Google Ads vs. Facebook Ads: Which One is Better for Your eCommerce Brand

Google Ads and Facebook Ads: Which One is Better for Your eCommerce Brand.

Introduction

Google and Facebook Ads are the two giants in the digital advertising realm. Billions of active users are present on these platforms, which help eCommerce brands to showcase their Ads. Hence, a comparison between Google Ads vs. Facebook Ads is not an easy task.

Both Google and Facebook Ad platforms have some common features, but there are a few key distinctions. They also provide comprehensive pay-per-click advertising tools and robust targeting capabilities. However, a side-by-side comparison might reveal essential details about each platform.

The answer is not straightforward if you ask: “Which platform is better for your eCommerce brand?” So, rather than comparing these two top platforms, we will provide valuable information about them. Ultimately, you will decide which one is the best or implement a combined approach for your eCommerce brand. 

About Facebook Ads

For both people and companies, Facebook is a powerful social media platform. More than 200 million small businesses worldwide are using Facebook to promote their eCommerce brand.

After the Facebook for Business platform, the Facebook page is one of the greatest Facebook business tools. Businesses can create and run their ad campaigns to reach vast audiences using the Facebook Ads Manager tool. Basically, the tool focuses on audiences based on their location, profile data, demographics, etc.

Facebook allows you to run ads on different Facebook networks as well as on specific devices. You can also track and analyze the performance of your ad campaigns according to your business agendas.

Facebook Ads can appear on different Facebook networks, including: 

• Facebook News Feed. 
• Instagram News Feed. 
• Facebook Marketplace (Facebook for Business).
• Facebook Video Feeds.
• Right Hand Column.
• Facebook Messenger inbox.

Facebook promotes the online presence of eCommerce businesses in many ways. It spreads the brand identity, leads generation, website traffic, content reach, and event updates. 

Over the years, Facebook has become more competitive and competing parallel with the Google platform. It has also become the finest platform for launching ads for various businesses because of its massive monthly active users. 

Google Ads actively approaches the customer, whereas Facebook Ads applies a passive approach.

About Google Ads 

Until 2018, Google Ads was known as Google AdWords. It’s a pay-per-click advertising network that allows companies to place sponsored ads. Generally, the ads appear on the search results of Google. And the search result also appears on different display networks of Google. 

Google’s search network is the central powerhouse of Google Ads. It allows businesses to showcase their products via Ads to the users searching for products. 

Whenever a user conducts a keyword search on Google, it activates the “auction system.” Therefore, while designing an ad, you must maximize your Quality Score and the bid amount. As a result, if you win the auction, your ads will appear for your chosen keywords. 

Google Ads are displayed via several Google networks, Including: 

• Search Network.
• Display Network.
• Google Play.
• Google Maps.
• YouTube.

When users search according to keywords, they trigger Ads that come up on the SERP to click on. For example, look at the search result for the term “Air Ticket.” The top search result is an Ad with the priority on the search engine result page (SERP). 

The advertiser must pay every time a user clicks on an ad, which is why the phrase “pay-per-click” (PPC) was coined. 

Overall, the main goal is to drive more customers to your eCommerce brand, which Google excels at. Ads by Google excellently drive qualified traffic to your online store, especially if the chosen keywords reflect a desire to purchase.

Google Ads vs. Facebook Ads: Quick Comparison

We’ve prepared a chart below to assist you in determining the best ad platform for your eCommerce brand. In this comparison chart, you will get a clear representation of Google Ads vs. Facebook Ads. After reading through, you can make a quick decision in choosing your platform. Moreover, you can improvise by combining these platforms with data analysis.

Google Ads vs. Facebook Ads:  which one is the best Ads platform for eCommerce?

We’ve gathered some professional’s opinions on how marketers should approach advertising on Google and Facebook. They mainly focussed on the cost of Ads and targeting features of both platforms. Additionally, we have gathered some proven tips and advice on making the most out of any platform you choose.

Purchase Intent 

Both Facebook and Google Ads are renowned networks with a tremendous amount of reach. Facebook includes over 2.8 billion active users per month. On the other hand, Google includes 77% of the global search volume. 

The major difference between Google Ads and Facebook Ads platforms is the purchase intent of customers. Facebook Ads are specialized for building brand awareness massively. Google Ads are great for putting product information in front of customers who are searching for it.

Facebook Ads generate more Brand Awareness

“ For Building Brand Awareness, Facebook Ads is a great tool.” 

• Shane Carter of WebGeeks 

Several other professionals followed Shane Carter’s statement on Facebook Ads. Some said Facebook Ads are best for boosting brand awareness because of the detailed data that Facebook collects from the users. 

Morgan Rudd, an employee from Atlantic Health Solutions, suggests Facebook Ads spread your brand widely. She said, “Facebook is your best way to increase brand awareness or to promote an event.” You can display your message in front of a broader audience interested in what you are promoting. 

With Facebook ads, you can re-target users who visited your website’s pages to keep your brand in their memory. However, users are always looking for the best solution while searching.

Google Ads are better for creating Buying Intent 

When it comes to the bottom of the business funnel, many experts prefer Google Ads. 

Why? 

Consumers are mainly using Google for searching, researching, and comparing the prices of products.

According to Kath Chalhoub of Web Profit, “Google brings traffic from users who are continuously searching with buying intent.” It shows that consumers are searching on Google because they have already decided about buying the product.

Google users have a genuine buying intention, and they are actively looking for products online. In addition, they are ready to make a final purchase decision on their shopping journey. Therefore, you have a massive opportunity to convert and generate sales by promoting your brands via Google Ads. 

Audience Targeting with Ads  

Targeting the appropriate prospects is the primary goal of effective advertising. You can target the audience based on their place in the marketing funnel. Moreover, you can also target your customers based on other crucial factors as well. 

When you are composing a paid ads strategy, these concerns will likely come to your mind: 

• Attracting new prospects.
• Nurturing the existing prospects within the business funnel.
• Moving interested audiences to the finish line of their buying journey. 

Facebook gives you better granular targeting options

“Facebook offers a targeting advantage.”

• Jessica Scerlag of Compass

As we’ve mentioned in the table, Facebook Ads allows you to target people based on their –

• Location. 
• Interest.
• Behavior. 
• Demographics. 
• Connections.

Facebook has over 2.37 billion monthly active users, which is massive. The real strength of Facebook Ads is the capability of targeting this vast audience. Users that are interested in your business, products, or services will see these ads. Therefore, your eCommerce business has a better chance of getting precise leads.

Precise and granular targeting options give you more control over who is going to view your ads. Facebook has a vast amount of data on its user’s actions, interest behavior, and more. 

Consumers themselves willingly provide their information to Facebook. Hence, Facebook easily creates a demographic profile of its users based on user data.

Another well-known feature of Facebook Ads is, you can target lookalike audiences. This feature allows you to upload information regarding your current customer on Facebook. As a result, Facebook creates an audience that is similar to the existing customer base. 

Google Ads Are Better for anonymous audiences 

You shouldn’t rely only on Facebook Ads to target anonymous audiences. You can’t explore Facebook Ads directly and get an idea about who your potential customer is. To get the most of Facebook’s ad targeting, you’ll need to know who’s most likely to buy your product.

When it comes to Google Ads, it mainly focuses on the keywords that people type into its search engine. Thus, you don’t need a precise idea of your audience to display your ads to potential prospects. 

Google Ads targeting Options:

• Demographics.
• Keywords.
• Topics.
• Placements.
• Affinity.
• In-market.
• Remarketing.

Experts recommend using Facebook Ads while dealing with a renowned brand having a better persona. However, when you aim to generate more leads, but you can’t find the persona on Facebook, run a Google Ads campaign. 

While running Google Ads, we recommend you to be cautious about spending too much on targeting branded keywords. Most companies spend too much on branded keywords, which is a waste of resources. 

Google Ads are slightly ahead in case of targeting a larger audience compared to Facebook. While Facebook Ads are limited to the Facebook and Instagram platforms, Google Ads appear in a broader range of platforms. 

With Google Ads, you can reach the anonymous audience on Google, YouTube, Gmail, and the whole Google network. Google includes better customization options while targeting customers via Ads. The reach is vast because you can display Ads wherever and whenever you want to. 

Paid search centers on keyword targeting and the use of text-based advertising. However, both Google and Facebook ADs platforms can target specific audiences. 

Google Ads vs. Facebook Ads cost

The cost is one of the major concerns to consider while focusing on Google Ads vs. Facebook Ads. These are the questions that you may ask before deciding your budget for Ads: 

• How much do you spend for each person that views or clicks your ad?
• What is the cost of getting new customers?

Well, the customer acquisition cost varies depending on your Ads platform.  

Facebook is a bit more Cost-effective 

We have executed a survey and collected data regarding the average customer acquisition costs for Facebook Ads. Two-third of the users said that their average customer acquisition costs were no more than $10. Whereas 28% of users said their average CAC of Facebook Ads is not more than $5.

Mike Schiemere of Marketing Masterminds witnessed that it’s easy to gain a significant impression with $10 on Facebook. Moreover, you get views on your video, amplification, and website traffic as well. 

The cost and conversion rate of Google Ads are comparatively low. You might get fewer clicks to your website by spending $10. But the clicks will vary depending on your keywords and bidding strategy. 

Most Marketing professionals admitted that Facebook is the winner when it comes to Ads costs. Google Ads are becoming more expensive every day while getting more audience with less money via Facebook Ads.

Google Ads are more capable for Conversions

Whether it is a Google or Facebook Ad campaign, the aim is to maximize the return of your ad spend. It is easier to do that while using the Google Ads campaign. In some cases, the conversion is flexible in Google because you don’t need to open an account in Google to use the search engine.

If you compare Google Ads vs. Facebook Ads, the conversion result of Google is obviously high. When it comes to Facebook Ads, people might not even know that your business exists. In addition, Ads displayed on Facebook might be skewed sometimes, which affects the conversion negatively.

We’ve collected more info on the average CPC of Google Ads from the marketers. Across all industries, the CPC of these ads is mostly between $1-$2. By spending $10, you might get 5-10 clicks on Google Ads. But, the purchase intent is higher with Google Ads, and that is why you can convert more visitors.

Size of the Network and Audience 

Google and Facebook are hard to compare when it comes to the size of the audience of these two giants. Google processes about 5.8 billion queries every day, whereas Facebook has 1.9 billion daily active users. As a result, it is tough to determine the best platform by looking at the audience size of these two platforms.

In today’s market, Facebook is the largest social media network. It makes approximately 90% + of revenue with mobile advertising. This massive opportunity of advertising through mobile devices is something you should never avoid.

Currently, Google has the highest search market share of over 92%, which is enormous. If we elaborate, 69.03% share comes from Google search, 21.8% comes from Google Images, 4.73% comes from YouTube, and 80% from Google Maps. 

Target audience comparison of Google Ads vs. Facebook Ads shows mixed statistics. Deciding based on the audience size of these two giant platforms is not preferable. To learn how to use the Ads campaigns on these platforms, you need to clear out two things:

Orientation of your products: You must determine whether your product is social or search-driven.

The activity of your target audience: Focus on where your target audience is spending more time online. Our next point focuses on this section, where we have elaborated on audience engagement. 

To promote new items online, Facebook is a better alternative to increase your followers.

Audience Participation 

Make sure you are running your Google or Facebook Ads in a place where customers are engaged. So, you might be thinking about which platform is most engaging, and we have the answer.

As we mentioned earlier, Google processes 5.8 billion queries per day, and Facebook has 1.9 billion daily active users. In audience participation, Facebook is the winner with a slight difference from Google. 

More than 50% of the marketers said that their ads are more effective on Facebook than Google. Still, 45% agreed that Google is more engaging compared to Facebook Ads. So, for customer participation, both these platforms are worthy. 

Display Unique Ad Formats 

Google Ads comes in a text-based format that appears in Google search and other networks.

However, other useful Google Ads formats are: 

Google Ads formats: 

• Text-based Ads (Search Result).
• Responsive Ads (Various Networks).
• Image-based Ads (Search Result).
• Video Ads (YouTube).
• Browse in App (Google Play Store).
• Call-only.
• Shopping Ads (Search Result).

Facebook ads include images or videos that appear in the timeline and sidebars of users’ devices.

On both platforms, the actual worth comes from some of the more unorthodox ad placements. We are representing the Facebook Ads formats below.

The image above shows that Facebook Ads are more creative in terms of Formats.

Common Facebook Ads format :

• Carousel. 
• Single Image. 
• Single Video. 
• Slideshow. 
• Collection. 

While using Google Ads, you will notice that it displays ads with small blocks of text to gain customer attention on search engines.

Text Ads are mainly focusing on the text while displaying the Search Ads. 

Facebook allows you to enhance the experience by messaging through image-based Ads visually. It omits the ‘Ad fatigue’ by displaying many Ads formats. It is a huge concern if you own an eCommerce business and are looking for the best promotion platform. 

Facebook Ads also offers unique features via: 

• Engagement Ads (Wall posts).
• Leads Ads. 
• Behavioral targeting.
• Facebook Messenger Ads. 
• Facebook Pixel. 

Facebook Messenger Ads comes with more Open Rates 

Some marketing professionals praised the effectiveness of Facebook Messenger Ads. They said that companies could gain an open rate of over 90%. Moreover, this type of Ad format produces a click-through rate above 30%.

Google Shopping Ads bring more purchases. 

If we talk about making purchases, Google is a tough competition to win over. According to some business owners, search Ads produce more revenue. On the other hand, Shopping Ads are better for bringing more customers.

Google’s shopping results are very effective, and companies can benefit by focusing on product searchers. The variety of Ad types can change your business game, but you should focus on your business objectives before placing an Ad. Your campaign’s success depends on where you are marketing your products and what customers are searching for.

Google Ads vs. Facebook Ads: which Platform you should choose 

At this point, you might be thinking about which platform to choose to promote your Ads. To get the answer, ask yourself a few questions.

Usual benefits of Combining Google Ads with Facebook Ads:

• You can collect Google Ad’s data and launch Facebook Ads campaigns with it. 
• Use your Facebook lookalike audience for Google Ads.
• Target every stage of your customer’s buying journey.

First, create a clear blueprint of your campaign goal. Are you fixing a campaign goal to generate more sales quickly? If so, then your best option may be Google Ads. However, Facebook Ads may be a better option for developing brand recognition and reaching a wider audience.

Second, think about the industry of your client because it’s an important part to consider. Google Ads works appropriately for both B2B and B2C businesses. For B2C businesses, Facebook works fine, particularly for those who are selling less expensive items. 

People are more interested in buying a product when it displays spontaneously. However, Facebook Ads also have opportunities for the B2B model. It works effectively for lookalike audiences and remarketing purposes. 

The target audience for your customer impacts the platform you choose. When customers have more intent to buy, Google Ads may be more functional. But, to build an audience base for new products, Facebook is evidently more effective. 

Think about the stage of the buyer’s journey you’re aiming to reach with your PPC advertising. Google AdWords is fruitful when you focus on the bottom of the funnel prospects. While engaging new top-of-the-funnel prospects, Facebook is typically the greatest option.

Finally, think about your advertising budget and technological expertise. Do you have enough budget to invest in Google Ads in this competitive market? Are you capable of creating image or video-based ads for Facebook? Answering these questions will help you in creating an Ads strategy that will sync with your business type.   

Can you Combine Google Ads and Facebook Ads?

Currently, Google Ads and Facebook Ads are two leading advertising platforms. We recommend using both Ads platforms as your promotional approach. The best digital advertising strategy is one that combines both these platforms together. 

If your target market and the audience already know about your products, use Google Ads and, afterward, use Facebook Ads for the same products to get more customer attention. 

If your products do not have enough brand awareness to carry the paid search budget, use Facebook Ads. After enhancing the brand awareness of your product, start using Google Ads.

When your customers are aware of your brand’s existence and how to search for it, using Google Ads is a wise decision. You may layer your campaigns on Facebook and target the specific funnel of your campaigns. 

When search volume and brand awareness aren’t supporting paid search, you have to rethink your strategies. 

For competitive keywords that are expensive, use a portion of your budget for Facebook. Use the rest of your budget for cost-effective keywords on Google’s paid search.

The plan here shows you to start with one Ad type and progress into the other. If you are getting a profit from optimized Google Ads, expand your promotional activity with Facebook. 

You can benefit from the re-targeting feature of these giant Ads platforms. When someone clicks your Ads on Google, you can advertise that product on Facebook. The reverse approach can work as well. 

Conclusion 

Currently, marketers are applying both Google and Facebook Ads to promote their products. Therefore, you can at least attempt to promote your products via both Ads platforms.

This article represents some analytic distinction between Google Ads vs. Facebook Ads. This data proves you can choose Facebook Ads for some specific scenario depending on your budget and goal. On the other hand, Google Ads are also customized for getting more leads in specific business agendas. 

Facebook Ads is a great option for generating brand awareness at a low cost. Marketers are fans of Google Ads because most customers prefer to search for products and buy them. The re-targeting option of Google includes a broader range of networks, which makes it more reliable.

Before diving into the difference between Google Ads and Facebook Ads, we defined what these Ads are. By learning the differences, you can use one Ads platform or combine it according to your campaign goal. Ultimately, you will be able to uphold your eCommerce brand significantly.

Author bio for this guest post

Mark Luise is the digital marketing manager of WebAppick LLC.

He is a professional digital marketer.

He mainly focused on the tech industry, especially WordPress, WooCommerce and digital marketing.