Choosing Between Google Ads and Social Media Advertising

Businesses often ask which to try first: Google Ads or social media advertising. The honest answer depends on how your customers actually search for and discover businesses like yours.

Google Ads: capturing existing intent

Google (Search) Ads show up when someone is actively searching for something — "plumber in Nairobi," "buy office chairs Kenya." This is intent-based: the person already wants what you offer: your ad just needs to be relevant and well-timed. It tends to work well for services people actively search for when they need them.

Social media ads: creating interest

Platforms like Facebook and Instagram show ads based on interests and behavior, not an active search. This is interest-based: you're introducing your business to someone who wasn't necessarily looking for it yet. It tends to work well for visually appealing products, brand awareness, and businesses that benefit from storytelling.

A simple way to decide

Ask: "Does my ideal customer actively search for this on Google when they need it?" If yes, search ads are usually the first place to test a budget. If your product or service is something people discover rather than search for, social ads often perform better as a starting point.

Many mature marketing strategies eventually use both — but testing one channel properly, with real conversion tracking in place, beats splitting a small budget thin across several untested channels at once.