Quick answer
Use Google Ads when people already search for what you sell, such as “AC repair Kochi” or “dentist near me”, because you reach them at the moment of need. Use Facebook and Instagram ads when you need to create demand, show something visual, promote an offer or reach a local audience before they search. Many businesses do best with both, starting with whichever matches how their customers buy.
The core difference
Google Ads is mostly intent-based: your ad appears because someone typed a search. Meta ads (Facebook and Instagram) are mostly audience-based: your ad appears because the person fits a profile you chose, whether or not they are looking right now. That one difference explains most of the rest.
| Google Ads | Facebook and Instagram ads | |
|---|---|---|
| How people find you | They search for it | You find them by location, interests and behaviour |
| Best for | Urgent and high-intent needs | Discovery, visual products, offers, events, admissions |
| Ad format | Mostly text in search; Shopping, YouTube and display too | Images, carousels, reels and stories |
| Lead quality | Often higher intent | Can be high volume; needs good qualifying questions |
| Click cost | Higher in competitive searches | Often lower per click, but less intent |
| Local targeting | Districts, cities, radius | Districts, cities, pin code areas, radius |
Which suits your business?
| Business | Usually start with | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency and repair services | Google Ads | People search when the need arises |
| Clinics and dentists | Google Ads, then Meta for awareness | Searches for a service nearby |
| Textile, jewellery, furniture showrooms | Instagram and Facebook | Visual products and seasonal offers |
| Restaurants and bakeries | Instagram and Facebook, plus Google Business Profile | Discovery and local visibility |
| Schools and coaching centres | Both, around admission season | Parents search and also respond to local ads |
| B2B manufacturers and exporters | Google Ads (and LinkedIn) | Buyers search for specific products |
| Real estate | Both | Search intent plus reach among NRI audiences |
How to test both without wasting money
- Set up conversion tracking for forms, calls and WhatsApp before spending anything.
- Give each platform a fixed test budget and the same offer.
- Send each ad to a page that matches it, not just your home page. See landing pages.
- Compare cost per qualified enquiry after a few weeks, not clicks or likes.
- Move budget towards what produces customers, and keep testing.
Common mistakes
- Boosting posts and calling it advertising: boosts rarely use the right objective.
- Targeting all of India when you serve two districts.
- Running Google Ads on broad keywords with no negative keywords.
- Judging Meta ads by likes, or Google Ads by impressions.
- Changing everything every two days before the platforms have learned.
We manage both: Google Ads and Facebook and Instagram ads, planned together under PPC advertising.