CentriWebGoogle Ads vs Facebook ads comes down to intent: Google Ads puts you in front of people who are searching for what you sell right now, while Facebook ads put you in front of people who are scrolling and may need you soon. For most local service businesses where customers search when they have a problem, Google Ads is the usual first test, and Facebook ads suit offers that make people act on something they were not already looking for.
CentriWeb does marketing campaign work for clients, so weigh our view with that in mind. This comparison uses Google’s and Meta’s own help pages, which were opened in November 2026. Check their pages for current details, because both platforms change often.
Google Ads vs Facebook ads at a glance
| Google Ads | Facebook ads (Meta) | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Ads shown across Google, mainly when someone searches. Google lists Search, YouTube, Google Play, Discover, Gmail and its Display Network | Ads shown on Facebook and Instagram, and through placements such as Stories, Reels, Messenger and WhatsApp |
| How the audience is chosen | Mostly by what people search for, then by location | By location, age, gender and interests |
| How you set spend | You set a bid, the most you will pay per click, and the amount you actually pay is often less | You set a daily, lifetime or fixed budget. Check Meta’s billing pages for how that budget is charged |
| Who maintains it | Someone has to watch searches, keywords, ads and landing pages | Someone has to refresh the creative, watch the audience and answer leads fast |
| Who it suits | Businesses people search for when they have a need | Businesses with a visual or clear offer, or a service people do not search for until prompted |
How Google Ads works: people searching
Google’s help page on the ad auction explains that an auction runs every time someone searches on Google or visits a site that shows ads. Your bid is the most you will pay per click, and Google says you often pay less than that maximum. Where your ad shows depends on your bid, the quality of your ad and landing page, search context such as device and location, and how competitive that auction is.
For a local business, the useful part is that the searcher has already described the job. Someone typing “emergency plumber” or “dentist near me” is closer to a decision than someone who happened to see an ad. Google’s location targeting lets you aim at a country, a region or city, or a radius around a point, and the minimum radius is 1 km. It offers two settings, presence (people physically in the area) and presence or interest (people in the area and those showing interest in it), and recommends the second for Search.
The limits are real too. You pay for a click whether or not it turns into an enquiry. If the landing page is slow or vague, the click is wasted. And if few people search for what you sell, there is little to buy, no matter how much you spend.
How Facebook ads work: people scrolling
Meta’s advertising page lists objectives for sales, leads, engagement, traffic, awareness and app promotion, and says you pick who sees the ad by location, age, gender and interests. Ads appear in Feeds, Stories and Reels, and Meta recommends letting its system choose placements.
The strength is reaching people before they search. A new fitness class, a home renovation package, a clinic offering a new treatment or a limited-time booking window can all prompt someone who was not looking. Meta’s lead ads let a person respond inside Facebook or Instagram, which suits a phone and a quick enquiry.
The limits are the mirror image. Nobody is in the middle of a search, so the offer and the picture carry the weight. Leads from a form can be less ready to buy than someone who rang you after searching, so the speed of your reply matters even more. Our guide to Facebook ads for a local business covers that setup step by step.
Which suits your business
Ask three questions about your own customers.
- Do they search before they buy? If your customers type a problem into Google (a blocked drain, a broken tooth, a will), Google Ads can meet them there. If they tend to decide after seeing something, such as a trial class, a seasonal offer or a before-and-after, Facebook ads fit better.
- Is the job urgent or planned? Urgent work leans towards search. Planned work, where you can prompt interest weeks ahead, leans towards social.
- How big is the average job? A high-value job justifies paying for a click on a competitive search. A low-value job may not, and a cheaper social format could be the only way the numbers work.
| Business | Likely first test | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency trade (plumber, locksmith) | Google Ads | The customer is searching in the moment |
| Dental or medical practice | Google Ads, then Facebook for new services | People search for the service, but check your regulator’s advertising rules first |
| Gym or fitness studio | Facebook ads | An offer and a picture prompt a decision |
| Home renovation or landscaping | Both, in small tests | Some people search, others get inspired |
Treat this table as a starting point for a test and nothing more. Neither platform can promise a number of enquiries.
What to compare when you test both
If you try both, make the test fair.
- Give each the same test budget and the same length of time. Meta says ads should run for at least seven days so the system can optimise, and Google’s bidding also needs time.
- Send both to a page that matches the ad, with the phone number and a short form visible on a phone.
- Record where every enquiry came from, and ask callers directly. Our guide to marketing attribution for a small business shows a simple way.
- Compare the cost of each enquiry that turned into a booked job. Cost per click on its own hides what happens after the click.
- Reply to every lead within the hour from either source. A fast reply makes both channels look better.
Also consider whether you need paid ads at all yet. If you have not looked after your Google Business Profile, your website’s search presence and your reviews, those are worth sorting out before you pay for clicks, because paid traffic sent to a weak page or an unclaimed profile wastes money. Our comparison of SEO vs Google Ads covers that trade-off.
A worked example with your own numbers
Suppose, for illustration only, you spend $1,000 on a test and it brings 20 enquiries. If you answer all of them within the hour and 5 become booked jobs worth $800 each, the test returned $4,000 of work and each job cost $200 in ad spend. Now suppose the other platform brought 40 enquiries for the same $1,000, but only 2 became jobs because many were just browsing. It looks twice as cheap per enquiry and costs $500 per job. These figures are invented to show the arithmetic. Yours will differ, and the only way to find them is to record every enquiry and what happened to it. For the cost side of Google Ads, see what Google Ads costs in Australia.
When a managed system fits better than running ads yourself
Paid ads are a system, not a single setting. The ad is one part. The others are the landing page, the instant reply, the record of the lead, the follow-up and the report that shows which spend led to which job. When those are connected and someone looks after them, you can see what is working and stop what is not. That is the work in our marketing service: campaigns with reporting, connected to the CRM and to your phone and calendar.
It does not suit everyone. You probably do not need it if:
- You get a handful of enquiries a month and can answer each one personally.
- You have the time and interest to run Google Ads or Facebook ads yourself, and your results are already clear in your own records.
- Your budget is small enough that a standard campaign, set up once and checked monthly, does the job.
In those cases, start with the platform’s own setup, keep a simple spreadsheet and review it monthly.