Google Ads vs Facebook Ads: Which One Actually Wins?

7 August, 2026 5:00 am

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Marketing · Ads Explained

Google ads vs Facebook ads, and why they work in completely different ways

On a strategy call this week, a business owner asked me the question I hear more than almost any other, should we be on Google or on Facebook?

So which one is right for you?

It depends what your customer is doing at the time.

The cleanest way to understand it is to picture yourself at 2am with raging toothache. You’re not scrolling Instagram hoping a dentist appears, you’re straight on Google typing emergency dentist near me. That’s Google in a nutshell. It catches people at the exact moment they’re actively hunting for a solution, which is why we call it pull marketing, the customer is pulling you towards them.

Google ads are brilliant for that ready-to-buy moment. The catch is the price. Clicks can run around five pounds each, and a click is only a click, someone who might land on your page and wander off ten seconds later. On competitive terms that adds up fast.

Facebook ads, which also cover Instagram since both are Meta, work the other way round. Nobody opens Facebook looking for a plumber or a property manager, they’re there to unwind after a long day. So instead of catching a moment, a Facebook ad plants a seed and keeps showing up, quietly building familiarity, so the day they actually need what you sell, your name is already the one they trust. That’s push marketing. Awareness first, so the sale feels natural when the moment finally arrives.

A quick way to tell which fits

1If people search for what you do the second they need it, Google earns its place by catching them mid-hunt.

2If people rarely search for it but would recognise you when the need appears, Facebook builds that recognition over time.

3Most service businesses lean toward Facebook first, because the cost per lead is friendlier and the awareness keeps compounding.

There’s a way to soften Google’s cost too, long-tail keywords. Rather than bidding on a broad, pricey term, you target a phrase with four or five words in it, something specific like the exact service and town, and you pay far less for a click that’s far more relevant.

It plays out the same wherever you are, whether you’re bidding for searches in London or building steady awareness across Southampton, the principle underneath stays put.