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“Should we advertise on Facebook or on Google?” It’s a fair question, but it often starts at the wrong end. The two platforms don’t do the same job. Google Ads answers people who are already looking for a solution. Meta, with Facebook and Instagram, reaches people who aren’t looking for you yet.
So the right starting point depends on your offer and how your customers buy, not on whichever platform gets the most attention. Either way, what makes the difference is prepared before the first ad goes live: conversion tracking, the landing page, the message.
Two platforms, two logics
On Google, the intent comes from the searcher. They type “roller shutter repair” or “restaurant POS software”, and your ad appears at the very moment they’re looking. You pay to capture demand that already exists. How relevant the keyword and the landing page are counts as much as the ad copy.
On Meta, nobody is searching for anything. People scroll through their feed, and your ad has to stop them. You create interest in an offer they didn’t know about, or remind them of it. Here, the creative does most of the work, including part of the targeting: Meta’s algorithms use reactions to your visuals to find your audience.
Where to start, depending on your situation
One question settles most cases: are your customers already searching for what you sell, in words you can pin down? If so, Google Ads is often the most direct place to start. If your offer is new, visual, or meets a need people don’t yet put into words, Meta stands a better chance of getting it discovered.
With limited resources, it’s better to do one thing well than two things badly. That’s how we approach online advertising at LaBoîte: one platform, one goal, tests, then scaling up.
- Urgent or specific need, expressed through a search: Google
- Product that shows well and sells on impulse: Meta
- B2B offer that buyers actively compare: Google first
- New category nobody is searching for yet: Meta
- Local business: Google search, backed by Meta in your area
Before the first ad: tracking and consent
A campaign without conversion tracking is spending you’ll never be able to measure. Both platforms’ algorithms also learn from those conversions: without them, they optimise for clicks, not customers.
Consent is part of the set-up. In the EU, advertising trackers require the visitor’s prior consent, and in France the data protection authority (CNIL) expects refusing to be as easy as accepting. Google also requires its Consent Mode for certain measurement and targeting features in the European Economic Area. A compliant banner, properly linked to your tags, protects your visitors and the reliability of your data.
- Defined conversions: quote request, call, appointment, purchase
- The Google tag and Meta pixel installed, ideally backed by the Conversions API
- Every event tested in real conditions
- A compliant consent banner, linked to the tags
- Tracked links (UTM parameters) to tell sources apart
Getting started on Google Ads without wasting budget
Start with the Search Network and a small number of high-intent keywords, the ones a customer ready to buy would type. Group them by theme, with ads and a landing page that answer each one precisely. A “roofing quote” keyword that sends people to your home page wastes part of its potential.
The search terms report is your best friend: it shows the actual queries that triggered your ads. In the early weeks, check it weekly and exclude anything that doesn’t match your offer, such as searches for jobs, training or free solutions.
Automated campaigns such as Performance Max come later. They perform at their best with reliable conversions and a varied set of creative assets. Launched too early, they spend without you really knowing where.
Getting started on Meta: creative at the centre
On Facebook and Instagram, keep the structure simple: one campaign per objective, few ad sets, broad targeting or targeting based on your own audiences, such as site visitors or existing customers. The more you split things up, the less data each ad set receives, and the longer the learning phase drags on.
Put the effort into the creative. Test different angles rather than colour variations: the problem you solve, proof (reviews, a demo), the offer, the answer to a common objection. Vary the formats too, especially vertical video, with a hook in the first few seconds. Our article on Reels and Stories covers this format in more detail.
Test, measure, adjust
An ad campaign is run through successive tests. Before each one, write down what you’re testing, the metric that will decide it (cost per enquiry, cost per sale, landing page conversion rate) and when you’ll review it. Without that framework, you end up judging a campaign on the mood of the day.
Change one thing at a time: the audience, the creative or the page, not all three at once. Give campaigns time to build up data, and avoid constantly tweaking them, as every significant change restarts the learning phase. Finally, look beyond the platforms’ dashboards: which leads actually became customers?
The most expensive mistakes
Budgets are rarely lost in one go. They leak away through small oversights, repeated every day.
- Launching without conversion tracking, or with tracking set up wrong
- Sending all the traffic to the home page
- Leaving a Google campaign with no negative keywords
- Judging a campaign on clicks rather than customers
- Pulling the plug too early, or letting it run unwatched
- Google Ads captures existing demand, Meta creates new demand.
- Start with the platform that matches how your customers buy.
- Install and test conversion tracking and consent before launching.
- On Google, work on keywords and exclusions; on Meta, multiply creative angles.
- Test one variable at a time, with a metric set in advance.
Frequently asked questions
What budget should I plan for a first campaign?
There’s no universal figure. It depends on click costs in your sector, the value of a customer and the time needed to test. The right starting budget gets you enough conversions to draw conclusions, and it’s better concentrated on one platform than spread thin.
Can I advertise without a website?
On Meta, yes: an ad can open a built-in form, a conversation or your profile. On Google Ads, a landing page is almost always needed, and its quality affects your results. Either way, a page dedicated to the offer helps convince and measure.
Should I run campaigns myself or use an agency?
A first campaign can be launched in-house, if you take the time to set up tracking and analyse the results. Outside support becomes useful when budgets grow, when you need a steady flow of new creative or when time runs short. Either way, keep the ad accounts in your own name.
Together we choose the right platform, set up reliable tracking and test your messages before raising budgets.
