Which is Better, Google Adwords or Facebook?

Many business owners or startups wonder which channel they should focus their marketing budget. Ever since Facebook started serving ads to users, PPC consultants have argued about which is the better service, Google Adwords, or Facebook. The truth is that each ad platform serves different purposes. Most companies would do best with their ad spend between both services, not only picking one or the other. The trick is learning how and when to use each channel.  Even a Google Adwords Management Agency will speak to the power of Facebook and vice versa. In this post, I will go over the difference and benefits of each. 

Differences Between Google and Facebook Ads Explained by a PPC Consultant

Google Adwords mainly targets searchers who are looking for a particular product and service. The searcher has an intent and is seeking out information, service, or product. For this reason, Google Adwords traffic will make up mostly bottom of the funnel traffic. Users visit the website with a particular goal in mind and may have even heard of the product before. 

Now while Google can be used for the top of funnel queries and building your brand awareness, Facebook is better in this area. With Facebook,  you target people who are your potential customers based on demographic or customer interest. You have the chance to show them a “scroll stopping” ad and show them the basics and selling points of your product. Videos tend to work particularly significant here. The challenge is taking a user that was not even vaguely aware of your product or service and converted them into a customer. This is why it usually requires multiple impressions of your ad and multiple visits to the website. Facebook can be great for the initial introduction to the product, but it can be hard to get the user to convert. 

Why Google Adwords Management Agencies Still Recommend Facebook

Now, after reading this section above, you might wonder why Facebook is necessary at all. If Google Adwords has users with such a high intent, why not put all the budget there. While Google Adwords is effective, it is not recommended to put all your budget into one channel. To put it simply, this would be putting all your eggs into one basket. But beyond this, Facebook is necessary to reach a broader audience. CPCs tend to be much cheaper on Facebook, allowing you to bring a high traffic volume to your site. Then you can capture this traffic with Google search ads and get them back to the site when they are ready to purchase or signup. 

Dedicated PPC consultants understand how the channels work together. If a Google Adwords management agency tells you not to consider Facebook, that is most likely a red flag. Similarly, if your Facebook ads consultant tells you not to even think about Google Adwords, read carefully. The magic is finding the “sweet spot” for your website’s traffic.