Online advertising is becoming more and more popular in modern marketing
Two of the biggest companies that provide online advertising are Google with Adwords and Facebook with their own advertising system. But which one is the better one?
I have used both and I have to say that the Google Adwords is just dreadful! It’s very unpleasant to work with and almost impossible to master. You might think differently but based on my personal experience the Facebook advertising system beats Google Adwords hands down. Let me explain.
Top 5 Reasons Why The Facebook Advertising System Is Better Than Google Adwords
There are actually several more reasons why you should use Facebook Ads instead of Adwords but here are the main ones:
1. Facebook Ads Have Better Targeting
Unlike in Google Adwords, where you can use just about any keyword (which can really get you into trouble) Facebook Advertising system allows you to use only the words which are in their database. This ensures that there is real potential behind the keywords that you can choose.
Facebook keywords are based on interests, activities, books, TV-shows, movies, job titles the 800+ million Facebook users have listed in their profiles. This ensures that your ads will always have a highly interested audience for the keywords your are using.
For example, if you own a Karate Studio in San Fransisco (like Oyama Karate here) and you want to advertise your lessons to 22-39 old men who like karate and live in San Fransisco, or within a 50 mile radius you can do that using Facebook Advertising. Try doing that on Adwords!
Google Adwords doesn’t know that much about their users or their preferences, therefore they can’t target them accurately. Facebook, on the other hand knows everything about their users! You must have heard about the privacy issues related to this. Yes, that’s right, the big brother knows…
2. Facebook Advertising Account Is Easier To Set-Up And Manage
Oh, boy, this is a no-brainer! Have you ever tried to set-up a Google Adwords account? If you have, then you’d know how difficult and awful the process is. The Adwords ad management requires a huge effort in order to use it properly. Facebook Advertising system is faster to set up and it is much more user friendly.
3. You Can Use Images On Facebook Ads
You might have heard the saying ‘A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words’. As words are in short supply on online ads this is one of the most powerful features of Facebook Ads. The ability to use images in your ads on Facebook is a huge advantage over Google Adwords. Have a look at this example here and you’ll know exactly what I mean:
Guess which one is a Facebook Ad?
4. Cost Per Click Is Much Cheaper
Over the past few years Google Adwords has become exceedingly expensive. Even the medium popularity keywords are sometimes terribly expensive. For instance “email marketing” on Adwords costs $2.63 per click whereas on Facebook the average bid is only $0.78. That’s almost 70% less! Generally you can get good results using Facebook Ads at about a quarter of the cost of Google Adwords.
Facebook Ads are much more cost effective. This is great especially for small businesses trying to do online marketing without a big budget.
5. More Freedom Setting Up Your Ads
Setting up an advertising campaign on Facebook is much less frustrating than Google Adwords. As mentioned earlier you benefit from using images in your ads, but you also have more space for your ad description.
Adwords allows you to use only 75 characters, whereas you can use a whopping 135 on Facebook! Facebook Ads also allow you to use more restricted words than Adwords in terms of possible copyright issues. You can even use the exclamation mark in your Facebook Ads. (!)
Well, there you have it folks! I’m sure there are people who still think Adwords is better than Facebook Ads, so please feel free to leave a reply below. If you have been using either of these systems let me know about your experiences.
Promo Warning: If you are interested in learning more about Facebook Advertising read the Facebook Advertising Guide.
Kris Olin, MSc (Econ.) * Editor in Chief at Social Media Revolver * Web Designer * SEO Specialist * Author of the Facebook Advertising Guide. Follow Kris on Twitter and LinkedIn. See his photos at Flickr.
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