Ok before I start, this article isn't going to reel off a load of stats etc comparing spend against ad delivery against click thru rate etc. However, I have to say that after a few weeks of testing Facebook Ads v Google AdWords, Google Adwords wins, and it wins absolutely!!!
Why?With Google AdWords I may only get sixty or seventy delivered ads and a lower CTR (Click Through Rate) than Facebook but virtually every click converts to a goal, an affiliate sale or a Google adSense click.
With Facebook I get tens of thousands of delivered ads (supposedly targetted but I'm still not convinced they are very accurately targetted to my audience, primarily rental property in France.) and a pretty high CTR (which costs me cash but at least shows some people do see the ads) but, and this is the big butt(sic) in this post, with Facebook I get next to no conversions!Ad for ad Facebook might have a lower cost per click but they are showing a huge amount of ads and getting me a lot of clicks that simply don't convert!
Why? and this is just my opinion...
Google is a utility where people go to find something they want, they're searching for a specific thing while they're using Google. If that thing is a place to advertise a French property for rent then they'll click my ads for listing property and I get a buck or two!
Also if they're on the lookout for a place to rent in France they'll click my ads (I must stop at this moment and point out that my organic ranking is now such that I don't need to use ppc adverts for holiday makers/rental property seekers) and either find a place they want to rent, and make contact with the owner, or purchase one of my affiliated products, or they'll click one of my adSense ads and depart.
Whichever way it's all income so I make a buck or two or at least cover my costs and I'm happy!
Facebook is a social network, people are going there to send a message to a friend, check out their friends photos and maybe throw a sheep at one or two other friends in the process. They are simply not there to search for products or even take a lot of notice of the advertising. I admit I don't take any notice of that section of the site, it's too out of the way of the general vision flow. So, there are clicks but, from the conversion rate, I think they're either accidental clicks or the 'clicker' thinks that Long Term Lets In France is a cool, new application.....
I use Facebook quite a lot, I find it's a great way of keeping in touch with friends both current and, at one time, long lost... but that's all. I don't go their to shop or to search for things, for that I use Google.
For me, Google has nothing to fear from Facebook and so perhaps Mr Zuckerberg and his Facebook empire should concentrate on what it's all about really:
* contact * networking * photo sharing * friendships * throwing sheep * mob wars - awesome app!!! * other friend/contact related stuff
Maybe, along the way, they'll remove some of the awful, spammy applications that are prevalent before they end up like MySpace and become a junky, spam infested mess.
For me Google AdWords delivers ads exactly to the target audience I'm aiming to reach and (maybe just for now to be fair), Facebook doesn't.
I shall be sticking to Google AdWords for my fututre PPC advertising.
Check out my site, www.LetsRentPropertyInFrance.com for long term lets in France and Holiday gites in France.