3 replies to this topic

[nvwebmarketing]

Hi,

One of my clients has been considering using facebook ads until he discovered an article on business insider which states that "Over 35% of those surveyed by Bank of America Merill Lynch said Google is the 1st place they go when making an online purchase VS. under 3% ask their friends Facebook"

What do you guys think and suggest about paid advertising on google vs facebook?

Nina

[Mikl]

"Over 35% of those surveyed ... said Google is the 1st place they go when making an online purchase VS. under 3% ask their friends Facebook"

I take that to mean that 35% do a Google search for the product. That's got nothing to do with the click-through rate of the ads that are displayed as a result of that search.

Really, the number of people who search Google vs the number who ask their friends is not particularly relevant to your client's decision. You've got to judge it on the total amount your spend on the ads vs the value of the business it brings in. Since you can measure both of those quite easily, it would make sense to test both methods and see which one works best for your client.

[Jill]

Facebook ads can target a very specific set of demographics. If you're looking for something like that, it's certainly worth a try. It's fairly easy to set up ads, so you might as well test it anyway. The only way to know if it will work for you is to test.

[rolf]

Further to what the others have said, Google is the low hanging fruit. Their numbers may be more appealing under many circumstances, and you may (or may not) have to work harder with other advertising platforms to get the same return, but there's no need to write off the harder to reach apples; they are still good apples!

IMHO, each should be judged on it's own merits on whether it's worth while under your particular circumstances - why not use both?