Both Google Ads and Facebook Ads are undisputed leaders among online advertising tools. Leading to a level that's going to be extremely hard to get anyone to jump didn't come out of nowhere. Both Silicon Valley tycoons, despite their original strategic assumptions not necessarily related to strictly advertising (Google – search engine, Facebook – social networking), at the right time they chose a perfect direction and invested in building tools that allow the user to almost perfect matching his own target group's target to implement the advertising campaign. Let's add good PR, our own brand advertising, and our constant pursuit of perfection, and we'll get the element of divinity.
Similarities
Customizing advertising for our own use makes us decide who and how our campaign is to be targeted. The selection of criteria in the context of the target group is what characterises both tools. An unusual precision in the independent determination of range and target makes our advertising go to a well-defined group of recipients who, with a high degree of probability, click the link generated by us.
And what criteria can we specify when creating a campaign? There is a lot of it, but above all: location, language, gender, age and other important demographic data.
We also decide which settlement model is more advantageous for us; PPC/ CPC (post per click/ cost per click), CPV (cost per view), CPA (cost per action), CPM (cost per thousand). In both cases, the Giants offer a similar freedom of action and this is a very convenient and plastic solution.
Another important element of the common is the dynamics of the development of both Giants. As I mentioned earlier, both Facebook and Google constantly develop their Ads tools, and improve advertising formats, while also implementing new opportunities for even more precise access to the customer. Changes and development of both tools are so dynamic that there are months when improvements are made there are several. To keep up with Ads, you need to follow each new update. You can't sleep in this business.
Differences in numbers
The basic difference is, of course, the availability of the campaign. Both services operate on completely different levels. Facebook is based on a closed community, which is though 2,45 billion active users (as of December 19, 2019 by. www.oberlo.com ), but without registration (and login) on the social network there is no possibility of seeing the advertisement.
Google is much better at this comparison. Anyone who uses the search engine will undoubtedly see our banner, or a link in the form of text, the so-called sponsored link.
It's worth adding that according to. Wikipedia 62,61% of users worldwide use Google search enginee Chrome. The other search engines record only a few percent of the results. In Poland, this result is even better, reaching 77,32%, which is a huge basis of potential customers.
And how do percentages translate into specific numbers? 3,2 billion – so many people use Google around the world, which is 43% of the total population. The daily search rate in Google Chrome is 3,5 billion, with 15% of this number being new, never-explored passwords.
So you could say Facebook is a closed community, and Google is an open platform, which is quite meaningful in itself. Google wins with Facebook in another respect; the use of the search engine is increasingly interested in people seeking feedback from other users about the product, which in turn accounts for 56% of all searches, and this number is still increasing.
Another significant difference is the strategy and assumptions in the operation of both Giants. However Google tries to match the search results to your requests for a given product or service, so Facebook in this field does it more invasively – based on the likes of the pages and information we have provided.
So it's safe to say that Facebook is in possession of a large database of customers, and it is this element of strategic assumptions that gives Blue Giant of Menlo Park a lot of opportunities in action. Thanks to this huge collection of data, Facebook Ads can be directed to detailed interests and behavior.
However, there is considerable doubt about the surveillance of users, which has already been raised many times on Press and New Media. . In terms of respect for Google's privacy, it seems to have a moral backbone. Facebook... not necessarily. Despite significant differences, the conversion factor, both Facebook and Google generate at a similar level, of course with a similar budget.
Demand and supply, which is for whom
In this important element, we should ask ourselves at what stage of development our brand is. Whether we are at the stage of building consumer awareness, or if our product is already well known, and consequently, we can move on to a specific sales action, focusing only on correct targeting.
Thanks to the opportunities offered by the target, the advertiser can optimize his expenditure on the advertising campaign. By narrowing down the audience, advertising only reaches the person it may be interested in. The advertiser does not bear, so the cost of displaying advertising for isotonic beverages to someone who is not interested in sports at all.
Appropriate targeting translates into campaign effectiveness. When we invest lower resources, we can get more efficiency and simply make more profit. Thanks to the previously mentioned large database Facebook seems to be a much more effective tool for creating a brand image. . Although Google can also advertise with a banery that goes to consumer awareness, it is Blue Giant that offers a greater opportunity to clarify the targeting in this element.
Google, in turn, works better when the brand image is already known, or when a potential customer is focused on a specific product. They satisfy the needs of customers, showing optimal answers to the questions asked.
The specificity of the platform should also be remembered. Since Facebook is a social networking site focused on entertainment, it will be difficult for us to advertise a product that is needed by the client, but does not fit into the widely understood philosophy of entertainment. What can be an example of such a not necessarily entertaining product? Funeral, municipal services, church and a whole lot of other more or less "curious" products.
Does this mean Google is more liberal, and any product can be advertised freely in it? No way! We are returning to Google's moral backbone again, so our campaign will not be accepted if we try to advertise any of the following products: prescription medicines, alcohol, gambling, pornography, weapons and nightclubs.
It is also worth remembering that verification occurs through an algorithm and sometimes turns out to be misjudged by Google's robots. If, let's say, we want to advertise a red wine sofa, our campaign from the spot will be rejected. Remember, Google's robots are artificial intelligence and are far from creative human thinking.
So what if our campaign and its inherent element, the red sofa, is rejected? Just connect with Google's consultant, who will make the second, more human verification.
PushSH & Pull
We're back to the intrusive advertising. The PUSH method is used by Facebook and this is closely related to our earlier reflections on Blue Giant's approach to the user. What is the push method? This is nothing but “out with the product” to the customer. However, it may happen, and often so, that the product to which the customer is to be interested is completely unwanted by him. It's a form of ad by force. It's like billboards, press, radio, television. That is an old school of advertising; "I don't know if you're interested in what I have, but I'm happy to sell it to you." Unfortunately, such an approach often results in user irritation and dislike of the product and Facebook in general.
A completely different strategy (exactly the opposite) Google team who initiated the method that the customer comes to the advertiser. A strategy that was absolutely unthinkable years ago proved to be a real jackpot. It is the customer who expresses his need or problem, then seeks a solution, meets his needs, and then, seeing defined in terms of his desire for advertising, begins to be interested in a particular product. The essence of things is the time and place that is optimal for the customer. That's for him to decide. This method is low-intrusion, friendly and very effective.
Long tail VS short tail
Google Ads gives us the opportunity to limit campaign actions only to phrases from the so-called long tail, i.e. phrases with the most precise purchase intent. This method allows us to reach the customer who is closest to the purchase transaction.
In Facebook Ads, the situation is different. We do not have the option of precision of keywords, and thus a real chance to sense the intentions of the client. . On the basis of likes, personal information, stuck pages, we are unable to answer the question whether a potential customer needs our product right now. The effects are generalized. There is no possibility to choose a long or short tail.
The cost, which is how much of this commercial, sir?
Google Ads' advertising campaign is considered to be more expensive than the cost generated by via Facebook advertising. This is mainly due to competitiveness and bidding. When starting the Google Ads campaign, we determine what amount we can pay for a specific action. If it turns out that another advertiser has set a higher bet, the link with our ad will be lower, and this may already translate into significantly less effective finalisation of transactions.
Case study effectiveness of both tools
It's worth going deeper into the stories of different brands and seeing if they appeal to our imagination. Below I present a handful of links, at the same time encouraging a broad analysis and reflection.
Selected Case Studies Google:
1. TRIVAGO
2. NEW BALANCE:
3. CARREFOUR
4. TRIP-ADVISOR
Case Studies — Facebook:
Verdict
Since each campaign is different and the product is uneven, the brand brand too, it is impossible to say which Giant wins eternal competition. The choice should be tailored to the individual needs of the advertiser, but it is equally important to understand at what stage of consumer awareness our brand is. One solution may be the synergy of both tools.
The combination of Google ad and Facebook campaign It can bring surprisingly good results. The resulting sales funnel will make both channels complementary and reach a completely different group of customers, in different ways, at different times and places. A great solution can be a divisive budget for both advertising channels and a permanent conversion control.
And what would happen if a third man joined the fight for the crown?
Or if one of the Silicon Valley Giants suddenly created his own cryptocurrency?
