Meta Ads or Google Ads: where to start

The question “Meta or Google?” has no single right answer for everyone. It does, however, have a right answer for your product, your budget and the material you have available.

The most useful starting point is to understand what stage your customer is at when they come across your ad: are they already looking for a solution, or do they not yet know they need one?

Google: the demand that already exists

In a Google search, the user has already expressed a need. When they type “accountant for sole trader Athens” or “product photography for e-shop”, they know what they want and are looking for someone to choose. Your ad appears at the moment of intent.

This is the strength of Google Ads, but also its limit. If nobody is searching for what you sell, because it is something new or because people do not know they need it, there is no demand to capture. Before you start, check in Keyword Planner whether there are searches for the keywords you are interested in.

Google also has ad formats that are not based on search, such as YouTube and Demand Gen campaigns. For a first campaign, though, search is the clearest place to see whether demand turns into customers.

Meta: discovery

On Facebook and Instagram, nobody is looking for your solution. They are scrolling. Your ad has to stop them, show them something they did not know they wanted and give them a reason to find out more.

Here the creative does much of the work. Targeting on Meta relies more and more on broad audiences and the platform's algorithms, so the image, the video and the first words of the copy determine who responds. Without good visual material, Meta is a difficult channel.

It suits products people need to see before they want them, such as fashion, jewellery, food and design objects. It also suits new products, events and local businesses that want to become known in their neighbourhood.

How to decide

• The product: if your customers search for it using specific words, start with Google. If they first need to see it to want it, start with Meta.
• The budget: with a small amount, one channel set up properly gives clearer conclusions than two channels with half the amount each.
• The creative: if you do not yet have photos or videos that stop the scroll, search ads are easier to start with, since they rely mainly on text.
• The decision cycle: in B2B services, where a decision takes weeks, search brings in the first contact and remarketing keeps your brand in front of people who have already visited your site.

A car repair garage or a plumber usually starts with search, because their customers look for them when they have a problem. A new jewellery brand with strong photographs has more to gain by starting on Instagram.

Test both, but with a plan

When the budget allows, it is worth testing both channels. A test needs rules, though, otherwise you end up comparing things that cannot be compared.

• Decide in advance what counts as a result: a quote request, a call or a purchase. Use the same for both channels.
• Give each channel its own budget and enough time for data to build up before you draw conclusions.
• Add UTMs to every link and set up conversion tracking properly, respecting cookie consent.
• Compare the cost per quality enquiry or per sale, not just clicks and impressions.

Each platform attributes conversions by its own rules, so a single sale may show up in both. That is why you should cross-check the numbers with your CRM, your e-shop or simply with what customers tell you about where they found you.