Google AdWords vs. Facebook Ads can both be viable paid media options depending on the goals and marketing budget of your company. The long-standing rivalry between the two technology giants, often dramatized by tech media outlets, was taken as undeniable evidence that both the companies are in direct competition with each other. It has become important for businesses of all sizes to make an important decision about which platform is right for their needs.
So, there are several factors to be considered while selecting the advertising platform for your business.
Digital Advertising Budget and Average CPC
Google AdWords and Facebook Ads. are both amazing advertising platforms. The average CPC (cost-per-click) on Facebook is $0.28 as on Q3 of 2016. While the average search CPC of Google AdWords was $2.32. Facebook Ads. were 88% cheaper than Google AdWords in 2016. So, if you have a small advertising budget, it is recommended to run Facebook Ads.
Granted, clicks are not everything and there are very rare occurrences where you can make Google AdWords run with smaller budgets. However, sometimes advertisers don’t have enough budget to compete with Google, so they use Facebook as the advertising platform as it is affordable and can reach a lot of people.
Your Industry and Competition
It is advisable to consider your industry and your competition before selecting the advertising platform. Sometimes, some keywords in Adwords are crazily expensive as per the CPC perspective and if you do not have enough budget, then you might need to reconsider. AdWords is an amazing advertising platform for organizations having a high advertising budget as is incredibly expensive than Facebook Ads. So small organizations should use Facebook Ads as it is affordable and have excellent targeting options.
Your Objective
Once you’ve considered your industry, budget, and competition, you should determine the goal of your advertising. You should know what your organization really wants to achieve through these ads. If you want to increase brand engagement or generate demand then Facebook Ads is the best platform. But if you want to generate sales or leads then AdWords is the most suitable platform. With AdWords, users are always going to search for the products that they really want. So the intent to purchase is generally higher. It should also be kept in mind that there were several cases where the CPC was less on Facebook Ads.
Are your people looking for your product or service?
It is a serious point that is often overlooked. If your organization has a new product or a service and there is very little search volume or no search volume, then you should rule out Google AdWords. Because users are only going to search for the products that they already know about and have a very high intention to buy that product. You should start with Facebook Ads to create brand awareness and to generate demand. But before completely ruling out AdWords, you should try bidding for the keywords which describe the problem that your product or service solves.
For instance, there is a device called ‘Bluetooth Tracker’ which is the first of its kind. Thus, you should go for the keywords like ‘find my phone, ‘find my wallet’ or ‘find my keys’ which would generate significantly higher search results rather than using ‘Bluetooth Tracker’ or by using your own brand name.
Demographic-sensitive product or service
If the purchase of your product or service is made on a particular life event or a day, then Facebook Ads is the most relevant advertising platform. Facebook has highly advanced targeting options as it has the ability to target based on life-changing events. For instance, events such as recently got engaged or married or celebrating the 65th birthday are life events that can be targeted more easily with Facebook Ads rather than Google AdWords. On the other hand, if your product or service appeal to larger audiences, then AdWords is the best option to advertise.
Conclusion
There are lots of things to be considered before finalizing the advertising channel. Whether to use Facebook Ads or Google AdWords, it all depends on the objective of your organization and your advertising budget.