Google Ads or Facebook advertising: which to choose

The difference between Google and Facebook advertising is not price but intent. When each platform works, when it does not, how to decide which to start with, and what published budgets say.

By Kiril Kirilov, CEO of Intellion Agency

If people already search Google for what you sell, start with Google Ads. If nobody searches for it because they do not know it exists, start with Facebook and Instagram ads. The two platforms do different things: on Google you capture search, on Meta you interrupt attention.

The question is usually framed as a choice between two equivalent tools at different prices. It is not. The two platforms do different things and fail for different reasons.

On Google you capture search. On Meta you interrupt attention. Everything else follows from that difference.

When Google Ads fits better

When people already know they have a need and articulate it. Someone typing "boiler repair Sofia" has a problem now and is looking for who solves it. You do not need to persuade them — you only need to be found.

• ·Urgent services — repairs, emergencies, medical care.
• ·Services with a clear name that people type themselves.
• ·Products people compare before buying.
• ·B2B services with a specific search query behind them.

When Meta ads fit better

When nobody is searching for what you sell — because they do not know it exists, or it does not occur to them to want it. A product that has to be seen to be wanted cannot be found through search.

• ·Visual products — fashion, interiors, food, jewellery.
• ·New products with no established search query yet.
• ·Impulse purchases at an accessible price point.
• ·Remarketing to people who already visited your site.

What published budgets say

Price is the most common question but the weakest criterion for choosing between the platforms. Still, one published model helps you picture the order of magnitude. Per AdwayCreative (May 2026), one agency describes a management fee for Google Ads and, separately, a suggested ad budget paid to Google. This is one agency’s model, not "the market price".

The same source notes that cost per click varies by industry: around EUR 0.20 for local services and EUR 2.00 or more for competitive B2B. That points to something true regardless of agency: your budget runs out at different speeds by industry, and the comparison "Google is dearer than Facebook" or the reverse means little without it.

When neither will work

Both platforms bring a person to a page. From there the page decides. If it loads slowly on a phone, does not answer the question behind the query or offers no clear action, you are paying for visits that leave — whichever platform you are on.

The same goes for tracking. Without correct conversion measurement, the algorithm on either platform optimises toward the wrong goal. That is the most common reason campaigns spend without result and the owner concludes that "advertising does not work".

How to decide by type of business

The practical way is to ask: what does the customer do before contacting me? If they search — Google. If they do not — you first need to create desire, and that is a job for Meta.

• ·A clinic or a garage. People search for a specific service, often urgently. Google is the natural start, and the pages on the site have to answer the query. That is the case for projects like Premium Auto — a service centre whose customers search for repair and diagnostics.
• ·Fashion or interiors. The product is bought because it is seen. Meta ads with strong photography are the more logical start, as in a project like Lucciarelli, where the visual is the main argument.
• ·A new category. If there is no query, Google has nothing to capture. Start with Meta to build awareness and add Google once people start searching your name.
• ·An online store with a catalogue. Often both work: Google for people searching a specific product, Meta for remarketing to abandoned carts.

Which to start with

If people are already searching for what you do, start with Google. The intent is there and the path to an enquiry is shortest. Check whether that is the case: type the queries you think your customers use and see whether competitors are already advertising on them. If they are, the demand exists and somebody is profiting from it.

If the demand does not exist, Google has nothing to capture and Meta is the logical starting point. And if the budget allows both, the combination that most often works is Google for intent-driven search and Meta for remarketing to the people who did not convert first time.

How to test without risking the whole budget

• ·Define what an "enquiry" is: a call, a form, an order. Set up measurement for it before the first campaign.
• ·Start with one campaign and one clear landing page instead of five campaigns you cannot compare.
• ·Allow time for the algorithm to learn and do not change everything every day.
• ·Watch the cost per enquiry, not the cost per click. A click is not a result.
• ·Decide on scaling only after one campaign delivers predictable enquiries.

That is also how we work on projects with a wider scope — for example Intellion Academy, where the Google and Meta campaigns are part of the overall work alongside the site and enrolment automation. Advertising is not a separate island; it is part of the customer’s path.

See how we manage Google Ads campaigns →

Common mistakes when choosing

• ·"Facebook is cheaper" or "Google is dearer" says nothing if your customers are not where you advertise.
• ·Many platforms on a small budget. Spreading a small sum across several channels does not give enough data for any of them.
• ·Lack of patience. Algorithms need time to learn; changing everything every day prevents learning what works.
• ·Advertising without a clear offer. Both platforms bring people, but they cannot persuade them for you.

See how we work with Meta Ads on Facebook and Instagram →

Related service: Google Ads →