Paid advertising can be highly effective when completed to a high standard. It’s so important to choose an agency that knows what they are doing; otherwise, you risk wasting money and seeing very few results. In this blog, we’re looking at Google Ads vs Social Media Ads.
What is paid advertising?
Paid advertising varies depending on the method used. Generally speaking, it can involve paying to boost content or bidding on specific keywords.
One of the most significant benefits of paid advertising is that businesses can target a specific audience with their content. Many platforms have in-depth targeting capabilities, meaning you can reach people based on their location, job title and much more.
There are many different types of paid advertising, but we’re going to focus on Google Ads and social media ads.
What are Google Ads?
Google Ads is a form of search engine marketing that was previously known as Google Adwords.
This form of paid advertising requires businesses to pay for specific keywords that are relevant to their business. You will be in competition with other companies that want to appear for the same or similar keywords, so you will need to decide how much you are willing to pay to show up.
You’ll find these ads appearing above other listings with the word ‘ad’ next to them on the search engine results pages (SERPs). When these websites are clicked from the Google search results, the website owner pays a fee.
The aim is that the website visitor will make a purchase, therefore often providing a great return on investment. This highlights how important it is to choose relevant keywords; otherwise, users will land on your site, not find what they are looking for and fail to make a purchase, costing you money.
This type of advertising is known as pay-per-click or PPC. These Google Ad campaigns are different to shopping ads.
What are social media ads?
Social media advertising works differently depending on the platform you choose. While PPC ads target those who are actively looking for your products, social media ads target people who might be interested based on their interests, behaviours and demographics.
There are many platforms available for social media advertising, including Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and X. Each platform has advantages and disadvantages, so it’s important to look into these before you decide.
Social media ads involve posting content to entice users. This content can be videos, carousels, static posts and more. The content should be accompanied by engaging text that encourages users to interact with your brand. You must ensure this content is tailored to reach your target audience.
Pros and cons of Google Search Ads
As we mentioned previously, Google Ads involves bidding for keywords that help you appear at the top of the search results.
Pros
- Immediate visibility – this form of advertising gets working straight away
- Increased brand exposure – people might not have been searching for your business, but they might consider you now
- Highly targeted to people who are already searching for what you offer
- Highly cost-effective with expert optimisation – you will only pay a fee when someone clicks on your ad, which will hopefully result in a sale, leading to a great ROI
- Great tracking capabilities
- Access to valuable analytics to drive future campaigns to your target audience
Cons
- Google Ads is a popular platform, increasing competition and potentially increasing your cost per click
- It needs to be monitored over time to ensure positive campaign performance
Pros and cons of social media ads
These ads can vary as there are so many potential social media platforms you can use.
Pros
- Wide range of ad formats – choose from video ads, static posts and carousels to share your business and its offerings to your target audience
- Increased targeting capabilities based on interests and behaviours online
- Can help to increase engagement on social media
- Allows for audience retargeting
- Cost-effective when targeted to the right audience
Cons
- Users can get bored and not interact if they see the same ads constantly – ensure that you change up your ad content for more engagement
- Return on investment is not always easy to track
- Social media updates can impact ad performance
How to get the most out of your ad campaigns
If you’re spending money on marketing for your company, you’ll want to get the most out of it. Paid advertising can help you drive growth and reach a wider audience.
One of the huge benefits of both social media advertising and Google Ads is that they work immediately. In contrast, other digital strategies, such as SEO, take time to start working, which means you often have to wait to see the results. However, SEO is an excellent option for long-term growth. When used together, SEO and PPC can complement each other very well.
Here are some tips to maximise your paid ad campaigns.
- Set clear goals about what you want to achieve
- Optimise content for all devices
- Ensure a strong landing page – make sure it is user-friendly and aligns with the messaging of your ad campaign
- Use a variety of content formats – users will be more likely to engage with content that catches their attention, and the same ads are unlikely to do that
- Track your efforts – paid advertising needs to be monitored closely; otherwise, you risk wasting money
- Continuously improve – when you have access to accurate data insights, you can adjust your campaigns to ensure you’re getting the most out of them
- Choose the right platforms (for social media ads) – conduct research into where your audience spends their time
- Work with a high-quality digital marketing agency like Complete. Dubai for online advertising
- Consider your advertising budget
Google Ads or social media ads: which one should I choose?
We know what you’re thinking: Which one should I choose?
The good news is that you don’t actually need to choose one advertising platform; you can use them both together! Both Google Ads and social media advertising are great for reaching a wider audience, building brand awareness and driving conversions.
The most important thing is that your ads are designed to a high standard so you can reap the benefits of a high return on investment. If your ads are poor quality, you will end up wasting time and money that could have been used elsewhere in your business.
If you know you can only use one method but are unsure where to start, you can chat with our expert advertising team. We remain up-to-date with changes to the digital advertising landscape.
We work closely with clients to assess their goals before crafting engaging, data-driven content that reaches their target audience and encourages brand loyalty. Many of our valued clients have seen amazing results.
We hope this blog has been helpful regarding Google Ads vs social media ads. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions. A member of our friendly team will be happy to help with your advertising strategy.