Google vs. Facebook Ads
· BlueHat Marketing
When it comes to choosing a platform for PPC ads, two options immediately come to mind. One the one hand there is the obvious choice of the standard Google AdWords, text-based ads that appear on the very top of search engine results related to their keywords. On the other are Facebook ads, which contain a small picture and pop up beside pages as users interact with that social network.
The question is then, which is better suited to your online marketing campaign? Let’s compare some of their features.
Google AdWords
- Text-based only
- Pop up in relevant user searches
- More expensive and more competition for words
- Limited ad customizability
Facebook Ads
- Text and picture based
- Pop up as users view Facebook pages
- Less expensive
- More customizability in terms of target audience
At first glance the Facebook Ads might seem more attractive, but consider this: those ads appear regardless of whether users want them to or are actively searching for something. They are more targeted to a demographic, but they are not correlated with specific searches. They do not provide solutions to a need that a user might have at that given moment.
There is also some data that suggests that a Facebook ad is less effective than the average internet ad when it comes to click-through rate. The average click-through rate for an ad on the internet is about 0.1%. For Facebook ads, it's actually only 0.051% (Google's is 0.4%).
Facebook ads target broad categories of users: certain education levels, demographics and careers. Even if their click-through rate is low, their impressions are high, since people spend a lot of time poking around Facebook in a day: studies suggest that an average user will spend a total of 8 hours in a month on Facebook (compared to 2 on Google.). That means those ads are reaching eyeballs, even if a given user doesn’t click through often.
Google Ads on the other hand, only appear in front of users actively searching for some product or service, often because they are ready to buy. Even if Google’s revenue streams are diverse, they still make up the vast majority of their income through these ads. Google also reaches a larger portion of internet users in general: up to 91% compared to Facebook’s 50%. Their reach is filtered through what people are searching for (and where) at a given moment, not the facts about who they are.
In this way, Facebook ads are more effective at building brand awareness while Google Ads answer a specific need, bringing in more calls and sales to your business. Facebook is about linking a brand with a lifestyle or individual identity, whereas Google solves needs based on products, services and locations. Both can be used effectively to grow a business. Knowing how to use each is part of the expertise of the Blue Hat team, whether it’s in the application of social media branding or PPC advertising .
In this way, Facebook ads are more effective at building brand awareness while Google Ads answer a specific need, bringing in more calls and sales to your business. Both can be used effectively to grow a business. Knowing how to use each is part of the expertise of the Blue Hat team, whether it’s in the application of social media branding or PPC advertising .
