THE SHORT ANSWER
Google Ads reaches people who are already searching for what you sell, so it’s usually best for capturing existing demand. Meta Ads (Facebook and Instagram) reaches people based on who they are and what they’re interested in, so it’s best for creating demand, especially for visual products. Many businesses use both: Google to catch intent and Meta to build awareness and bring visitors back.
Side by side
| Google Ads | Meta Ads | |
|---|---|---|
| How people find you | They search for it | You appear in their feed |
| Best for | Services people actively look for | Visual products, offers, awareness |
| Creative | Text ads and keywords, plus visual formats | Images and short video |
| Targeting | Search terms and intent | Interests, demographics, lookalikes |
| Typical goal | Enquiries and sales now | Reach, demand and retargeting |
How to decide
- Do people already search for what you sell? Start with Google.
- Is your product visual, new or an impulse buy? Start with Meta.
- Do you sell to businesses? Consider LinkedIn Ads alongside Google.
- Is your budget limited? Pick one channel and do it properly before adding another.
Getting your budget right
Spend enough to learn. Too little budget spread too thin gives you noise instead of data.
Work backwards from what a customer is worth to you. Our paid media calculator shows the most you can afford to pay per enquiry.
Set up tracking before you spend
- Conversion tracking on every form, call and booking.
- Google Analytics 4 linked to your ad accounts.
- A landing page built for the ad, not just your homepage.
The best ad in the world can’t fix a confusing landing page. Fix the page first.
Key takeaways
Common questions
Enough to get meaningful data, which depends on the cost per click in your market. Start from what a customer is worth and work backwards.