Facebook & Instagram Ads vs Google Ads: Which Is Better for Your Business?

If you are planning to advertise online, two names usually come up first: Google Ads and Meta ads, which cover Facebook and Instagram. Both can bring customers. Both can waste money if used for the wrong purpose. The question is not which platform is “better” in general, but which one suits your product, your customers and your goals.

This guide compares the two platforms in plain language, with practical examples for Kenyan businesses, so you can decide where to invest first — and how to make them work together.

The core difference: intent versus interest

The most important difference between the two platforms is when they reach people.

• Google Ads is driven by intent. Your ad appears when someone searches for something specific, such as “accountant in Westlands” or “buy solar panels Nairobi”. They are already looking.
• Meta ads are driven by interest and audience. Your ad appears in someone’s Facebook or Instagram feed, stories or reels based on who they are and what they engage with. They were not necessarily looking — your ad introduces the idea.

Put simply: Google captures existing demand, while Meta creates new demand.

Side-by-side comparison

When Google Ads is the better choice

Google Ads tends to win when people already know they need what you offer and turn to search to find it. Typical examples:

• Urgent services: plumbers, locksmiths, towing, emergency repairs, couriers
• Professional services: lawyers, accountants, consultants, web developers, insurance brokers
• Healthcare: dentists, clinics, specialists and diagnostic centres
• Specific products: people searching for a particular model, part or brand
• B2B purchases: office equipment, software, industrial supplies

Search ads let you appear exactly when someone types the problem you solve. Our guide to running Google Ads in Kenya on a small budget explains how to make each click count.

When Facebook and Instagram ads are the better choice

Meta ads shine when your product is visual, when people do not usually search for it, or when you want to reach a defined audience at scale:

• Fashion, beauty and lifestyle products that sell through visuals
• Restaurants, hotels and events that benefit from appealing photos and video
• Real estate developments targeted to specific locations and income-related interests
• New products that people do not yet know to search for
• Training and education programmes targeted by age, location and career interests
• Promotions and seasonal offers where you want quick awareness

Meta’s ability to drive messages to WhatsApp, Messenger or Instagram DMs is especially useful in Kenya, where many customers prefer to chat before buying.

Targeting compared

Google Ads targeting

Your primary targeting is the keyword. You choose search terms that show intent and exclude irrelevant ones with negative keywords. You can refine by location, language, device, time of day and audience lists — such as people who have visited your website before.

Meta ads targeting

You define audiences by location, age, gender, interests and behaviours, or let Meta’s algorithm find people likely to respond. Two particularly powerful options are:

• Custom audiences — people who have visited your website, engaged with your page or are on your customer list (used in line with data protection rules)
• Lookalike audiences — new people who resemble your existing customers

Creative compared

On Google search, success depends on relevance: matching ad copy to the searcher’s keyword and sending them to a landing page that answers their need. On Facebook and Instagram, creative is everything. Your image or video has to stop the scroll in a busy feed. Short vertical videos, real people, clear benefits and strong first seconds generally perform best. If video is part of your plan, see our TikTok marketing guide — many of the same principles apply to reels.

Costs compared

Neither platform has a fixed price; both run on auctions. In general:

• Google Ads clicks can cost more, especially in competitive industries such as legal, finance and real estate, but those clicks often come from people ready to act.
• Meta ads often reach more people for less money, but a larger share of those people are earlier in their decision and may need more nurturing.

The metric that matters is not cost per click or cost per view, but cost per lead or sale. A more expensive click that becomes a customer is better value than a cheap click that never converts. That is why conversion tracking — Google Ads conversion tracking and the Meta Pixel or Conversions API — is essential on both platforms.

Using both platforms together

The strongest strategies often combine the two:

1. Meta builds awareness with engaging videos and offers to a targeted audience.
2. Google captures searches from people who later look for your brand or service.
3. Retargeting brings people back — visitors from Google who did not convert see reminders on Facebook and Instagram, and vice versa.
4. Email and WhatsApp follow-up nurture leads collected from both platforms.

This full-funnel approach covers people at every stage, from first discovery to final decision.

Common mistakes on both platforms

• Boosting random posts instead of running campaigns with a clear objective
• Running ads without conversion tracking
• Sending traffic to a slow or generic homepage
• Targeting too broadly, such as all of Kenya for a local business
• Changing settings too often before campaigns have had time to learn
• Ignoring the messages and comments that ads generate

Which should you start with?

Example: one business, two platforms

Consider a boutique hotel near Lake Naivasha. Its advertising might look like this:

• Google Search Ads target people searching “hotels in Naivasha”, “Naivasha weekend getaway” and “conference venue Naivasha”, sending them to room and package pages with booking options.
• Instagram and Facebook ads show short videos of the lake, rooms and dining to couples and families in Nairobi, promoting a weekend package ahead of public holidays.
• Retargeting ads remind people who viewed the booking page but did not book, highlighting reviews and a limited-time offer.
• Email and WhatsApp follow up with enquiries and confirm bookings.

Each platform plays a different role, and together they cover people from first inspiration to final booking.

Setting budgets across platforms

When starting out, it is usually better to fund one platform properly than to spread a small budget thinly across several. Once a campaign shows a healthy cost per lead, increase its budget gradually and introduce the second platform with a test budget. Review results monthly and shift money toward whichever channel delivers the best cost per customer — not just the cheapest clicks.

Measuring results fairly

Customers often interact with several channels before buying. Someone might see an Instagram ad, search on Google a week later, and finally message you on WhatsApp. Use Google Analytics 4, UTM tags on social links, and simple questions such as “How did you hear about us?” to build a fair picture. Judging each platform only on last-click results can undervalue the awareness work Meta ads do.

Landing pages matter on both platforms

Whichever platform you choose, the page people land on decides whether a click becomes a customer. Make sure it loads quickly on mobile, repeats the promise made in the ad, shows clear pricing or next steps, displays real proof such as reviews and project photos, and offers easy contact options including WhatsApp. If people land on a slow or confusing page, even perfectly targeted ads will struggle. Our web development team builds conversion-focused landing pages designed for paid traffic.

Whatever you decide, start with a clear goal, track conversions from day one and give each campaign enough time to learn before judging it.

Get expert help

Choosing the right platform — and setting it up properly — can make the difference between ads that drain your budget and ads that grow your business. Our PPC and paid advertising management covers Google Ads, Facebook and Instagram ads, TikTok ads and LinkedIn ads, with conversion tracking and clear monthly reporting. We work alongside our social media team so your organic and paid content support each other.

Ask for a paid advertising recommendation for your business.

Frequently asked questions

Steve Omondi

CEO · Social Media & Paid Ads Specialist, Infyral Tech Global

Leads the company and its social media and paid advertising practice, helping brands turn attention into enquiries and sales.