It can be confusing to decide where you should be placing your ad to get the most return, and what even is the difference between them? Various industries can find success in numerous ways, which makes it important to determine the strengths and weaknesses of Google Ads and Facebook Ads. Our responsive web design agency can take the guesswork out of digital advertisements for your company and take you down the journey of a successful digital advertising campaign. 

Discovering the Strengths and Weaknesses of Google Ads and Facebook Ads with Pittsburgh’s Leading Digital Marketing Agency

What are Google Ads?

Formerly known as Google Ad Words, Google Ads allows you to advertise and promote your business using relevant keywords on Google. When a user is searching on Google for a specific product or service, the results can include these paid advertisements in their query. If you decide to pay for Google Ads, you are paying to be one of the top spots on your user’s Google search. Here at Responsival, a Pittsburgh Digital Marketing agency, we have performed countless successful campaigns on Google and know which keywords will be the most beneficial for you.

There are 7 types of campaigns that Google offers to achieve different objectives -- search campaigns, display campaigns, video campaigns, shopping campaigns, app campaigns, local campaigns, and smart campaigns. Weighing out the strengths and weaknesses of both Google Ads and Facebook Ads can help you determine which will be right for your objective. First, let’s dive into the strengths and weaknesses of Google Ads.

Strengths, Weaknesses, and Use-Cases for Google Ads

Google Ads may be the way to go if you are a retail website or store hoping to increase purchases. Google Ads will not only show up on a user’s Google search, but they will also be placed on Google’s other services like YouTube, Google Images, Google Shopping, and Google Maps. Who else should be using Google Ads? Here are the sweet spots:  

• High-cost products: Google Ads are usually best for high-value purchases. The price for keywords can get pretty pricey, so the return can make the most sense with these high-priced products and services. 
• Younger age groups: Looking to reach a younger audience? Google might be the way to go. Facebook’s age group is increasing and it can be a challenge to get in touch with younger target audiences on the platform. A lot of the younger generation is interested in YouTubers and content creators, and it only makes sense to place your Google Ads onto YouTube to target them. 
• Retargeting advertisements: If you are looking for a retargeting campaign through Google Ads, make sure to use the Google Display Campaign to follow up with people who have already seen your ads or visited your site. This type of campaign also works best for brand awareness, leads, and expanding your reach. 
• Increasing purchases: When purchasing a keyword, you will already know that this will be what the user is looking for and they are essentially coming to you to make the purchase. On Facebook, the marketers are searching for users and it can become much harder to find someone to convert to purchasing your product this way. 

What are Facebook Ads?

When discussing Facebook Ads, we are not talking about the “boost” option on a Facebook post. Facebook allows you to build advertisements based on your objectives and help you to reach those specific goals in Facebook Ads Manager. Whether you want post engagement, website clicks, page clicks, or something else entirely, Facebook can do it for you.

The objectives of Facebook Ads can be quite different from Google Ads and both can be beneficial for different audiences and objectives. Facebook Ads can help you target a more niche audience and reach more with organic content. Let’s take an in-depth look at Facebook Ads and their strengths and weaknesses. 

Strengths, Weaknesses, and Use-Cases for Facebook Ads

In the Facebook Ads Manager, you are able to see an incredible amount of analytics that will never leave you guessing if your ads are working out or not. This can be helpful to not only know if your ad is working correctly but to know what kind of adjustments you may need to make. This is a great strength of Facebook, but using Facebook for the right objective is most important. Take a look at the best uses for Facebook Ads:  

• Low-cost products: Facebook ads are best for low-cost products or products that have a social component. This is because of Facebook’s ability to collect specific data on their users that help your business with building that target audience and reaching them. 
• Niche target audiences: Facebook has an amazing ability to target a very specific audience, including the area they live in, their age, and their interests. You can layer and combine these targets to make one of the most in-depth audiences on any platform. 
• Retargeting advertisements: This is one of the powerhouse features Facebook has to offer. You are able to retarget people who have already visited your pricing or features page on your website with the Facebook Pixel to keep your brand top of mind. Most users are more likely to interact with brands they are already aware of, so it is a win-win for customers and advertisers.  
• Increasing awareness: If your objective is to create brand awareness or promote an event, Facebook is the way to go. As we mentioned before, Facebook allows you to customize your ads to a single objective and niche audience which will lead the ideal users to your company’s advertisements. If you are looking for more website clicks and visits, Facebook will tell the platform how to optimize your advertisement to receive the best results possible.

Depending on what your objective is for your advertising campaign will determine if you are using Google Ads or Facebook Ads. Putting in the research to discover which is best for your business, but can also take a lot of time. As a responsive web design agency, we can take the legwork out of the campaign for you. Our team will give your brand a digital presence that works just as hard as you do. Contact us today to get started.