Google vs Meta Ads: Which is the right choice for your business?
April 8, 2024 by JaKobe Sanders
Meta (Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and Whatsapp) and Google combine for a total of about 5.5 billion active users per month. With both platforms offering the ability to advertise, many businesses face the question: which is right for me?
Out of that 5.5 billion, Meta makes up about 4 billion, which often leads many businesses to think Meta is the obvious choice. However, this assumption can be entirely untrue depending on what you’re selling. When breaking down the different platforms, it's crucial to understand the difference between intent and impulse businesses. Intent businesses are those you don’t typically think of until you need them. Think plumbers, electricians, mechanics, etc. Absolutely nobody finds themselves desiring a plumber coming to check on their pipes just for the fun of it. Therefore, plumbers are an intent business. Impulse businesses, as you may guess, are those people purchase from to satisfy an impulse! These are mostly consumer goods such as metal water bottles, electronics, jewelry, clothing, etc.
If you’re familiar with Google, which I'm sure 99% of you reading this are, you’ve probably guessed that intent businesses do better on Google than Meta. The odds of you running ads for your plumbing business on Facebook or Instagram and randomly finding someone whose toilet is broken are extremely low. The person whose toilet broke is on Google looking up the nearest plumber, not scrolling hoping they find a plumber in their feed. Funny enough, I see plenty of intent businesses trying to use Meta to advertise, rather than Google.
If you can identify where your business or parts of your business fall when it comes to impulse vs. intent, you'll have a far better understanding of not only which platform you should use but also how to maximize your marketing message.
But it doesn’t end there. While most businesses will tend to do better on one platform vs. the other, that doesn't mean you can’t see massive returns if you understand how to use the other platform well. An intent business could easily find a piece of their business they could turn into an offer to run as an impulse ad. Conversely, an impulse business could easily find a way to leverage their products on Google as well. That's where the magic truly lies. If you can find a way to utilize impulse AND intent advertising in your business, you’re sure to beat out the competition. Struggling to understand which category your business falls into or how exactly to utilize one over the other? No worries! Get in touch with us and let's find out how we can work together and maximize your advertising budget, today!