A common question: should I advertise on Google or on Facebook and Instagram? The answer depends on your business and on where your customer is in the buying decision. The two platforms are not rivals. They serve two different moments in the customer journey.
Google Ads: for people searching now
- The person types exactly what they want, so the need is real.
- Suited to services people look for when they need them.
- For stores: Shopping and Performance Max campaigns show your product with its photo and price.
- Often faster results when search demand already exists.
Meta Ads: for people browsing and discovering
- People are not searching for your product; they see it while browsing.
- Suited to visual products, offers and new brands.
- Strong at retargeting: remind people who visited your site and did not buy.
- Needs creative work and testing to find the right message.
Which one to start with?
If your brand is new and nobody is searching for it yet, Meta builds awareness and Google captures demand once it starts.
How to start with a small budget
- Choose one goalWhatsApp messages, quote requests or sales. Do not ask one campaign to do everything.
- Set up tracking before the first adWithout it you will not know what brings results. See our guide on GA4 and GTM.
- Send the ad to a dedicated pageA page about the offer itself with a clear button, not the general home page.
- Test three different versionsDifferent texts and images or videos. You will quickly learn what your audience reacts to.
- Let the campaign learnDo not judge after a day or two. Give the platform enough time before changing things.
- Raise the budget only on what workedAnd stop what has not produced results after a reasonable period.
How to measure success
Likes and clicks are not the goal. What matters is the cost per enquiry, the cost per sale and the share of visitors who get in touch. These numbers lead to a decision: where to increase and where to stop.
Common mistakes
- Running ads without conversion tracking.
- Sending every ad to the home page.
- Changing the campaign every hour and stopping the platform from learning.
- Judging results by likes instead of enquiries and sales.
What budget should I start with?
Start with an amount you can afford to lose while learning, and increase it only when each enquiry costs less than it is worth. There is no magic number for every business.
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