Advertising your business online has never been easier, but there has also never been so much competition. No matter what type of business you operate, your dream scenario is to reach more customers without spending more money. When it comes to paid advertising, it’s more about your return on investment (ROI) rather than the financial outlay. Your ROI is still high if you spend more on advertising but generate more sales and income.

However, you’re wasting money if you spend a lot on paid advertising but don’t generate more leads or convert more sales. For this reason, you need to ensure your marketing efforts are highly targeted so every dollar you spend has an impact. Both Facebook and Google advertising are great for targeting your ideal customers, so let’s look at which one is best for your business.

Facebook Ads – an overview

Most people know that Facebook is a huge social network with massive numbers of users every day. In April 2023, the platform boasted 2.989 billion monthly active users. Yep. Billion. It’s an enormous platform, which is why it’s also become extremely popular with marketers.

Facebook Ads is the social network’s advertising arm, allowing companies to post advertisements in various formats, such as images, stories, posts and more. Your social media advertising can certainly reach a lot of eyes, and with the platform integrated with Instagram, this opens up even more potential.

Benefits of Facebook Ads

Even from the brief overview above, it should be clear that Facebook’s enormous user base is its biggest selling point. However, without the ability to target your advertising, it would be difficult to find your ideal audience amongst nearly 3 billion users. Fortunately, ad targeting is a big part of Facebook’s advertising features. Benefits include:

• Huge number of daily users
• A variety of ad formats are available
• Advanced targeting options based on demographics, browsing behaviour, interests and more
• Instagram integration
• A strong level of user interaction and engagement
• Cost-effective budgeting
• Great analytics

Facebook Ads tick many boxes for companies looking to expand their audience, but let’s consider some potential drawbacks.

Disadvantages of Facebook Ads

With so many positives, there are always going to be some negatives. Here are some reasons why Facebook Ads might not suit your needs.

• Advertising fatigue – regular users become desensitised, often ignoring sponsored content completely.
• Privacy – some people are sceptical about Facebook’s privacy standards.
• High competition – with so many users and ads, competition can increase ad costs.
• Algorithm changes – when Facebook changes its ad algorithms, companies may also need to change their strategies.

These certainly aren’t insurmountable challenges, but they may cause some businesses to seek out other marketing strategies.

Who should consider Facebook Ads?

Facebook Ads are likely to be good for most businesses, especially when done properly. However, this platform is most useful for companies that need a high level of ad targeting. This includes local businesses or those with a niche audience.

Facebook is also great for e-commerce businesses because ads can be very visual and interactive. The ability to link to specific products is also a huge plus. Also, the fact that companies can operate a business page and share all sorts of unique content with followers is a bonus – the occasional paid advertisement helps to improve brand awareness.

Google Ads – an overview

Another form of paid advertising, the key difference with Google Ads is that it is search-based. Marketers effectively bid on the opportunity to display their advertisement at the top of the search results page when a customer searches for certain terms. For this reason, many believe Google Ads to be more successful because it targets users who are already motivated to take a certain action, whether it be researching a product or buying one.

It’s worth mentioning that in Australia, Google holds around 95% of the market share for online search engines, meaning you can access a massive audience. It’s also a pay-per-click service, meaning you don’t get charged unless someone clicks on your ad.

Benefits of Google Ads

Why choose Google Ads? Here are a few reasons:

• Intent-driven – Google Ads don’t appear at random but rather when users search for specific terms. Therefore, if you have an ad selling shoes, your ad shows up when customers are searching for shoes.
• Huge audience – with 95% of the search engine market in Australia, Google reaches millions.
• Scalability – adjust your budget for keyword ads accordingly.
• Analytics – Google Ads provides you with detailed metrics and reporting.
• Google Display Network – Opportunity to reach customers on over 2 million other websites and apps.

Let’s face it – Google is enormous. It has an incredible reach, so if you operate any type of business, you’ll likely benefit from investing in Google Ads.

Disadvantages of Google Ads

There’s a lot to love about Google Ads, but like anything in life, it isn’t perfect. You may need to consider some aspects before investing too heavily.

• Difficult to use effectively without marketing expertise
• Risks of click fraud costing you more
• High-competition search terms are costly to bid on
• You only have a low level of visual customisation options for your ads

Who should consider Google Ads?

If we’re being honest, almost every business can benefit from Google Ads. Most of us search online for products and services before making a purchase, and Google is the biggest search engine. With integration into Google Shopping, for example, advertising can be hugely beneficial for e-commerce businesses selling individual products. But it’s equally good for local and niche businesses. If you’re ever in a new town looking for a local service, you’re going to go straight to Google, which shows why local businesses benefit.

Realistically, unless you operate in an extremely competitive market and don’t have the budget to bid on certain search terms, you’ll likely get some great value from Google Ads.

Summing up – who’s the winner?

We know you’ve been waiting to find out which is categorically the best advertising service. The reality is that it all comes down to your business, your target audience and your budget. It may come down to which platform you understand best.
Both Facebook and Google offer excellent ad targeting, but you need marketing experience to take full advantage. Google is very intent-driven, which potentially puts it ahead of Facebook’s more demography-based targeting.

Overall, you’ll actually get the best results from diversifying and using both. This allows you to test out each platform and see what delivers the best results. Plus, with more online exposure comes better brand recognition.

If you’re not sure which way to turn, contact the team at ReaclClicks today, and we’ll tailor a strategy for your unique needs.