Amitek Sinha is the COO at ET Medialabs , leading Digital Marketing & Analytics Company in India specializing in delivering business growth using Digital Marketing, Data & AI.
In the present digital times, the way consumers behave and the journey that they take, from searching to buying, has become extremely complex. They now resort to online shopping more than ever before due to the convenience, variety of options, and promise of quick delivery that the brands offer. Customers’ preferences and behaviors have witnessed a shift over the period of time and the modern day brands are fighting to stay Top of Mind, every single day, by targeting consumers across platforms and devices.
It has become way easier to find and search for products in the online space. This implies that you need to have a robust digital presence so as to enjoy a competitive edge in the market. To assist customers in finding your brand, it is imperative that you participate in their search. You
need to help them in a way and persuade them that you are the best option present in the market.
The Importance of Digital Advertising
The massive shift of consumers from the physical marketplaces to the online world has made it impossible for brands of all kinds to not be available in the digital lives of their consumers. Online advertising can benefit businesses of all sizes by allowing owners to deliver relevant, personalized, and timely messages to their customers at a fraction of the cost.
Even on a shoestring budget, business owners can reach a sizable audience and maximize the ROI of their marketing expenditure. Performance Marketing has become a go to option for marketers looking to scale in a very short time. The fact that it is easy to monitor and measure makes it effective. The digital analytics tools can help you gauge what’s working and which areas need improvisation, allowing you to target your marketing spend more precisely.
Google ads and Facebook ads have become the two major platforms of choice for marketers to achieve growth. These two platforms apart from other alternatives like affiliate, snapchat, OTT, Influencer Marketing still remain the top choice for many.
Google Ads
Google is the world’s largest search engine, accounting for more than 75% of the search engine market. Bing and the others follow suit. Every day, more than five billion Google searches are conducted, according to Internet Live Stats. If you want to tap into that massive amount of search traffic, Google Ads is the ideal way out to advertise. They are a feasible solution for demand capture, which means reaching out to users who have a high level of purchase intent. The selection of audiences like custom segments, affinity, In Market and other placements make it a platform of choice.
Facebook Ads
Facebook, now Meta, has been redefining and improving its advertising solution for years now. As a result, in the present times, Facebook Ads is a pioneer in the paid social space and has become an essential component of many businesses’ digital marketing strategies.
Just like Google, the platform has a massive and loyal global audience. It boasts of over 1.55 billion monthly active users – more than one-fifth of the entire world’s population and this does not include inactive or infrequently used accounts. In terms of audience size, Facebook has no competition. However, rather than exposing advertisers and their messages to this massive audience, Facebook’s true strength lies in the potential granularity.
Which one is better?
Both Google Ads and Facebook Ads are viable solutions to advertise your company. They are relatively inexpensive (depending on your industry), and each has billions of active users with a variety of targeting options. To answer the age-old question, which one is superior to the other; there is no single best solution. This response will be heavily influenced by your company’s goals, long term objective and short term targets.
If your goal is sales, leads, consultations, or on similar lines, both platforms will be ideal. However, for instance, Facebook is the place to be if you want to increase brand awareness or social following. If you want to sell products directly, Google Ads is most likely the best place to start (though both platforms can do the trick).
Summing Up
Google Ads and Facebook Ads are both extremely powerful advertising platforms that cater to businesses across industries. When evaluating the strengths and potential applications of each solution, it is clear that the two platforms should be viewed as complementary solutions, rather than competitors. Various firms insist on comparing Facebook Ads to the Google Display Network. Both the platforms share some similarities and have evolved independently in various ways. Industry experts highlight that they should be used in tandem and not in opposition. However, pointing out which one is the best would be tough. It solely depends on your business, the industry you belong to, your organizational goals, digital marketing objectives, and your budget.