Google Adwords vs Facebook advertisng
This blog is designed to ask questions and fuel the quest for further information on the topic. If you're an expert on either google ad words or Facebook advertising then feel free to post links and comments to interesting sources at the bottom.
I've picked these 2 advertising streams as they have potential (if they are not already!) to be the most effective ways to reach a targeted audience.
Both Google Adwords and Facebook Ads store a massive amount of information on its users and by giving us the tools to tap into this will me we can put our adverts in front of the users we want to see them.
An example of good targeted advertising that I have seen was on Facebook over a year or so ago before I was married and my facebook status was 'engaged' I remember seeing adverts for wedding related products. This equals a clever advertising policy. It'd made me chuckle when I then saw an advert for a 'dating agency' . This either meant that an advertiser hadn't done their homework or they thought that'd as I had been engaged for so long I wasn't actually going to tie the knot and should probably start looking out for someone else. More than likely though the dating campaign was badly targetted and displaying adverts on user wall that aren't relevant will be wasting your money. A highly targetted campaign will save you heaps on advertising on these two networks.
Here are some cool ways you can use Google Ads
* add a text advert to relevant youtube adverts
* make banners and skyscrapper image ads to display on websites that are part of your market place
* place adverts on google mail depending on the conversation that is happening
* choose the area / countries in which you want the ad to display. You can also choose the time
* you can make ads to display on certain mobile devices. Ie a smart phone only ad campaign.
* place adds on 'search terms' from the Google Network
Now lets compare that to that to cool things that facebook can do.
* aim your campaign at an age group
* choose mail or female
* base you advert on keywords listed in the users hobbies
* aim at users of one of your other fanpages
* again we can target the ad on localisation.
Lets face it both methods of advertising has its strength and the best solution for your business should be based on what you want to achieve. An interesting read is this blog 10 ways Facebook could improve their ads , which after reading makes you understand they could do much more.
One thing that is true for both websites is that a highly targetted campaign is more cost effective and will give better results. For example Google rewards those with a higher click through rate and you can then have a lower PPC (pay per click) and still rank higher than other competitors - see Google Quality Score. In Facebook if you make a highly targeted campaign why not take yourself off the PPC and pay per views instead in many cases it can be much cheaper. The trick is also in making an advert that will catch the eye. You can check Facebooks succesful ads on this page Facebook Ads Wall . Also see Save money on Facebook Ads
I used to only really used Facebook advertising for getting more likes on a fanpage and Google adwords for selling a specfic product or to get bookings. However there no reason why if I was to be selling a small ladies wetsuit then I could aim a campaign at female surfer aged between 14-22 . I couldn't get that level of accuracy with google adwords. Many advertisers are aware of this and use Facebook advertising in this way. However there is a real benefit to getting fans, as it basically means you can advertise to those people daily rather than having to pay regularly to advertise to them.
If after reading this blog you thnk there may be advantages of advertising through either Facebook or Google ( I can't think of many businesses on the planet that wouldn't ) then why not contact me here LR - Cornwall SEO and Social Media and I'll put together a proposal of how I can help your business.