When it comes to pay-per-click (PPC) advertising online, one name stands out above the rest: Google AdWords. If you’ve ever seen the paid results at the top of the page when you run a Google search or seen a rotating banner ad on your favorite website, congratulations, you have experience with Google ads! For years and years, Google AdWords has dominated the PPC advertising business, giving businesses previously unprecedented opportunities to reach highly targeted audiences online. Google was unchallenged in its PPC supremacy. In recent years, however, a new contender has arrived.
Who else could credibly challenge Google except Facebook at this point? The world’s largest social network has the daily users—or “eyeballs”—and functionality to make pay-per-click ads work on their platform, and the company is constantly refining its PPC tools in order to take a bigger bite out of Google’s business. Facebook has been helped along by the fact that the average cost per click on AdWords has risen steadily over the past decade-plus.
If you’re a small or medium-sized business owner like me, your PPC marketing budget needs to be managed very carefully. Pay-per-click ads can make you a lot of money, to be sure, but they can also lose you a lot of money. So where is your PPC budget spent best: Google or Facebook?
Each platform offers its own advantages. At the most basic level, AdWords’ Google search ads are great for attracting customers who are using the world’s most popular search engine to seek out goods or services like the ones your business offers. With more than 2.3 million Google searches occurring per minute, there’s a lot of traffic to tap into, which is why Google claims advertisers can expect to make up to $2 for every $1 spent.
By contrast, Facebook ads are great for variety of different goals for your marketing, including boosting brand awareness, generating traffic to your website, and driving more store visits. Facebook also has more robust audience segmenting and targeting tools, which allow businesses to target users by diverse demographics on the world’s most popular social network, including job title, seniority, income level, and even things like hobbies or favorite TV shows. As an added bonus, Facebook boasts that they offer the lowest cost per impression in advertising history!
Obviously, Google AdWords and Facebook ads are two very different advertising platforms with distinct benefits to each. Some businesses in Houston find a better ROI using AdWords, while others have more success with Facebook. Unfortunately, no blog article (even written by an expert like me!) can tell you which platform is more ideal for your company’s unique needs and challenges. The good news is, it doesn’t have to be a competition at all.
That’s right: Google AdWords and Facebook ads complement one another very nicely. Build awareness and nurture leads with Facebook, then close the deal on AdWords when people start searching for solutions. With a little budgeting, you can enjoy the benefits of both platforms at the same time. If you’re serious about getting more leads, sales, or conversions, it only makes sense to use all of the digital tools at your disposal. If you have to choose though, rely on AdWords more if you’re looking for hot leads looking to buy immediately. Facebook is better for nurturing cold leads and funneling them toward your social platforms and email contact list.
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