads are purchased on a fixed CPM model
- Average CPC on the Google Ads network is $1-$2
Facebook ad costs are driven by bidding and competition, while Google search costs depend on your keywords and quality score. Google display rates are based on the audience and placements. With both, costs can vary significantly based on targeting and other factors.
Tracking and Optimization
In order to determine the effectiveness of your campaigns, robust tracking and optimization capabilities are essential.
- In-depth audience insights tool with engagement metrics
- A/B testing for ad variations
- Placement and timing optimization
- Automatic targeting expansions to find new relevant audiences
- Robust performance reports for clicks, conversions, and more
- A/B testing capabilities in AdWords
- Landing page experience scoring to optimize post-click experience
- Audience insights for search campaigns
Both Facebook and Google provide excellent analytics to assess campaign performance and fine-tune targeting over time. Google may have an advantage, however, for search ads given its deep expertise in search effectiveness.
Ads Management
Ease of use is another consideration when evaluating advertising platforms.
- Self-service Facebook Ads Manager interface
- Menu-driven workflow for setting up and managing campaigns
- Options for accessing professional support if needed
- Self-service AdWords interface
- Menu-driven workflow for search, display, and other ad types
- Support options include help center, expert consultations, and managed accounts
The self-service interfaces provided by both platforms are designed to be user-friendly for setting up and optimizing campaigns. Google may have a learning curve for more complex options like display remarketing, but both offer ample educational resources.
Audience Insights
Gaining a deep understanding of your target audience is key for effective ad campaigns. Here’s how the platforms compare for audience insights.
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Facebook provides more extensive insights into your audience’s interests and characteristics thanks to its vast troves of user data and analytics. Google audience insights are largely limited to search behavior and remarketing analysis.
Ad Creative and Copy
The ad creative and copy you use can significantly influence performance.
- Highly visual creative recommended e.g. videos, images
- Ability to use emojis, tags, and other interactive elements
- Text must follow community standards and content policies
- Short text ads of 2-3 lines recommended for search
- Display ads can use more visual creative
- Ad copy policies prohibit excessive capitalization, punctuation, etc.
Facebook’s social nature lends itself to visual, interactive content compared to Google’s more utilitarian approach. Ad copy policies differ as well, with Google prohibiting all caps and repetitive exclamation points, for example.
Conclusion
In summary, here are some of the key considerations when choosing between Facebook and Google Ads:
- Facebook offers massive reach and precise targeting capabilities, while Google excels at targeting users with buying intent.
- Both provide a range of ad formats, with Facebook emphasizing visuals and Google offering robust text ads.
- Costs vary, with Facebook using an auction model and Google charging per click or impression. Competition impacts costs on both.
- Optimization and analytics capabilities are excellent on both platforms.
- The ad interfaces are user-friendly, though Google has a steeper learning curve.
- Facebook has superior audience insights, especially for interests and behaviors.
- Ad creative should align with the different use cases, with Facebook favoring visuals and engagement.
There is no definitive answer for which platform is “better” – it depends entirely on your specific business, target audience, campaign goals, and budget. Many advertisers find success using both Facebook and Google Ads as part of a comprehensive marketing strategy. Testing on each platform is the best way determine the right media mix and allocate budget accordingly.