A tale of two heavyweights...
So here we are, the big night's finally arrived: Google vs Facebook, ready to slog it out like two heavyweight boxers in their prime, the likes of which haven't been seen since Mike Tyson took on Lennox Lewis.
Who will take the belt and be crowned the undisputed heavy-weight advertising platform of the world?
The fighters are now entering the ring, the Rocky theme tune is blaring out as ring walks are made and the crowd rises to their feet with a rapturous roar!
The pitter-patter of footwork is heard as the fighters shuffle their feet around the ring and suddenly a crunching blow is landed…
Now, perhaps I'm dramatizing this a little as some big adversarial match-up. As you’ll see, both have their strengths and uses for lead generation which is mainly what we’ll be discussing when comparing the two.
After all, being able to generate more leads and convert them into sales is what you’re here for, right?
Disclaimer – This isn’t some super techy guide about how they work on the intricate level, but a brief overview of the two, how they can be utilised, and key points to consider for YOUR business.
So, without further ado, let’s dive in and discuss the two - Don't worry, I promise it will be more worthwhile than watching the last AJ fight!
Google - How It works.
Now, unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last 20 years, you’re probably aware of how Google works - You have a thought pop into your head and you want to find out more about it, so you fire up the laptop and punch your search into Google - It then does its magic thing and spits out a load of businesses, blogs, articles, etc based on what it thinks would be useful information.
Being the astute human being I know you are, you probably noticed there's a section near the top and bottom with results labelled as ‘sponsored’. No brownie points for guessing that these people have paid to have their advert hit you in the face when you entered your search.
As an advertiser, you bid on “keywords” that are used in users' search terms (what they type into Google) to appear in front of them when a search is made.
Let's use an example here, say you sell and install boilers. If your customer wants to find people who sell boilers, they will probably type into Google; “Boilers in X location”, or “Boilers for sale”. Essentially, you would bid on the keyword, “Boiler installation” and every time someone searches for that you have a chance to appear on their search.
How you appear on paid search.
Ok, so theoretically you’ve chosen the keywords you want to bid on and how much you're willing to spend per click; now Google has to decide whose advert they will show on the first page of the search.
Google wants to promote useful and engaging content, so it gives your website or landing page a ‘quality score’, meaning it rates how good the content is for that particular search.
If the content on your advert’s webpage has lots of pictures, information, and keywords relevant to the search, it will receive a higher quality score. This is then multiplied by the maximum cost per click you’ve set in your campaign and pitted against all the other players bidding on that search.
The advertisers who score the highest then appear as ‘sponsored’ on that search and this is called an ‘impression’. If the user clicks your ad, you’ll be charged for that click and will come off your budget.
Obviously, this is a rudimentary breakdown of how it works but hopefully, you get the gist.
Facebook - How It Works.
Now, it’s opponent, Facebook.
Slightly more straightforward than Google - You create an ad with a ‘creative’ (picture or video), headline, and some body text to describe your advert. If the prospect is interested, they’ll click the action at the bottom, fill in a quick form, or go through to your website/landing page (like Google) and enquire or buy your product.
A familiar scenario.
You’re mindlessly scrolling through FB on your phone, looking at what your sister's cousin twice removed has been up to and BAM advert rudely interrupts your viewing.
Usually, it’s a bit more eloquent than I’ve described, but that’s essentially the experience for the user. As an advertiser, you’re charged every time your ad appears on someone's feed, with no need for them to click, contrary to Google.
Now, in terms of how you get your ad to appear on someone’s feed who you think will be interested, you have a couple of different options.
Let Facebook figure it all out -
Facebook's been around for a while now and has a HUGE database of user information – how old they are, what their interests are, what ads they have interacted with before, etc.
You can go solely by this and let Facebook try to figure out who would be interested. Facebook's AI is extremely sophisticated, but if you want maximum ROI, you need to test out different things and use your brain a bit.
Give it some information yourself –
You can let FB’s AI do the ‘heavy lifting’ but still set some parameters yourself, like age, gender, location, and behaviours.
Behaviours are things your target audience is interested in. If you were targeting marathon runners, it could be London Marathon, Nike running shoes, etc. Facebook will then prioritise putting your ad in front of people with those interests, increasing the likelihood that they will be interested.
Makes sense, right?
Do it all yourself –
If you really wanted to, you could put everything in yourself, age range, location, interests, etc, and see how it goes. In my experience, it’s best to use both FB’s vast database and algorithm combined with your human brain to test things out.
You want to launch a straightforward ad that makes sense to your audience and put in some “soft guidelines”, like age, interests, and location. You can test out multiple user interests with a small budget until you have a good idea of what’s converting, scale it up, and try out some different ads to optimise.
Key points to consider when looking at both options.
Interrupt via search vs Interrupt via scroll.
One key difference between the two is how they get your attention. When your ad appears on Google, that person is searching for that solution right there, right then; this means they could be further along in the ‘buying process’ as they’re making a conscious decision to search.
This all depends though on the users ‘search intent’.
If someone searches “24-hour plumber call out”, it probably means they’re looking for someone ASAP to come out and see them, meaning great search intent and an advertisers ‘wet dream’.
If someone searches “Boilers in Peterborough”, it's much less clear to how quickly they want to purchase and could just be a ‘window shopper’. Usually, the keywords with the highest intent cost more to bid on.
Facebook uses an ‘Interrupt via scroll’, meaning the ad gets your attention while you’re looking at something else.
You may or may not have considered that product or service in the past, but your conscious mind is focused on watching funny cat videos. This is why having a good attention-grabbing image/video on your ad and a ‘razor sharp’ headline instantly calling out your target audience and directing them away from their feed to your website/landing page.
Obviously, while sharp headlines that instantly call out your audience and engaging ad copy are key to any ad, you need to consider the prospect's current mindset and how best to influence them.
B2B Vs B2C & the ‘Decision-making process’.
Do you sell ‘direct-to-consumer’ or ‘business-to-business’? Is the decision maker likely to buy or give you their contact details through a Facebook ad, or are they more likely to Google other businesses to buy your product/service?
Again, it’s probably a mix of both; they may see your ad on FB and think it’s interesting but want to Google it and ‘check you out’.
High-Ticket vs Low-Ticket Sales.
If you’re selling high-ticket, it’s difficult to get someone to purchase from a Facebook ad alone. Generally, the bigger the purchase, the longer your funnel needs to be and the likelihood of needing more content to build trust and prove it’s worth spending the money.
In this case, you’ll need Google to back you up, as you'll struggle to convince someone to spend £3k from a quick FB ad.
If you’re selling low-ticket and trying to upsell them on the phone or F2F, you can use Facebook to bring them in on a cheap offer or free download, and then call them up/convince them there’s a need to look at other services.
Is the customer aware of the problem you're trying to fix?
This is extremely important...
If the customer isn't aware of the problem you solve with your product/service, they won't type it into Google to try and find a solution. You're much better off doing an attention-grabbing ad on FB, quickly telling them why they have a problem, getting them to click through to your page, and educating them there.
Maybe there’s a product or service you offer that they DO understand, so you can advertise that, suck them into your sales funnel, and educate them as to why they need the high-ticket item instead!
ALWAYS analyse the customer's level of knowledge and enter the conversation at that point, rather than confusing them.
Check out my blog on, ‘Are you talking too much like a professional’ here to learn more about this - https://www.smart-clicks.co.uk/post/talking-too-much-like-a-professional
3 Key takeaway points.
Here we find ourselves, 12 rounds in, and both fighters still admirably swinging and stumbling around the ring. The final bell rings around the arena and we look to the judges for the scorecard…
Sorry to disappoint, but there’s no ‘knockout blow’ here as both should be used in unison, rather than pitted together in a fight to the death!
1) Both complement each other and can be a key part of the customer's decision-making process. They may see your FB ad and want to Google you for 'social proof', but may have Googled the product/service you provide, forgotten about it, and then up pops a FB ad reminding them and urging them to take action.
2) Consider your business and how educated the audience is about what you do. If it's a relatively new concept, the likelihood is that lots of people won't be Googling about it yet.
3) Facebook is generally easier to get started, as you could even run ads without a website or landing page, and just use the instant forms feature to gather prospects' contact details and call them up/email them.
If I had to pick one to get started with for a small business, I would gravitate towards Facebook for ease and the ability to quickly test things and start generating leads; especially if you haven’t got a decent website/landing page set up.
If you want to find out more about how we can help your business get more leads and sales through effective marketing, feel free to get in touch for a free consultation.
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