Facebook Ads vs Google Ads — Which Is Better for Your Business?

The Fundamental Difference (Intent vs Interruption)

Google Ads and Facebook Ads aren't competing for the same job. They're solving different problems. The most common mistake businesses make — on both sides — is treating them as substitutes.

Google captures intent. When someone types "emergency plumber Brunswick" into Google, they have a problem they need solved right now. Google Ads put your business in front of them at the moment they're actively searching. Conversion rates are high. CPCs reflect that — competitive verticals run $5–$25 per click in Australia.

Facebook creates demand. When someone scrolls Instagram between meetings, they're not searching for anything. They're browsing. Meta puts your offer in front of them based on who they are (demographics), what they care about (interests), what they've done (behaviours), and who they resemble (lookalikes). Conversion rates per click are lower. CPCs are also lower — often 50–80% cheaper than Google. The job is to interrupt usefully, not capture an existing question.

That single distinction explains 80% of when each platform wins and loses.

Cost Comparison (CPCs, CPMs, Management Fees)

The headline cost numbers:

• Google Ads CPC (Melbourne, by vertical): Trades $3–$7. Healthcare $5–$15. Legal $8–$25. Ecommerce Shopping $0.50–$3. B2B $5–$15.
• Facebook Ads CPC (Australia, by vertical): Most B2C $0.50–$3. B2B and high-consideration services $1.50–$6. Generally 50–80% cheaper than Google in equivalent vertical.
• Facebook Ads CPM: $8–$25 most verticals. Higher in B2B and finance.
• Conversion rates: Google Search typically 3–5% on commercial intent traffic. Facebook conversion rates vary wildly by offer and audience — often 0.5–3% on cold traffic, higher on retargeting.
• Management fees: Roughly comparable. Both platforms $1,000–$5,000+/month in Melbourne, scaling with account complexity.

The honest takeaway: cheaper clicks don't mean cheaper customers. Google clicks cost more but convert at higher rates because the intent is higher. Facebook clicks cost less but require more clicks per customer. CPA is the comparison that matters — not CPC. For detailed numbers see our Google Ads cost in Melbourne and Facebook ads cost in Australia guides.

Which Industries Work Best on Each Platform

Patterns from years of running both channels across verticals:

Google Ads Dominant Verticals

• Legal, especially personal injury. High-intent searches at the moment of need.
• Emergency trades. "Emergency plumber", "locksmith now". Urgent intent.
• Medical and dental. Both general and specialist searches.
• B2B selling to known categories. CRM software, accounting platforms, where buyers research solutions by category.
• High-consideration purchases. Cars, property, financial services, where buyers research extensively before deciding.

Facebook Ads Dominant Verticals

• B2C ecommerce. Fashion, beauty, homewares, food, fitness.
• Visual-led services. Cosmetic dental, salons, photographers, interior designers.
• Lifestyle and hobby. Pets, kids, gardening, hobbies — high engagement on Instagram particularly.
• Health, wellness, fitness coaching. Transformation-driven creative drives conversions.
• Time-bound events, restaurants, hospitality. Urgency plus visual content.

Both-Channel Verticals

• Real estate. Google captures suburb-search buyers; Facebook nurtures and retargets.
• Financial services. Google captures problem-aware buyers; Facebook builds awareness.
• Most established B2B. Google for capture; Facebook for content distribution and retargeting.
• Most established B2C ecommerce. Shopping campaigns on Google; brand and remarketing on Facebook.

When to Use Facebook Ads

Choose Facebook as your starting channel when:

• Your customer doesn't search for your category proactively (lifestyle products, emerging categories, impulse purchases).
• Your product is visually compelling and you have or can produce strong creative.
• Your audience is well-defined demographically (age, location, interest signals).
• You're building a brand and need top-of-funnel awareness alongside conversions.
• Your offer benefits from storytelling, social proof, and video.
• You want retargeting at low cost across the wider Meta network.

When to Use Google Ads

Choose Google as your starting channel when:

• Your customer actively searches for what you sell.
• Your service is high-intent or urgent (legal, trades, healthcare).
• You sell B2B into established categories where buyers know what they're looking for.
• You sell high-consideration products where research happens via search.
• You have a strong brand or you need to defend branded keyword searches.
• You sell products via Google Shopping where commercial search dominates.

When to Use Both (And How to Allocate Budget)

Most mature businesses run both. The structural reasons:

• Different funnel positions. Facebook fills the top of the funnel and builds awareness; Google captures the bottom-of-funnel intent that Facebook activity creates.
• Different audiences at different times. The same person scrolls Instagram in the evening and searches Google during the day. Catch them in both.
• Cross-channel retargeting. Google Display retargeting plus Meta retargeting hits the same audience across more surface area.
• Risk diversification. Algorithm changes, policy changes, account suspensions — spreading across platforms protects the business.

Budget allocation starting points for a balanced strategy:

• Service business with high intent (legal, trades): 60–70% Google, 30–40% Facebook (mostly retargeting).
• Established ecommerce: 50% Google (Shopping + Search), 50% Facebook (prospecting + retargeting).
• B2B with long sales cycle: 50% Google, 30% Facebook, 20% LinkedIn.
• B2C lifestyle and hobby products: 30% Google (capture searches), 70% Facebook (drive demand).

Read our broader paid search context in our Google Ads agency and Facebook Ads agency service pages, or our PPC agency Melbourne service for the full multi-channel paid stack.

The Verdict — There Is No Universal Answer

"Which is better?" is the wrong question. "Which is right for my business at this stage of growth?" is the right one. The answer depends on your audience's search behaviour, your offer's visual potential, your budget, your creative capacity, and where you are on the awareness ladder.

Two things to remember:

• Don't run both with under $3,000/month total budget. Splitting too thin breaks both.
• Don't judge either channel until 60–90 days of disciplined optimisation. 30 days is noise.