We all know that Google and Facebook are the biggest rivals in digital space, that’s nothing new. Sometimes it’s hard to decide which platform is more suitable for your business, especially if you lack a bit of experience.

As a digital marketer it is my job to provide my clients with measurable and realistic facts in order to help them decide which platform to use. It is not my job to decide instead of the client,  this is entirely up to them but I am the one who will give guidance, facts and recommendations. With that being said here are some differences between two platforms based on the industry you are in, the budget and objectives.

DEFINING YOUR OBJECTIVES:

First you will need to know what is your objective, what do you want to achieve with your digital advertisement. If you are just starting with digital advertisement or looking to expand to a new market, your objective would most likely be Brand Awareness. If that’s the case, I would always recommend to start with Facebook Ads. They are cheaper, have a broader reach, better targeting options and easier set up.

However, if you’re looking to generate sales or leads, then AdWords might be better for you. When it comes to AdWords, CPC is more expensive than Facebook, however, the user intent is what’s important here, as the user is searching in that moment for products or services you are selling. Therefore their intent is much higher at the moment and results will be better.

It is not always black & white, there will always be an invisible line between both platforms and the expert will best tell you what’s the most suitable platform for your business, however, there are some things you can look for yourself and we will cover them here.

BUDGET:

For example if you have a small budget and you are in the industry where Google AdWords keywords are extremely expensive you can try your luck with Facebook ads.

Some AdWords keywords cost is up to €70 per click, so if your budget is limited there’s no point of entering that competitive space as your budget will be spent immediately. In that case Facebook would be more suitable for you.

On the other hand if you are selling specialised products that you know people are specifically searching for, maybe even some more expensive products that people first research about and then buy, Google AdWords would be your best bet here, as again the user intent is higher here and they are already in the “looking to buy stage”.

One important factor to consider is a CPC price. Average CPC for Facebook is €0.28, while average CPC for Google is €1-€2 for Search Advertisement and less than €1 for Display Advertisement, of course depending on the industry which plays a huge factor here. Find out here what are the Google’s most expensive keywords

INDUSTRY:

Facebook would be more suitable for B2C business while AdWords would be better for B2B business. There are some exemption of the rule as always, but most B2C companies could get better and cheaper results with Facebook, while B2B could utilise AdWords better.

Now, Facebook traffic is typically higher-funnel-traffic than AdWords traffic, so your Facebook conversion rate is often lower than your AdWords conversion rate.

However, because the CPC is much lower on Facebook, your cost-per-conversion is still lower with Facebook than you see in Adwords.

SPECIFIC TARGETING:

There’s even more, if your business is based on specific life events like people who just got married, or people who’s anniversary is coming in less than 90 days, etc… Facebook is way ahead of Google here with their “life events” targeting options. I could ramble in definitely here about different industries and targeting options, as there are million different businesses and there is no “one fits all”strategy  but this is just to give you some heads up.

DIFFERENCES:

Price

Targeting

Intent

Objective

Industries B2B vs. B2C

GOOGLE ADWORDS ADVERTISEMENT:

Pros:

• Larger potential audience
• Users intent is high (user is searching for your products or services, therefore he/she is more likely to convert)
• Great conversion tracking options, especially in the combination with Google Analytics
• Remarketing
• Good targeting options, but again not so specific as Facebook targeting
• Complete control over your daily budget and maximum cost per click
• Great ROI (You can easily define a cost per acquisition and know after which point you’re making profit)
• Great support

Cons:

• Difficult and time consuming set up
• Limited character space within your Search ad (140 characters all together for search only ads with new ETA)
• Only text ads, not possible to use video or picture in Search Only Ads, you need to use Display advertisement for that
• Expensive cost-per-click (it can go up to €50 per click and more in Ireland)

FACEBOOK ADVERTISEMENT:

Pros:

• Great conversion tracking options
• Complete control over your daily budget and maximum CPC
• Great ROI (You can easily define your cost per acquisition a cost per conversion and understand what your profit is)
• More specific targeting options, including demographics, interest and life events like marriage, anniversary or a new baby
• Easier to set up than Google AdWords
• You can use engaging canvas, carousels or videos to capture the interest of your audience
• CPC is relatively cheap when compared to Google AdWords
• Remarketing
• You can immediately get a user feedback in the comments section

Cons:

• User is not searching for your product at that moment, his/her intent is low
• Best suitable for those operating in B2C markets, not so good for B2B

CONCLUSION:

Obviously, there’s a lot of factors that go into determining which pay-per-click platform is right for your business, however, if you’re looking for a place to start, consider the following:

B2B Businesses: Start with AdWords and retarget on both Facebook and the AdWords Display Network. Consider testing Facebook for your business using 10-20% of your monthly ad budget.

B2C Businesses: Start with Facebook, unless you have a product with a small market niche or one that costs over €500, in which case you should start with AdWords. Consider using 10-20% of your ad budget to test on your non-primary market.

How are you determining which platform is better for your business?

Let me know your thoughts in the comment section below.