By John Eberhard
When a business wants to generate more leads and sales through online advertising, three platforms are often at the top of the list: Google Ads, Facebook advertising and LinkedIn advertising. While all three can be effective, they work in very different ways.
Understanding those differences can help you decide where your advertising dollars are most likely to produce results.
Google Ads: Reach People Who Are Already Looking
One of the biggest advantages of Google Ads is that you can reach people who are actively searching for the products or services your business provides.
For example, someone searching for “emergency plumber near me” already has a problem and is looking for a solution. A plumbing company that appears at the top of the search results has an opportunity to generate a lead immediately.
This makes Google Ads particularly effective for businesses offering services that people regularly search for, including contractors, attorneys, medical practices, home services and professional services. Bear in mind that not all products and services fall into the category of things that people are actively searching for.
Google Ads can also target specific geographic areas, keywords and audiences. Businesses can control their budgets and measure clicks, calls, form submissions and other actions.
The downside is that Google Ads can be very competitive. Popular keywords can be expensive, and simply generating clicks doesn’t guarantee that those visitors will become customers. Effective landing pages, conversion tracking and ongoing campaign management are vital if you don’t want to waste your money.
Facebook: Create Demand and Reach Specific Audiences
Facebook advertising works differently from Google Ads. Instead of primarily reaching people who are actively searching for something, Facebook allows businesses to put their message in front of specific types of people.
Facebook, along with Instagram, offers extensive targeting options based on factors such as demographics, interests, behaviors and previous interactions with a business.
This can make Facebook particularly useful for businesses selling consumer products, local services, events, lifestyle-related products and other offerings that can be effectively demonstrated through images or video.
Facebook can also be excellent for building awareness. Someone may not be thinking about buying a product or service when they see an advertisement, but an interesting offer or compelling piece of content can create interest.
The challenge is that people generally aren’t on Facebook because they are searching for a business. They’re usually there basically for entertainment. As a result, your advertisement has to interrupt their normal activity and convince them to pay attention.
LinkedIn: Reach Business Professionals
LinkedIn is particularly interesting for companies that sell products or services to other businesses.
Rather than targeting people primarily by consumer interests, LinkedIn provides ways to target professional characteristics such as job title, company, industry, company size, seniority and skills.
For example, a company selling services to property claims adjusters could potentially target people based on their professional roles and industries. A business selling accounting services might target company owners, executives or financial professionals.
This professional targeting can make LinkedIn very valuable for B2B marketing.
However, LinkedIn advertising can also be more expensive than advertising on some other platforms. The cost can be worthwhile if a single new customer is worth thousands or tens of thousands of dollars, but it may be difficult to justify for a low-value product or service.
Which Platform Is Best?
There isn’t one advertising platform that is automatically best for every business.
A useful way to think about the three platforms is:
Google Ads captures existing demand. People are already looking for what you sell.
Facebook creates and develops demand. You introduce your product or service to people who may not have been actively looking for it.
LinkedIn targets professional audiences. You can reach people based on their role within the business world.
The right choice depends on your customers, your offer and the value of a new customer.
In some cases, the best strategy is to use more than one platform. For example, Facebook might be used to build awareness, Google Ads to capture people actively searching for the service, and LinkedIn to target specific business decision-makers.
Don’t Judge an Advertising Platform by Clicks Alone
Regardless of which platform you use, clicks and impressions are not the ultimate goal. The goal is to generate profitable customers.
A campaign receiving thousands of clicks isn’t necessarily successful if those visitors never become leads. Conversely, a campaign generating only a handful of leads could be extremely successful if those leads turn into valuable customers.
That means businesses should track what happens after someone clicks the advertisement. Phone calls, form submissions, appointments, sales and ultimately revenue provide much more meaningful information than clicks alone.
Google Ads, Facebook and LinkedIn can all be powerful marketing tools. The key is choosing the platform that matches the way your customers make buying decisions—and then making sure the advertising, landing page and follow-up process work together to turn traffic into actual business.
Get a free consultation on online advertising. Contact Real Web Marketing at 661-441-2429 or fill out a form here.
