Google Ads or Facebook Ads? Learn which channel to start investing in paid media
When starting to invest in paid media, many companies wonder which is the best channel to start their activities and whether to bet on Google Ads or Facebook Ads — which are, today, two of the largest advertising platforms in Brazil and the world.
However, despite being extremely effective for various types of businesses, truth be told: both tools have different characteristics, resources, and purposes.
Each offers unique benefits and can be leveraged in most digital marketing strategies. But, if you want to know which is the best option for your company at this moment, we point out below everything you need to know about Google Ads and Facebook Ads, their pros and cons. Check it out!
Google Ads
Google Ads, Google’s main source of income (formerly known as AdWords), is one of the major platforms for advertisers who wish to stand out in search results or other channels offered by the world’s largest search engine.
Through this paid media option, it’s possible to define a marketing objective, segmentation — whether by location or audience characteristics/behavior, for example — and keyword groups that will help your audience find you as a solution to a problem or need.
Moreover, you can establish billing for clicks or conversions generated and display your ads on the Search Network, Google’s partner sites (Display Network), YouTube, Google Shopping, and Apps.
Facebook Ads
Facebook Ads, on the other hand, is the platform that enables the creation and broadcasting of ads for both Facebook and Instagram.
The social network allows for even more complete segmentation than Google Ads, as it also works with audience interest information, and develop campaigns in various formats, such as sponsored posts, videos, page likes, forms for Lead generation, and many others.
Each of these formats is associated with an objective when advertising. Among them are brand recognition, post reach, traffic to your website, engagement with publications, generation of sign-ups, and conversions.
And now: Invest in Google Ads or Facebook Ads?
Now that you know the main characteristics of each of these paid media channels, the question remains: initially, would it be better to invest in Google Ads or Facebook Ads?
Below, we present what each delivers best for a digital marketing strategy and give tips on when it’s better to use them. Check it out!
Why Invest in Google Ads?
When a person actively searches on Google about a certain term, they are usually looking for a solution to a problem, challenge, or need they have at that moment.
This means that by advertising keywords related to your business and correctly segmenting the audience, you have a better chance of being found by someone interested in your product or service.
In other words, Google Ads is more suitable for audiences that are more in the middle or bottom of the funnel and are closer to making a conversion, whether it’s a purchase, filling out a contact form, or receiving rich material.
However, for those who want to start relating to the top of the funnel and invest in a branding strategy, this channel might not be the best start.
This is because your potential customer might not even know they have a problem yet, to be able to search for it, and if the competition is high, the ads can be more expensive and not deliver the expected return.
Why Invest in Facebook Ads?
Facebook Ads, on the other hand, is a great choice for those focusing on branding and top-of-the-funnel strategies, since, unlike Google, people are not actively looking for a solution, but can be surprised with content that helps with a need they didn’t even know existed.
Additionally, the strength of investing in social networks is in building long-term relationships. This way, it’s possible to maintain a conversation with your potential customers and help them through the buying journey until they feel ready to close a deal.
If you’re wondering whether it’s still worth investing in Facebook, know that it’s estimated that 130 million accounts on the network are Brazilian, and our country is the 4th in the ranking of users.
Two other positive points are that the segmentation for creating campaigns is more complete than in Google Ads and you can also make ads focused on generating traffic to your website or conversions.
However, Facebook Ads is still not the best channel for bottom-of-the-funnel strategies. Since people are not actively searching for a product or service, your ads might not be enough to spark interest, and you may get fewer customers.
The Best of Both Worlds
We know that when starting to invest in ads, the company’s budget is not always very high, and this ends up “forcing” the marketing team to choose between one channel or another.
However, due to everything we explained here about the pros and cons of Google Ads and Facebook Ads, we suggest that if you have the opportunity, start investing in both to test what generates the best results according to your objectives.
While a branding strategy and content promotion can help attract your audience on social networks, investment in ads focused on the middle and bottom of the funnel can generate conversions on your site.
Thus, you can build lasting relationships while obtaining business opportunities.
But, if the budget division cannot be done yet, it’s important to always bet on what is closest to your final objective and aligned with your consumers’ buying journey.
