Facebook (Instagram) Ads vs Google Ads: What You Need to Know?

Is Google Ads better than Facebook and Instagram Ads?

For those who are looking for digitize their businesses, Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads, and Google Ads are critical tools. They have long served as the foundation for marketers seeking to improve their business sales. As the pinnacle of digital advertising platforms, their diverse and specific user bases make reaching target consumers is easy.

Do Facebook, Instagram, and Google Ads work the same way? We will explain in detail the features, benefits, drawbacks, and costs of these three platforms.

Facebook and Instagram Ads

What are Facebook and Instagram Ads?

Facebook and Instagram Ads are online advertising platforms offered by Meta Inc. They enable advertisers to connect with customers and extend their reach to target users, aiming to foster brand awareness. In other words, your business will be able to be seen by those who are in social media.

Advantages of Facebook and Instagram Ads

Facebook and Instagram Ads have been used because they reach a wide range of target users. As of 2023, Facebook has 3 billion users globally. These users may be targeted by demographics, geography, and interests. Moreover, Instagram Ads in specific, has been known to successfully reaching out young people and influencers. These platforms are popular due to their support of a variety of ad types including text, photos, videos, and reels.

Disadvantages of Facebook Ads and Instagram Ads

While Facebook and Instagram Ads offer several advantages, they also have limitations. One of the drawbacks is their limited precision in targeting relevant customer, particularly for high-priced products or niche market groups where users targeting is challenging. For example, a high-end watches business targeting a high-end watches collector. This can make the ads difficult to effectively reach groups with high purchasing interests.

Cost and Payment Method

Facebook and Instagram Ads provide a choice of advertising cost options based on the marketer’s budget. Fees are often calculated using CPC (Cost-per-Click) or CPM (Cost-per-Mile) based on the number of ads shown. At the moment, according to Optimizer.co, the majority of marketers choose to use Cost-per-Mile or what is common to be called Cost-per-Impression. The fees for these ads then will be charged through credit cards, debit cards, digital wallets, and/or PayPal.

Google Ads

What’s Google Ads?

Google Ads is a digital advertising platform provided by Google, and it is one of the types of ads that appear when a user searches for a specific keyword. Mostly, this ad appears in the top right corner of Google search results and related websites. Google Ads enables advertisers to target specific keywords and compete with other advertisers to increase ad performance.

Advantages of Google Ads

The benefit of Google Ads is the ability to target users with a strong purchasing intent. Ad based on search keywords can attract users who are actively browsing for information, indicating a higher probability of conversion. Marketers also have full control over their ad costs, including bid, monthly budgets setting, and adjusting these based on performance. 

Disadvantages of Google Ads

Although Google Ads is the giant online advertising platform, it’s not without its flaws, particularly in keyword searches. The Cost-per-Click may rise significantly due to intense rivalry in ad rankings, which lowers the profitability of the ad itself. Even though Google Ads can effectively drive traffic to your site and increase sales, they may not always provide a strong ROI (Return-on-Investment) because of the intense competition and the requirement for high quality landing pages.

How Google Ads Works?

If you are looking for a rental car in Denpasar, ads related to it that are closest to your location will appear. Google ranks rental car businesses in Denpasar based on price, quality score, and ad rating. The most appropriate ad will be shown in the highest position. This is how Google’s bidding strategy works.

“How to increase quality score?” Google’s quality score is calculated using three parameters. The first one is Ad Relevance, which assesses whether the ad and keyword match. Then there is the Click-Through-Rate (CTR), which relates to how likely the ad is to be clicked when it is displayed. To gain a high CTR, you should make more attractive ads for users to click. The last one is Landing Page Relevance. Google will check the landing page to ensure the keyword and the content of the website match. If all of those three are optimized, the quality score of your ads will increase.

Cost and Payment Method

Like Facebook and Instagram Ads, Google Ads cost fluctuate according to bid price. Payment processes are typically CPC (Cost-per-Click) and CPM (Cost-per-Mile/Impression). You can pay through credit and debit cards, with some options of bank transfers and other internet payments. 

What’s the difference between the use of Facebook, Instagram, and Google Ads?

Use of Facebook and Instagram Ads

Facebook and Instagram ads are quite effective for branding. Let’s take for example vintage car business branding. Dealers can utilize effective targeting because they have a specific target user. You can enhance brand awareness by presenting ads to those who have high income or are interested in vintage cars. Instagram also allows you to publish photos, videos, or reels to showcase the appeal of highly visual vintage cars.

Use of Google Ads  

While browsing the internet, when a user searches for the keyword ”Vintage car price”, Google Ads will showcase a dealer and display relevant ads to attract users. By presenting information about prices, benefits, and unit availability, these ads aim to increase user interest in purchasing. You can also target the ads based on geography and specific market segments. However, keywords targeting also uses bidding strategy with your competitors. So, it’s also essential to manage Cost-per-Click competition while maintaining high advertising quality.

So, which Ad platform is best for your business?

Facebook, Instagram, and Google Ads are undeniably the most powerful online advertising platforms currently. they have their own strengths and weaknesses.  if your business is an e-Commerce, maybe you should consider then Facebook and Instagram Ads and if your business is a beauty-fashion you should consider then Google Ads. However, it’s crucial to realize that in digital marketing, you don’t have to limit your choice to one platform over another. Using them in tandem can amplify your results and maximize leads to greater success.