Google Ads vs. Facebook Ads (2025): Which Is Best for Your Business?

Introduction

If you’ve ever stared at your budget wondering, "Do I go with Google or Facebook?" this article is for you.

Both platforms can work. Both can also burn your cash if you are not careful. The trick is matching the channel to your goal, your market, and how people find what you sell.

Maybe you have grown so far on word of mouth. That's amazing. But now you’re ready to scale, and paid ads are the next step.

The big fork in the road is Google Ads vs. Facebook (Meta) Ads.

They work in very different ways. Google captures people who are already searching. Facebook creates demand by putting your story in front of the right people.

In this guide, we’ll show you the clear differences, share real costs, and give you a 30-day test plan. We’ll also show how PostPaddy's AI can help you manage your Google Ads so you spend less time tweaking dashboards.

The One-Sentence Difference

• Google Ads is for people who are already searching. They type “emergency plumber” or “best running shoes” and want answers now. This is demand capture.

• Facebook (Meta) Ads is for people who are not searching. You interrupt them with a story or an offer that makes them care. This is demand creation.

What Typical Costs Look Like in 2025

Costs change with competition, but here are useful 2025 benchmarks:

• Google Search CPC: Averages around $3 to $6 per click. Competitive niches like law or finance can be much higher.

• oogle Display CPC: Often lower (around or under $1) because the person isn't actively searching to buy.

• Facebook CPC: Often lower than Google Search (around $1 to $2 per click for leads).

But remember: a cheaper click is not the same thing as a cheaper customer.

Your real cost will depend on your offer, your targeting, and your landing page. Plan to learn and adjust.

Google Ads vs. Facebook Ads: A Quick Guide

Here is a simple way to choose a starting point.

Choose Google Ads if:

• People are already searching for your product or service.

• You need leads or sales this week, not next month.

• You serve an urgent need (e.g., "same-day AC repair in Ikeja").

Choose Facebook Ads if:

• You need to build awareness and an audience.

• Your product sells better with visuals, stories, or social proof (e.g., beauty, apparel, gadgets, or food).

• You can create "scroll-stopping" videos or images.

Often, the best answer is to use both. Facebook creates interest, and Google captures the sale when they search for you later.

What Makes Your Ad Costs Go Up?

Think of each click as an auction. Your price depends on a few key things:

• Intent and Competition: High-intent searches (“buy,” “near me,” “pricing”) cost more because they attract more advertisers.

• Relevance and Quality: Google rewards ads and landing pages that clearly answer the search. Better relevance can lead to a lower cost for the same ad position.

• Bidding Strategy: Manual bidding gives you control but needs attention. Smart bidding (like tCPA) works well once you have conversion data.

• Account Hygiene: A sloppy account structure is paid chaos. You need clear ad groups, negative keywords, and matching landing pages.

• Seasonality: Black Friday, holidays, or local events push competition up.

How to Set a Budget Without Guessing

Here’s an easy way to set your first budget.

1. Work backward from your goal. If you want 40 new customers, and 1 in 5 leads buy, you need 200 leads.

2. Estimate your cost per lead (CPL). If you guess a $50 CPL, your budget is 200 x $50 = $10,000.

3. Start smaller to learn. Most small businesses begin with $20 to $50 per day on one focused campaign. That’s $600 to $1,500 per month. This is enough to learn which keywords and ads work.

Important Google Budget Tip: Google can spend up to 2x your daily budget on strong days. However, it will not exceed your monthly cap (30.4 x your daily budget). If you set a $30/day budget, you might see a $60 day. This is normal, not an error.

How to Lower Your Ad Costs Fast

Here are things you can fix this week:

• Target Intent: "Kids running shoes size 2" is better than "kids shoes."

• Write Better Ad Copy: Use 8-12 headlines. Cover benefits, pain points, social proof, and a clear call-to-action (CTA).

• Use Negative Keywords: Add negative keywords every week. This one habit saves a lot of money by stopping irrelevant clicks.

• Fix Your Landing Page: Your ad's promise must match the page's headline. If a visitor can’t figure out what to do in five seconds, the page is broken.

• Use Smart Bidding (at the right time): Once you have 15-30+ conversions in a month, test Google's tCPA (Target Cost Per Acquisition) bidding.

• Narrow Your Focus: Spend money where your buyers are. If mobile converts 2x better, lean into it.

Privacy Changes and What Matters Now

Apple's tracking changes (ATT) have made it harder to track users. Here is what you need to do:

• Set up conversion tracking before you spend a dollar.

• Add Enhanced Conversions on Google to get better data.

• Build your own first-party data, like an email list. This future-proofs your marketing.

Performance Max (PMax) vs. Advantage+

These are powerful AI tools, but you must use them at the right time.

• Google Performance Max (PMax): This runs ads across all of Google's channels (Search, YouTube, Display, etc.). It’s great for getting more conversions after your main search campaign is stable and working.

• Meta Advantage+: This is Facebook's version. It blends creative, placements, and audiences to find buyers.

Rule of thumb: Automation makes good campaigns great and bad campaigns expensive. Feed them good data and good creative first.

Budget Plans You Can Copy

1. Local Service (Plumber, Dentist, Repair)

• Primary: Google Search. Focus on high-intent terms like "emergency," "near me," and "service + city." Buyers are urgent.

• Support: Meta remarketing with customer testimonials.

• Goal: Calls and form fills this week.

2. eCommerce (Selling products under $100)

• Primary: Meta Ads. Use videos and user-generated content (UGC). Great for social discovery and impulse buys.

• Support: Google Shopping and Branded Search to catch people looking for you by name.

• Goal: Add-to-carts and purchases at your target ROAS.

3. B2B SaaS / High-Ticket Services

• Primary: Google Search. Focus on "pain/solution" keywords like "workflow automation for clinics."

• Support: Meta for retargeting, showing case studies, and building thought leadership.

• Goal: Qualified demos at a good price.

A Simple 30-Day Test Plan

• Week 1: Launch Clean. Create one focused Google Search campaign. Install conversion tracking. On Meta, launch one campaign with 3-5 very different ads (video, testimonial, offer).

• Week 2: Prune. On Google, check the search terms report and add negative keywords. On Meta, kill the worst-performing ads.

• Week 3: Layer Remarketing. Add a small-budget remarketing campaign on both platforms to show ads to your website visitors.

• Week 4: Optimize. If you have enough data, test smart bidding (like tCPA). If not, keep improving your ads and landing pages.

After 30 days, look at the numbers. Keep the channel that is profitable. Fix or pause the one that is not.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

1. "Spray-and-Pray" on Google: Using broad keywords with no negative keywords wastes money on junk traffic.

2. Creative Sameness on Meta: Using five ads that all look the same is a waste. Test different hooks, angles, and opening lines.

3. Landing Page Mismatch: Your ad promises "50% Off," but the page doesn't mention it. This makes visitors leave.

4. Automating Too Early: PMax and Advantage+ need data to work. Don't turn them on day one.

How PostPaddy Simplifies Your Google Ads

You can run all of this by hand. Or, you can let Ads by PostPaddy manage the Google Ads part for you while you focus on your business.

It’s an AI ad assistant in your pocket.

• Launch in 5 Minutes: Launching a Google Ad is fast. Just give the app your business name, a description, and your location.

• AI-Powered Keywords and Copy: You don't have to guess. PostPaddy's AI researches the best keywords and writes the ad text for you.

• Mobile-First Control: You can manage everything from your phone. Pause ads or check budgets between client calls or on the school run.

• No Ad Account Needed: If you find Google's setup confusing, you can use PostPaddy's ad account and pay for your ads right in the mobile app.

• Regular AI Optimizations: The AI monitors your campaigns. It gives you simple, one-click suggestions to add negative keywords and stop wasted spending.

Final Take: It's About Fit, Not a "Winner"

There isn’t one “winner.” There is only what fits your business.

If demand for your product already exists, start with Google. Add Meta later to scale and retarget.

If your product sells with a story or visuals, start with Meta to create demand. Add Google to catch the sales your awareness creates.

Whichever you choose, keep it simple for 30 days. One focused campaign. Weekly check-ins. Then let the numbers decide where you spend more.