Google Ads or Facebook and Instagram: Where to Put Your First Ad Budget

If people already search for your service or product, put your first budget into Google Ads. If they don't know you yet and demand has to be created, start with Facebook and Instagram ads. Google catches demand that already exists; Meta shows your offer to people who aren't looking for it right now. A fair test shows which one brings cheaper enquiries.

Summary

• Google Ads on Search reaches people who are searching for your products and services right now. Facebook and Instagram show ads based on location, age, interests and behaviour.
• Local services and products people search for usually start on Google. New and visual products usually start on Facebook and Instagram.
• Both channels need a landing page, conversion tracking tied to cookie consent, and ads that match the offer.
• Judge the test on the number of enquiries and the cost per enquiry, not the cost per click.
• Both platforms can reach your website visitors again, so combining them makes sense once the first channel works.

What is the difference between Google Ads and Facebook ads?

The difference is the moment in which someone sees your ad.

Google Ads on Search responds to intent. Google describes Search campaigns as a way to reach people while they're searching on Google for the products and services you offer. Someone typing "washing machine repair Nitra" has the problem now. You pay per click and an auction sets the price. The detail is in How Much Do Google Ads Cost?.

Facebook and Instagram show ads while people browse. You choose the audience by age and location, and with detailed targeting by interests, behaviours and demographics. The person wasn't looking for anything, so the ad has to create the need. That is why creative matters more here: in each auction Meta weighs the estimated chance that the person responds and the quality of the ad, so a more relevant ad can beat a higher bid. How the price is set is covered in How Much Do Instagram and Facebook Ads Cost?.

Put simply: Google is the channel for demand that exists. Meta is the channel for demand you need to create.

Are people already searching for what you sell?

Check this first. Keyword Planner in Google Ads shows, for your keywords and location, average monthly searches, the level of competition and the range of top of page bids. Keywords with very low search volume can't be forecast, which happens with narrow Slovak terms.

• There is search volume and the click prices work for you: start on Google.
• There is search volume but clicks are expensive: divide your daily budget by the high end of the estimated cost per click. If that buys only a few clicks a day, consider a narrower keyword set or Meta.
• Hardly anyone searches for your offer: there is no one to catch on Search. Start on Facebook and Instagram.

Which channel suits which type of business?

The table is a starting point, not a rule. A hair salon with strong photos can do well on Instagram, and a fashion shop can do well in Google Shopping.

What does each channel need to work?

A landing page

The click is only half the job. Google rates landing page experience, meaning how relevant and useful the page is for what the person searched for, and page quality improves Ad Rank and can lower your cost. Meta also says what people see after the click directly affects your cost. Give each main service or category a page with the offer, a price or price range, contact details and a clear next step.

Conversion tracking with cookie consent

Without tracking you can't tell what the ads brought in. Conversion measurement in Google Ads shows which keywords, ads and campaigns drive valuable actions such as a purchase, a sign-up or a call. On Facebook and Instagram the job is done by the Meta pixel, code on your site that logs what visitors do, and the Conversions API, a direct connection between your data and Meta.

To use measurement, ad personalisation and remarketing for visitors from the European Economic Area, Google requires you to collect their consent and share consent signals with it. That is what Consent Mode does: it takes the choice from your cookie banner and adjusts how Google tags behave. Meta warns that European privacy rules may affect campaigns and reporting. Some visitors will decline, so the numbers in both accounts will be incomplete.

Creative

On Search, the ad text has to answer the search term. On Facebook and Instagram, the image or video does the work. Meta rates ads lower when they withhold information, use sensationalised language or bait engagement. Prepare two or three variants with a clear offer.

How do you run a fair first test?

• One goal for both channels. A form enquiry, a call or a purchase, defined the same way in Google Ads and in Meta.
• A budget that lets each channel show something. Illustration, not a recommendation: a business with EUR 600 for four weeks puts EUR 300 into one Search campaign and EUR 300 into one Meta campaign. If that would give each channel only a handful of enquiries, start with one channel and add the second later.
• Enough time to learn. Smart Bidding in Google needs a 7 to 14 day learning phase. On Meta an ad set usually leaves the learning phase after about 50 results in the week after its last significant edit. Plan for at least four weeks and don't change budgets or goals while the systems learn: changes reset learning.
• Small budget, easier goal. Illustration: if you expect an enquiry to cost EUR 15, 50 enquiries a week would cost EUR 750. With a very small budget, Meta says its system has an inaccurate signal of whom to optimise for. Optimising for purchases may also need more budget than optimising for landing page views.
• Start narrow. On Google, one campaign for your main service and the area you actually serve. On Meta, one ad set with two or three creative variants. With many ads and ad sets the system learns less about each one.
• Compare properly. To compare two creatives or audiences on Meta, use an A/B test. Meta splits the audience so nobody sees both versions, recommends the same budget for each, and advises against testing by switching ad sets on and off by hand.

What should you measure at the end of the test?

• Number of conversions in each channel.
• Cost per enquiry or order: money spent divided by the number of conversions.
• Quality of enquiries: how many became customers, and at what margin.

Don't compare cost per click or cost per thousand impressions across channels. When you optimise for conversions, Meta says CPM may not be a good indicator of performance.

Count enquiries yourself as well, in your inbox, CRM or call log. Each platform credits conversions by its own rules; Meta, for example, can credit a conversion after an ad impression, not only after a click. The two accounts added together can therefore show more conversions than the enquiries you actually received.

When does it make sense to use both?

When the first channel brings enquiries at a cost you can carry and you want to grow. The most common combination is remarketing: reaching people who visited your site and didn't get in touch.

• Meta offers website custom audiences, for example people who visited in the last 30 days and haven't converted.
• Google can show ads to past visitors in their follow-up searches on Google, on Display Network sites and apps, and on YouTube.

Both rely on tracking and cookie consent. The channels can support each other in other ways too: someone who sees you on Instagram may later search for your name on Google.

What should you watch out for with your first ads?

• Launching without conversion tracking. Then all you know is how much you spent.
• Judging clicks and likes instead of enquiries. A cheap click with no enquiry is expensive.
• Sending people to the home page. After the click, people should find exactly what the ad promised.
• Targeting all of Slovakia when you serve one district. For businesses that don't serve every region, Google suggests more precise location targeting.
• Spreading a small budget across many campaigns, audiences and channels.
• Changing settings every day, or ending the test after three days while it is still learning.

Frequently asked questions

Are Google Ads or Facebook ads cheaper?

There is no general answer. We haven't found average prices for Slovakia in either Google's or Meta's help pages, and the price comes from an auction that depends on your industry, audience and ad quality. Compare the cost per enquiry from your own test, not the cost per click.

Is one channel enough to start with?

Yes, and on a small budget it often beats two weak campaigns. Choose the channel by whether people already search for your offer, and add the second once the first brings enquiries.

How long should the first test run?

Long enough for both platforms to finish learning: on Google, 7 to 14 days with Smart Bidding; on Meta, until the ad set reaches about 50 results in a week or it is clear it won't. Four weeks is a sensible minimum for a first decision.

Can I run ads without a cookie banner?

The ads will run, but for visitors from the EEA Google requires consent and consent signals for measurement, personalisation and remarketing. Without them you will have little data on results. Your lawyer should review the wording of your cookie banner.

Not sure which channel to try first? Ask for a free marketing diagnostic or see our paid media service.