Billions of people use search engines and social media to browse, research and buy products and services, paid social media ads and paid search ads can help drive more customers and sales for your business.
But what is the difference between paid advertising on social networks and paid search (Google Ads) and how do you know which will bring the most revenue to your business?
And if you’re looking for even more digital marketing advice, we offer a free consultation via instagram message!
What are social media ads?
So what are paid advertisements? Paid advertising on social networks is the practice of promoting your products, you choose a target group of people to whom the advertisement will be shown. With this digital advertising strategy, you can pay to advertise your brand to more consumers on social media.
Your ad will appear in users’ news feeds so they can see your products and services as they browse their daily updates. Paid ads are a great strategy to help you reach more members of your target audience on social media.
What is paid search?
Paid search is the process of paying for advertisements that appear at the top of search engine results pages (SERPs), usually on Google. Paid search ads are generally pay-per-click (PPC) ads that appear above organic search results.
With 93% of the online experience starting with the search engine, paid search ads are a great way to promote your brand to more consumers and increase brand awareness for your business.
Now that you know the answer to the question “what are paid search and social media ads”, we can compare these two types of online ads.
So what exactly is the difference between paid search and paid social ads? Several factors make these ads different, including:
1. Ad formats
One of the most significant differences between paid social ads and paid search ads is their format and layout. Although paid search and paid social media are both digital ads, the way they appear to users may differ.
Paid search ads will typically appear at the top of the search results page when a user searches for a keyword or phrase. This means that paid search ads are mostly text because they look similar to other organic search results.
On the other hand, paid social media ads appear in the user’s newsfeed, and you can usually have more freedom to choose how you want your ad to appear. You can choose from attractive images, intriguing videos, a snippet of text, or a combination of the three.
2. Targeting functions
Another key difference between paid social and paid search is their ability to target. While both paid search and paid social ads allow you to target specific consumers, the way they do it is slightly different.
Many social media platforms allow you to target consumers based on several factors, including age, interests, and location. These targeting features will allow you to customize your paid social ads to promote your brand to users who will find your ads interesting and relevant.
With paid search ads, you can also target consumers based on their demographics and interests. However, paid search ads also allow you to target consumers according to the keywords and phrases they use when searching.
You may need to do some keyword research to successfully identify what words and phrases your target audience is searching for. You can then bid on these keywords to show your paid search ads at the top of the SERPs every time a user searches for those words or phrases.
3. User intent
The final difference between paid social media ads and paid search ads is that they each serve different user intents. When consumers use search engines and social networks, they often use them for different reasons.
For search engines, users are usually looking for answers or solutions to a specific query or researching a specific topic to learn more information. This means that your paid search ads can directly help consumers find the information and answers they’re looking for, satisfying their search intent.
On the other hand, most users scroll through their newsfeed to see news and updates from other users, brands, celebrities, and more. They may not be actively looking for a solution or an answer to a query.
As a result, your paid social media ads can help users learn more about your brand and your products and services without having to do a lot of research on their part.
So, now that we’ve gone over the difference between paid search and paid social media ads, you may be wondering which one is best for your business.
Deciding which one is right for your business can depend on several factors, including your business goals and marketing budget.
Paid searches
You may want to consider paid search if you have the following goals in mind:
- You want to see results as quickly as possible
- You want to adjust your ad spend
- You want to increase your search engine visibility
- You want to reach members of your target audience on search engines like Google
If you want to increase your presence in the SERPs and earn more web traffic and clicks by providing solutions and answers to your target audience’s pain points and questions, then paid search could be right for your business.
Advertisements on social networks
You may want to consider social media advertising if you have the following goals in mind:
- You want to create emotional and more engaging ads that will resonate with your target audience
- You want your ads to include more visual elements, such as photos and videos
- You want to reach more consumers on social media platforms
If you want to increase your brand awareness on social media platforms and create more targeted and relevant ads for social media users, then paid social media might be the best option for your business.
However, if you want to maximize your income and sales, we recommend a combination of paid social and paid search ads.
When you use a mix of both, you can reach more consumers in your target audience on both search engines and social media platforms. And as a result, you will be able to create more customized and personalized marketing messages that can help you increase your online visibility and increase conversions and web traffic for your business.
If you want to increase your income as much as possible, using paid social and paid search ads is a must.
