Businesses have started to migrate some of their advertisements to online platforms like Facebook and Google to reach more people and convert more leads. Since last year, most of these businesses heavily relied on online ads to increase their business’ visibility as more and more people turn to the internet as their primary source of income and entertainment. Facebook Ads and Google AdWords are the leading online network, offering businesses great opportunities for reaching customers. But as you convert more leads into customers with your ads, the more expensive it becomes. You have to choose which of the two you should continue working with so that you won’t have to over-allocate your funds solely on ads. But which of the two is best for your business?
Importance of Online Advertising
As mentioned, more and more people worldwide are turning to the internet for income and entertainment. A study in 2017 found out that an average person spends a total of 5 years and four months on their entire life looking at social media. Our perspective of online apps and social media platforms has drastically changed over the past few years as more information is laid out just a “google” away. Online advertising plays a significant role in developing and expanding your online presence and branding. You can highlight your business beyond your local reach and reach out to other consumers that match your target audience.
Google AdWords
Google ads have been around the internet for more than a decade, using Google networks to allow brands to amplify their messaging and lead generation. That includes over 2 million websites on its display network and, on its search network, the results pages of 3.5 billion daily searches. It’s a paid search platform that you can quickly identify on your Google searches. They’re usually the first ones to display when you google something, on top of your organic search results – giving tons of opportunities to businesses to advertise their products and services. These ads are commonly known as Pay-per-click-or PPC ads. As the term suggests, PPC campaigns don’t pay by their advertising space. Instead, the payment tops up when someone clicks on the ad.
Facebook Ads
Facebook Ads, as you guessed it, ads you see on Facebook. They are also known as a paid social strategy since you are paying to advertise your business on a social media platform. Unlike Google ads, companies have the freedom to determine how much they have to spend for advertising daily to keep track of their budget. Facebook’s brand-boosting can also be set to a specific target audience so that specific target users see relevant ads on their timelines. Facebook has many different niches tightly connected, a great resource for lead generation in the platform.
The One for Your Business
Both advertising platforms are excellent for any business. But it only holds when you use them for both awareness and conversion – the determining factors of your decision when it comes to online advertising.
If you want to promote and raise awareness of your products and services to a specific target audience and expand your customer base or boost your brand altogether, Facebook Ads can do the job for you. Facebook ads are usually passive and can show up through a user’s feed at random times. Having a visually pleasing ad is more likely to be memorable to users who come across your ad, so make sure your ads have the best photo that captures the essence of your business and adheres to the platform’s policies.
But if you want your business to acquire conversions, you might want to lean more into Google Adwords. Most people surfing the web are more likely to “google” stuff up, especially when they need something. For example, if you need someone to fix your appliances, chances are you’re going to use Google to find one that offers the service nearby than waiting for an ad to pop up on your Facebook timeline. A conversion is any meaningful action completed by a visitor on your website. It could be anything from downloading a document to subscribing to your business’ emails. Companies need to ensure they define what they consider to be a ‘meaningful action’ to track conversions.
Every industry is different. There’s no specific situation where you can choose one platform over the other because it’s better. When you select your advertising platform, the best solution is to analyze and understand your business goals and determine which one fits your target. Once you have completely outlined your campaign, make sure to consistently track them to ensure it is cost-effective, still accurate, and targets the correct audience.