Google Ads vs Facebook ads is one of the first questions a local business asks when it decides to put money into advertising. Both can bring in work. The difference is when they reach the customer: one catches people at the moment they go looking, the other puts you in front of people before they have started.
Google Ads vs Facebook ads: the short answer
If people already search for what you do, start with Google Ads. If what you sell needs to be seen before people know they want it, start with Facebook and Instagram ads. Most local businesses that advertise for long enough end up using both, with each one doing a different job.
The difference comes down to intent. On Google, the customer has put their hand up by typing a search. On Facebook and Instagram, you're getting in front of people while they scroll, before they've gone looking. Both work, just at different points in the decision.
How does Google Ads work?
Search ads appear when someone types a search. You choose the searches you want to show up for, write the ad, set a budget and generally pay when someone clicks. Because the person is already looking, a click from a search like "emergency plumber Bendigo" or "custom polos for staff" is often someone with a job to give.
Google Ads suits:
trades and services people search for at the moment they need them
businesses with a clear service area
products and services with a name people type, such as "pull up banners" or "website design"
What to watch:
Popular searches in competitive industries cost more per click.
The ad only works if the page it lands on answers the question in the search.
Search terms need checking every week or two. Left alone, Google will show your ad for loosely related searches that never turn into work.
More on how we run search campaigns is on our Google Ads service page.
How do Facebook and Instagram ads work?
Facebook and Instagram ads both run through Meta. They appear in feeds, stories and reels, shown to the audience you choose: an area, an age range, interests, or people who have already visited your website or engaged with your page. Nobody is searching. You're putting your business in front of them.
Facebook and Instagram ads suit:
visual products: food, fashion, fitouts, anything that looks good in a photo or short video
events, openings, launches and seasonal offers
building familiarity in your area, so people think of you when the need comes up later
reaching people who visited your website and didn't get in touch
What to watch:
The creative matters more than on Google. The same ad shown to the same people for too long wears out.
Results can be slower to show and harder to trace back to a sale.
Very broad targeting spends budget on people who were never going to buy.
Decision rule: think about what your best customer does the moment they need you. If they reach for Google, start with search ads. If they don't know they need you until they see it, start with Facebook and Instagram.
What decides the result on either platform?
The platform gets most of the attention, but the same three things decide whether ads bring in work on both.
The page people land on. A lot of ad budget is wasted after the click. Send people to a page about the exact thing in the ad, with a phone number and a short form, not to a home page that makes them hunt. Our small business website checklist covers what that page needs.
Tracking. Count calls, forms and bookings, not just clicks. Without it you can't tell which ad brought in the job and which one just spent money.
Creative that looks like you. Real photos of your team, vehicles, shopfront and finished work, in your brand colours, earn more trust than stock images. If your brand guidelines are in order, every ad looks like the same business.
Mistake to avoid: judging an ad on its cost per click. A cheap click that never calls costs more than an expensive one that books a job. Compare cost per enquiry instead.
How should you split an ad budget?
There's no single right split, and anyone who gives you one without knowing your business is guessing. A sensible way in:
Start with one platform and do it properly, rather than spreading a small budget thinly across both.
Give it enough time to learn. A few weeks of steady spend tells you far more than a few days.
Once you know your cost per enquiry on the first platform, test the second one against it.
Move spend with your seasons: heating and cooling before the weather turns, gift products before Christmas, events in the weeks leading up to them.
To know whether it is working, you need a report that shows spend beside enquiries. Our guide to what your monthly marketing report should tell you explains what to look for.
Who should own the ad accounts?
Something many businesses learn too late: the ad accounts should be in your name. You pay Google and Meta directly for your ad spend, and whoever manages the campaigns works inside your accounts. If you ever change providers, the accounts, their history and their data stay with you.
That's how we run ads for clients, and it's worth asking any provider about before you start.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Google Ads or Facebook ads?
It depends on your industry and your area. Clicks on Facebook and Instagram are often cheaper, but a search click usually comes from someone closer to buying. The only fair comparison is cost per enquiry, measured over a few months.
Can I run the ads myself?
Yes, both platforms let you. The catch is time. Search terms, creative, budgets and tracking all need regular attention, and it's easy for an unwatched account to drift.
Do I need a website to advertise?
For Google Ads, a page built for the ad makes the biggest difference to results. Facebook and Instagram can collect enquiries through forms inside the app, but a page on your own site gives you more control and a better picture of what's working.
Want one team running both?
Google Ads and Facebook and Instagram ads management come with our Department plan, along with the landing pages and the creative. Every dollar of spend is shown beside the enquiries it brought in, in Pulse. Compare the options on our Marketing Plans page.
