For business owners who are starting with their digital marketing efforts, choosing an advertising platform can be agonizing. When your marketing budget isn’t expansive enough to cover experimentation with all of them, you need to make a choice.

More often than not, that choice comes down to whether you should use Google AdWords or Facebook ads. Both platforms have their distinct advantages and differences. But what are they and how do you choose which platform is right for you?

Google AdWords — Paid Search

Google AdWords is a powerful PPC (Pay Per Click) platform that can bring you new customers through relevant keywords. The term paid search is used interchangeably with Google AdWords nowadays because it’s the best-known platform that works by displaying your ad along with the prospect’s Google search queries. Pay per click advertising system is based on customer need — you are only paying for the clicks you receive. Those metrics will largely depend on whether or not you’ve used the right keywords.

Facebook Ads — Paid Social

Unlike Google AdWords, Facebook lets you target their audience based on their interests. It’s paid social advertising that helps more people discover your business. Considering Facebook’s database of users who share everything imaginable on this social network, including their likes, dislikes and other information that might be relevant to marketers, it’s no wonder that this type of advertising can be beneficial.

Pros and Cons of Using Google Adwords

Google AdWords relies on text-based ads and bidding on specific keywords. It can be great for you, depending on your industry and how much research you’ve put into your keyword selection process. Unfortunately, some industries have ridiculously expensive keywords, and the high cost per click makes the competitive keywords unprofitable for bidding.

Using long-tail keywords can help you get around this, and it might work quite well especially in a niche market. However, if that’s not applicable to your business, you might have a hard time making good ROI from Google AdWords. Also, PPC management takes some getting used to — it might be overwhelming at first, so I recommend hiring a professional.

Pros and Cons of Using Facebook Ads

Similarly to Google AdWords, you’ll also have a daily budget spend to set and use pay per click advertising. That’s where similarities end. One huge potential advantage of Facebook is the ability to achieve a laser focus of your target audience. You can create lookalike audiences by feeding Facebook with all your necessary target audience data. Facebook then will display your ad to people with similar interests and characteristics, bringing your business in front of more eyes.

Another benefit of Facebook ads is that they can be a lot more visually attractive than their paid search counterparts. The downside of using paid social is that it’s disruptive, given the fact that users see the ads based on their interests and not necessarily their needs at the time.

Which One Should You Choose?

B2B businesses, especially within a niche market, benefit more from pay per click advertising options of Google AdWords. However, if you have a good idea of who your ideal customers are and you aren’t selling a niche product, Facebook ads might get you a higher ROI.

The results of a digital marketing campaign can be instant, but usually, it takes anywhere from 4 to 6 months to start seeing the benefits. Contact me, and we can discuss how to speed up the process. I offer PPC management that is sure to give you results faster than you could accomplish on your own.

Rob Dunford is a Marketing Consultant in the Great Toronto Area with over 20 years of experience in implementing marketing plans for small businesses.