Question

Topic: E-Marketing

Facebook Targeted Ads Vs Google Adwords Search

Posted by Kevin McIntosh on 3/1/2011 at 2:26 PM ET 75 Points
I'm running a campaign promoting an online workshop. I am running Google Adwords Search campaign (i.e. user searches relevant term and my ad that matches search query appears with link to landing page that features headline that also matches the search query).

I'm also running a campaign on Facebook targeting users by job title, so it's more like a brand awareness campaign.

It would seem that the Search campaign would generate a much higher conversion rate (Conversion = email sign up); but it's the Facebook campaign that's generating around a 10% response. Even though my Adwords ads have virtually no competition-i.e. no one offering what I offer.

Anyone have any thoughts on that?
To continue reading this question and the solution, sign up ... it's free!
SUBSCRIBE
Or, SIGN IN

RESPONSES

  • Posted by Gary Bloomer on 3/1/2011 at 7:51 PM Accepted
    Dear Kevin,

    The answer might have something to do with ad blindness on Google and the ads on Facebook not being perceived as being ads.

    Additionally, ads on Facebook can be targeted more specifically than they are on Google because Google's ads are mostly restricted to search-based PPC, contextual ads (meaning site or page specific ads),
    or via region.

    Facebook has the edge over Google in that it can place content in front of people that's connected more tightly to their expressed interests, their age, their gender, or even their posts or friends' posts (and indeed, their friends interests ... because we like people that remind us of ourselves, or that we aspire to be like). Facebook has all this information because its users volunteer it in the form of their respective profiles.

    Welcome to the world of psychographics.

    Dictionary.com defines demographcis as "the statistical data of a population, especially those showing average age, income, education, etc."

    But psychographics is the application of those demographic data to measure and apply people's values, personal attitudes, lifestyles and lifestyle goals, and their opinions

    The information Facebook has on its users isn't statistical. It's actual. Which makes the information, and the things that it can be applied to, all the more powerful.

    I hope this helps.

    Gary Bloomer
    The Direct Response Marketing Guy™
    Princeton, NJ, USA
  • Posted by Peter (henna gaijin) on 3/2/2011 at 4:29 PM Accepted
    In looking at this, factor in the cost to see which is being more cost effective at getting email sign ups. If the cost per lead is the same, then ignore the sign up rate variations. But i one is more expensive than the other on a cost per lead basis, that is a sign you should take into account.

    Of course, how you set up these programs will come into account. Are you finding certain key words are getting you more sign ups? If you are using badly targeted key words, that will bring down your rate.

    Is the email sign up something that helps your bottom line, or is this just to be on a list which you promote the seminars from (so signing up for the seminar is where you make your money)? if you could track these leads to the end to see whether they buy, that would add value (but is hard to do, which means costly, so quite possibly not worth doing).
  • Posted on 3/3/2011 at 5:18 PM Member
    Easy. People aren't searching for what you're offering (or they don't know it exists).

    In Facebook, people aren't searching for anything. They're just catching up with friends. The ad you place finds them...even though they weren't looking for your offer in the first place.

    Example: I own hairless cats. Facebook knows this. While on Facebook, I see an ad for clothes for hairless cats! I click on it. Now, I would never have searched for that in Google, because I didn't know it existed. (And no, I didn't buy any clothes for my cats) ;)
  • Posted by SteveByrneMarketing on 3/3/2011 at 6:42 PM Accepted
    Good input from above experts. I would add you can test this for yourself. Take your best keywords and place them in your facebook profile, your wall, your photos and the like. See which of your competitors show up as facebook ads. Then do a google search using the keyword phrases and see if the same competitors show up. What so you observe about these two exercises?

    Steve
BACK TO TOP

Post a Comment

Related Discussions

Community Info

Top 25 Experts
(E-Marketing)