Establishing a digital marketing strategy isn’t easy. There are hundreds of things to consider, from target audiences to which advertising platforms will work best for your business.
Digital marketing firms like Make It Loud spend their days matching the client to strategy and are well versed in finding the correct path for your business. Our goal is to help your business move in the right direction when it comes to marketing. This means we have to look at all the tools available, and one question we consistently get is “Which one is best: Google Ads or Facebook Ads?”
Of course, the answer is, “it depends”, and yes, we hate that answer too, but it really does.
Below, we’ll break down the two different aspects of online advertising to help you make a more informed decision.
Marketing with Google Ads
For years now, Google advertising has been popular and there are no signs of going away any time soon. In fact, Google Ads have made up the lion’s share of Google’s total revenue. Many people think if Google had it their way, everyone would run Google Ads. When targeted correctly, Google Ads has the potential to bring you a lot of revenue when properly implemented.
For those that don’t know, Google Advertising is Google’s in-house advertising system. It allows marketers and business owners to collaborate and create ads, edit, and closely analyze their marketing campaigns’ success. You’ve seen the results in the search results with the little “Ad” next to the blurbs.
Google processes over three billion Google searches every single day. This search volume offers plenty of opportunities for consumer discovery, but you’ve got to get them to find you. With Google Ads, you can quickly get your business on the first page of the search results. Naturally, this can not only bring more traffic to your website, but it can also increase your brand awareness as well.
There are plenty of ad types available on Google Ads, including video, search, and display. Deciding which ad type, or types, will work with your audience is up to you and your marketing team.
Google places its paid ads before organic search suggestions on the very first page of search inquiry results. Advertisers (you) bid on your desired keyword, and the highest bid will receive the top spot in the Google Ad results.
Where you appear in Google Ads is based on several different factors, but one is your daily budget or how much you’re willing to pay for a top spot. Popular keywords, such as “baking recipes,” will come with a higher price than something more specific, like “easy baking recipes for busy moms.”
Keyword research is a critical component of constructing your ad. You don’t want to target the incorrect audience, which will render your ad relevant. A reputable digital marketing agency like ours will ensure that you’ve executed the correct keywords and carefully measure your Google Ad(s) progress.
Advertising Using Facebook Ads
Facebook has almost 3 billion monthly users, which is more than any other social media platform. Thus, Facebook advertising is highly recommended by both digital marketing agencies and business owners as well. For most businesses, it’s where your target market spends their time.
Facebook Ads are relatively inexpensive when you consider their potential reach, but an astounding number of businesses fall short when attempting to advertise on the platform. For the most part, Facebook is not at fault here.
Instead, it would seem that there are millions of businesses, typically small companies, that are not correctly implementing the ad features on their platform. Far too often, people think that regular posting or boosting an occasional post is equivalent to “advertising”, but it really isn’t.
With the average user spending around forty minutes a day browsing the platform, Facebook Ads are incredibly profitable. However, many people don’t understand the system enough to get the full benefit. That’s where hiring a digital marketing agency like ours can really pay off.
At the very least, you have to create a Facebook page for your business, go to the Facebook Ads manager, and create your ads. One aspect of creating your ads is looking at your specific custom audience to determine who you are targeting with your ads. Facebook has some very good features around this aspect of your marketing.
Finally, you have to make sure to install the Facebook pixel on your website. This helps connect your business Facebook marketing efforts to your website as well as help you identify your ad performance over time.
The Pros and Cons of Facebook and Google Ads
Nothing in life comes without its pros and cons. Both Facebook and Google Ads have their lists of advantages and disadvantages, and one may work better for your business than the other.
The world of social media marketing is complex. It all comes down to a carefully calculated system of testing and trial and error.
Google Advertising Pros
Google Ads are wonderful in that they can often provide nearly instant results. While effective, search engine optimization can take weeks to show results, so many business owners will love seeing their business on the first page of the search results soon after their campaign goes live.
Google Ads have many building blocks, but you can get an ad up and running in under an hour. Not to mention, your exposure in targeted search results can happen quite quickly.
With Google Ads, you can continuously edit your ads to test new ideas and establish what is working for your audience. Google Ads works with a big or small audience, and you’ll have full control and measured results.
Google Advertising Cons
When you use Google Ads, you have to pay for every click that goes to your website, and as we touched on earlier, competitive industries will come with a higher price per click, and if you don’t have the monthly budget set, your ads will stop running.
The biggest con for Google Ads is the size of the monthly budget in order to be competitive. Many business owners feel they can “play” with $500 or so, and it’s been our experience that Google sees that as more of a donation than a serious advertising budget. Depending upon the competition for the keywords you want your ads to show for, most businesses won’t begin to seriously compete for under $1000 and that’s too low for the more competitive industries (i.e. HVAC, Roofing, etc.)
While these aren’t so much “cons” as considerations, to be effective, Google Ads really requires users to play around with negative keywords, as well as targeted landing pages. So, while Google Ads offer up a ton of pros, including quick page one ranks, there are plenty of aspects to micromanage to keep it that way.
Facebook Advertising Pros
Facebook is the biggest social platform, and therefore offers a massive reach to businesses that choose to run ads there. Facebook offers perks such as lookalike audiences, which are meant to mirror your imported email list, and microtargeting and retargeting.
There are various places where your ad will pop up in front of your desired audience, including newsfeeds and side rails. You can choose your campaign media, whether it be a photo, carousel, slideshow, or video.
Facebook is a trusted platform by most (if not all) of its users, and when you advertise on Facebook, it’s not uncommon to see a significant boost in your page likes. You could even have a post take on a viral status.
On Facebook, you can sell directly to your customers from your ads and business page. Also, social shares will help Google decide on where to place your business in search results.
When you boil the numbers down to a cost per reach basis, Facebook advertising often looks like a bargain for many types of businesses.
Facebook Advertising Cons
Facebook is notorious for a terrible organic reach for posting alone, especially if you’re not running an ad. Chances are, if you’re not interested in paying to share your content, you will struggle to reach a larger audience.
On that same note, Facebook typically favors larger exposure to businesses that pay the most. This is where you have to really do the math to see if this element is worth it for your marketing.
Facebook and Google Ad ROI’s
It’s likely that your advertising goal, other than a higher reach and more sales, is to achieve a spectacular return on investment (ROI).
Many business owners claim to see a higher ROI on Google Ads ($2 for every $1 spent), but this will vary depending on the situation, industry niche, and your ad campaign’s success. Facebook Ads will likely get your business more impressions for less money, but the accompanying copy and ad targeting skills have to turn those impressions into sales.
Whenever we are talking to business owners about these two marketing elements, we start with a fundamental question: What’s your average customer worth?
Let’s look at an example. If you run an HVAC company, then you might say your average customer is $2000. If you spend $1000 on either Google Ads or Facebook Ads (just one- not both), and you get one customer from that ad, you’re doing fine. The feasibility of your getting at least one customer from that entire campaign is extremely high. Therefore, that marketing tool is a good risk since it’s very likely that you’ll get a good ROI.
Years ago, we had a client who made cell phone stands. They were truly great stands, but he wanted to do Google Ads. His average customer was less than $20, so even a $500 ad budget would mean he would start out in the hole each month. When we showed him the math, it was clear that this was not the best way to spend his marketing dollars.
Advertise on Google and Facebook with Make It Loud
Your ad campaigns’ success boils down to your vision, keyword research, and the strategy created by your marketing team. Millions of small businesses and corporations use each of these platforms to run successful ad campaigns that see a fantastic ROI.
Make It Loud has helped our clients establish and improve their online presence for more than fifteen years. If you need help, with your Google Ads campaigns or your Facebook advertising, contact us today. When you’re successful, we’re successful. Call us to start your ad campaign today!
