Should I Do Google Ads or Facebook Ads?
The quick answer is “do both!” Even if your budget is small, you should divide it between the two different networks. They are both major networks, and they can work with each other to reach people at various stages of the buying process. There is much integration that can take place between the two, and if you’re using only one, you could be wasting your budget.
It’s imperative to understand there is more to Google Ads than just keywords, and more to Facebook ads than just Facebook.
Google Ads
“Search” is the most common part of Google Ads, and what most think about when you mention Google ads. At face value Search is all about the keywords, but there are different ways to handle keywords. Depending on the keywords that you string together, you could get someone at the top of the funnel, or you could get someone at the bottom of the funnel. Success with “Search” is all about your intentions with the keywords you choose and where you want to lead them.
Another advertising vehicle within Google Ads is “Display” which is frequently used for remarketing to people who have visited your site to keep them at the top of the funnel. There are also a lot of cold audiences you can reach with Display.
The different ways to remarket and target inside a display are impressive:
- You can lead people to the top or bottom of the sales funnel with articles
- You can target by people’s interest
- You can target by people’s search behavior,
- You can even target specific websites.
You can reach almost 90% of people online with the Google display network. Not only does it work, it doesn’t cost as much as some other options.
Shopping is becoming a popular platform. You can see the results of which at the top of most searches. It’s valuable if you have a product to sell.
Video: No one can claim that video isn’t popular. Google owns YouTube, and the same type of targeting that’s available inside a display is also available for video, enabling you to get your videos in front of that target audience. Video is essential, it’s engaging, and what you can do with it is almost limitless.
If you have an app, you can use the Google Ad Network to ensure that you’re getting that app in front of people, using appropriate keywords or any other targeting that you could in Display.
Facebook Ads
Facebook has a whole set of different places to market as well, not just Facebook feeds. There are instant articles, in-stream videos, right columns, suggested videos, and marketplace (similar to Google shopping).
“Stories” is new to Facebook. Facebook owns Instagram, so you could place your ad in front of your audience’s feeds and stories. Another ad placement is on the audience network. Like the display network in Google Ads, Facebook allows you to place your ad in front of many different audiences. Not the least of which is Messenger, which Facebook also owns.
Conclusion
There are many ways to use both platforms, and these are the top places that people visit and hang out. You want to integrate both so if someone searches for something on Google, they will later see your ad on Facebook. If they use Facebook, they will later see an ad on a different website from the Google display network. Many keywords in Google Search are expensive, but if you integrate with Facebook and with Google’s Display network, you can drive traffic much more affordably.
Both platforms are effective, and either one could be used for the top or bottom of the funnel, but it’s essential to remember that when people visit Facebook, they typically do so to be entertained. People don’t go to Facebook to buy, so it’s less often a the bottom of the funnel tactic.
I believe our opinion is clear. You should use both, regardless of your budget, and integrate the two so you can catch people at all stages of the funnel.
