Google Ads vs Meta Ads for eCommerce

Hey, have you ever found yourself stuck choosing between Google Ads and Meta Ads? Well, you're not alone! Both are advertising powerhouses, but which one will take your business to unprecedented heights? Worry not, because I am here to break down the key differences between each platform and, more importantly, reveal the secret weapon to marketing success… Any guesses what it may be?

What is Google ads?

Google Ads is Google's online advertising program. Through Google Ads, you can create online ads to reach people exactly when they're interested in the products and services that you offer.

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• Google Ads is a product that you can use to promote your business, help sell products or services, raise awareness, and increase traffic to your website.
• Google Ads accounts are managed online, so you can create and change your ad campaign at any time, including your ad text, settings, and budget.
• There's no minimum spending commitment, and you set and control your own budget. You choose where your ad appears, set a budget that's comfortable for you, and easily measure the impact of your ad.

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Google ads lets you show up at the right time and place across the vast Google ads ecosystem. Use Google’s AI to find your best-performing ad formats across YouTube, Discover, Search, and more, to maximise conversions. You need to know the exact data that is leading to your increased performance, Google lets you track conversions to get unmatched audience insights. But that’s not all, Google’s budget-optimising automation helps you capture new customer opportunities with the highest ROI.

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Google does it all and is leading the charge in terms of impression share, I wonder how this sways your decision?

What is Meta ads?

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Meta ads are targeted to users based on their location, demographic, and profile information. Many of these options are only available on Facebook or Instagram. After creating an ad, you set a budget and bid for each click or thousand impressions that your ad will receive.

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Meta ad targeting options are unparalleled. You can target by demographics and create custom or lookalike audiences to target users similar to your best customers. You can also use retargeting ads to target users who interacted with your page or visited your website.

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On Meta, you can directly target users by:

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• location
• age
• gender
• interests
• connections
• relationship status
• languages
• education
• workplaces

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Each option can be useful, depending on your audience. Most marketers should focus on location, age, gender, and interests.

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• Location targeting allows you to target users in the country, state, city, or zip code that you service.
• Age and gender targeting should be based on your existing customers. If women 25-44 are the bulk of your customers, start out targeting them. If they prove to be profitable, you can then expand your targeting.
• Interest targeting is the most powerful but misused feature of Meta ads. When creating an ad, you have two options: broad categories or detailed interests.

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So now that we know the basics of each platform, let’s put them up in a head to head battle.

Sniper vs Psychic

Imagine yourself as a secret agent on a mission to reach your ideal target customer. Google Ads equips you with a sniper rifle. One that can target users with laser focus based on the keywords they're searching for. It's like showing a mouthwatering pizza ad to someone who just typed "best pizza delivery near me". That is pure buying intent right there!

But Meta Ads takes a different approach. It’s like a psychic detective. Assisting you on a quest to get to know your ideal customer on a personal level; their interests, habits, and even their favourite cat videos! Meta allows you to introduce your product or service to people who might not even know they need it yet. Think of it as showing that same person mouthwatering pizza ads while they scroll through Facebook or Instagram, simply planting a seed of desire deep in their mind.

Conversion Machine vs Brand Storyteller

Need a conversion machine that drives website traffic, phone calls, or sales? Google Ads is your champion. It's like drilling straight into your conversion goals, bypassing the potential top-of-funnel audience that wastes your budget. 

However, brand awareness and building a loyal following are Meta Ads' specialty. Meta can help you tell your brand story, connect with your audience on an emotional level, and build lasting relationships. Think of it as a charming storyteller weaving a spell that keeps your audience engaged and wanting more.

Key differences between Google Ads & Meta Ads 

Audience Size & Targeting Options

As the world’s most popular and widely used search engine, Google is considered theleader in digital marketing for e-commerce. With more than 3.5 billion searches every single day, Google offers advertisers access to an unprecedented and unequaled potential audience of users who are actively looking for goods and services.

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Google advertising is split across two primary networks – the Search network, and the Display network. The Search network encompasses the entirety of Google as a search engine, and advertisers can bid on millions of keywords and phrases to target prospective customers.

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Similar to Google, Meta boasts a truly vast global audience. With more than 1.55 BILLION monthly active users across Facebook and Instagram. That is more than one-fifth of the entire world’s population, and that’s not counting inactive or infrequently used accounts. However, rather than exposing advertisers and their messaging to this vast audience, the true strength of Meta’s immense audience lies in the potential granularity with which advertisers can target Meta’s users.

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Cost & ROI

Businesses advertising with Meta Ads are often impressed by its targeting options, as well as the tools they have available for creating beautiful, engaging ads. However, one element of Meta Ads that newcomers often cannot believe is the potential return on investment (ROI) that advertising on Meta offers, and how far advertisers can stretch a limited ad budget on the platform, to reach their potential customers.

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Both platforms allow you to set an average daily budget, this means you have full control over the amount you are willing to spend on your ads. Although if you are wanted to be a leading force on either platform you are going to have to pay to get there, remember you are not the only advertiser on the platform. The competition is tough but the rewards are great.

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What most businesses find the most enjoyable is the instant gratification of running an ad and seeing purchases come through, rather than putting up a billboard or TV commercial and hoping to see a return on investment.

Ad Formats

When Google ads first launched in 2000 (with a grand total of just 350 advertisers), the text-based ads that Google served alongside its search results were rudimentary, to say the least. But, they did contain many of the same elements that can be seen in today’s ads.

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Although ads in Google remain mostly text-based, advertisers can take advantage of an incredible number of features to make their ads more compelling and enticing to prospective customers. Ad extensions, sitelinks, social proofing such as user reviews, location targeting, Shopping ads, and a host of other features are available in Google ads, offering an unparalleled level of customization and control to advertisers. 

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Google has even introduced ad formats tailored to the unique needs of specific types of businesses, such as vehicle manufacturers and hotels, which go far beyond the typical text-based ad experience and incorporate rich visual elements such as high-resolution images and interactive map data.

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Unlike the comparatively dry, text-based ads in Google, Meta ads are powerfully visual. The very best Meta ads blend in seamlessly with the videos, images, and other visual content in users’ News Feeds, and this enables advertisers to take advantage of the, not only the strongly persuasive qualities of visual ads, but to do so in a way that conveys the aspirational messaging that makes high-quality ads so compelling.

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Just as Google is constantly experimenting with the formatting of its text-based PPC ads, Meta constantly evaluates how it can offer advertisers a superior marketing platform and users a satisfying, rewarding online experience. In the past, Facebook mandated that ads on its platform featured text that occupied no more than 20% of the total advertising area, a restriction it has since relaxed. However, despite this considerable change to its advertising governance, Facebook remains an inherently visual platform, which is a major selling point to many advertisers.

Combining Forces

Okay so you have probably made up your mind at this point, right? I didn’t think so… Hold on, there's more! 

Google Ads and Meta Ads can be best friends! Imagine using Google Ads to capture high-intent users searching for your product, then retargeting them on Meta with brand awareness campaigns to solidify their interest. Or, use Meta Ads to build a warm audience interested in your niche, then hit them with targeted Google Ads when they're ready to convert. This one-two punch can knock out your marketing goals!

Choosing Your Champion

So, which platform is the best? The answer is... it depends! The best platform for you depends on your specific goals and audience. Ask yourself these key questions:

• What are your primary marketing goals? These could be conversions, brand awareness, or lead generation?
• Who is your ideal customer? An important step is knowing their demographics and online behaviour.
• What's your budget? Google Ads can be more expensive depending on your keywords, while Meta Ads offer more flexible budgeting options.

By understanding the strengths of each platform and how they can work together, you can craft a winning marketing strategy that dominates the online space!

Thank you so much for reading this article. If you enjoyed it and are looking to grow your business, feel free to contact us or book a consultation with our sales team.

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At Strike Digital, the leading social media ad agency, we work with you to achieve growth and increase revenue performance.

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Have a great day!

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