Google Ads vs Facebook Ads: Which Platform Should Get Your Budget?

You’ve got a budget to spend on digital advertising channels and two obvious places to put it, so which one deserves it? Google Ads puts your business in front of people already searching for what you sell, while Facebook Ads creates a desire in people who weren’t looking yet.

Both are worth doing eventually, but if you’re choosing where to put your budget first, that choice should depend on your sales cycle, your audience, and your creative capacity.

	Google Ads	Facebook Ads
Best for	People actively searching for a solution	Creating demand for people who don’t know your business yet
Targeting basis	Keywords and search intent	Interests, behaviour and demographics
Sales cycle fit	Shorter, high-intent purchases	Longer, consideration-driven journeys
Creative demands	Low: set your ad copy and landing page, then check in occasionally	High: needs new photos, videos and copy regularly
Cost driver	How many other businesses are bidding on the same keywords	How big your audience is, and how often they’ve already seen your ad

How Google Ads and Facebook Ads Work

Before comparing costs or results, it helps to know that Google vs Facebook advertising is less of a head-to-head than it looks. If generating leads through digital marketing is still new to you, that’s worth reading first. Either way, Google Ads and Facebook Ads operate at opposite ends of your customer’s buying journey, which is where we’ll start.

Google Ads: Capturing Demand That Already Exists

Someone types “emergency plumber near me” or “best CRM for small business” into Google, and your ad appears just as they’re ready to act. This is the premise of Google Ads: intent-based advertising. The customer already knows what they want. You’re not convincing anyone to want your business; you’re making sure you’re the answer when they already do.

Facebook Ads: Creating Demand Before the Search Happens

Facebook Ads work earlier in the journey. Nobody’s searching for “ergonomic office chair” while scrolling their feed. But a well-placed ad, built around their interests and behaviour, can plant that idea before they even search for it. 

Facebook doesn’t wait for demand; it builds it, hence why it’s discovery-based. It’s also the biggest difference in any Google Ads vs social media ads comparison: one answers a search, the other plants the idea before it happens.

Matching Platform to Sales Cycle & Customer Journey

So, Google Ads vs Facebook Ads: which is better for your business? It comes down to your sales cycle.

If your sales cycle is short (meaning the customer is very likely to need your service within a few days or weeks) and the need is obvious, such as a broken car or a leaking pipe, Google Ads is the choice here. Intent already exists; you just need to be visible.

If your sales cycle is longer and requires more consideration, such as a renovation or a big-ticket purchase, Facebook Ads is the way to go. The demand is not quite there yet, but you can build familiarity with your potential customers long before they’re ready to say yes.

Comparing Cost, Lead Volume & Lead Quality

Average CPC and Budget Efficiency

Platform	Estimated CPC Benchmark
Google Ads	$2–$4
Facebook Ads	$0.80 – $2

* Based on RockingWeb’s Australian ad benchmark research. Actual costs vary by industry and competition.

On paper, Facebook Ads vs Google Ads looks like an easy win for Facebook, since it’s the more budget-friendly option. But a cheap click that never converts still costs you more than an expensive one that does.

Why Cheaper Leads Aren’t Always Better Leads

You might be more inclined to choose Facebook Ads for its lower cost, but in our experience, that doesn’t automatically mean it will give you better results.

Google leads tend to arrive further along, already convinced they need a solution, which usually means fewer leads but a higher close rate.

That’s why, when we’re doing your reports, we focus on cost per customer, not cost per click. It’s the only number that tells you what you’re spending is actually working.

Creative and Content Demands

Google Ads and Facebook Ads ask very different things from your team.

Google Ads is comparatively low-maintenance on the creative front. You need sharp ad copy, solid keyword coverage, and a landing page that fits what the searcher is looking for. Update it a few times a quarter, and it holds up just fine.

Facebook Ads takes a different approach. The same audience sees the same ad dozens of times as they scroll, so creative fatigue sets in fast. What performed brilliantly in week one can flatline by week four. That means you will need a steady pipeline of fresh images, video and copy. If you can’t commit to this, Facebook Ads will quietly cost you more than the CPC ever suggests.

When LinkedIn Ads Belongs in the Mix

If your customer is a business, not a single consumer, then you should consider LinkedIn Ads a part of your budget.

Why B2B Businesses Pay More for LinkedIn Leads (and When It’s Worth It)

If your sales cycle is long, your deal size is large, and your buyer is defined by their role rather than their personal interests, then LinkedIn Ads is a worthy investment.

LinkedIn Ads typically cost three to five times more per click than Facebook Ads. That’s the price of reaching people by job title, seniority, and industry rather than just interests.

For a business selling a $50 product, that premium rarely pays off. But if you’re a business selling a $50,000 enterprise contract to a handful of decision-makers, it often does, because you only need a handful of the right leads, not a flood of average ones.

A Simple Framework for Splitting Your Budget Across Channels

Not sure where to start? Work through these four questions:

1. How long is your sales cycle? Short and high-intent, lean toward Google Ads. Long and considered, lean toward Facebook Ads (and LinkedIn Ads if you’re selling to businesses or your buyer is defined by their job title).
2. Can you sustain fresh creatives? Facebook rewards a steady content pipeline. If you can’t commit to that, consider doing Google Ads instead.
3. What’s your real cost per customer? Run a small test on each platform and track it through to an actual sale before you judge results.
4. Set a starting split. A common starting point is 60/40 or 70/30, depending on which platform best matches your sales cycle. If you want to do both digital and traditional marketing channels, we’ve got a breakdown worth a look.

Common Mistakes Businesses Make When Choosing a Platform

Most platform decisions go wrong before the first ad even launches. Here’s what you need to keep in mind:

• Copying a competitor’s channel. What works for them reflects their sales cycle and audience, not yours.
• Spreading the budget thin across every platform at once. Without a clear priority, none of them gets enough money to actually learn and perform.
• Judging results too early. A week or two of data rarely tells you anything. Give each platform enough runway to actually learn.
• Chasing clicks over paying customers. A low CPC means nothing if those clicks never close.
• Treating creatives as a one-time setup. Especially on Facebook, stale creatives quietly tank performance.

How Racket Approaches Cross-Channel Budget Allocation

So, what do we think? Google or Facebook? Actually, our question is more about what your customers’ journey looks like. If we have that, we’ll give you a more definite answer on which platform is best for you.

We’ve spent over a decade building digital advertising strategies for Australian businesses that leave nothing to chance. We test it, measure it against actual revenue, and adjust as the data comes in. No generic package. Just a plan built around you and your customers.

If you’re still not sure where your next dollar should go, let’s have that conversation before you spend it.

Whenever you’re ready, bring us your numbers, and we’ll tell you straight where your budget should go first. Get your growth roadmap.

Frequently Asked Questions