Social ads interrupt people who might be interested. Google Ads captures people who are already searching for what you sell. For high-intent categories, that difference is everything.
The intent advantage
Someone typing “car maintenance near me” or “dental implants price” is a buyer with their hand up. You’re not convincing them they have a need — you’re competing to be the one who answers it. For a Saudi retail client we drove 2,380 clicks at just 0.52 EGP each on Search.
When Google Ads is the right call
- High-intent services — clinics, maintenance, legal, real estate.
- Clear, searchable products — where people type the exact thing they want.
- Local demand — “near me” searches with a physical location.
- Long buying cycles — where you want to be present at the exact moment of need.
Facebook creates demand. Google captures it. The best plans do both.
Search vs Shopping vs Display
Search ads answer intent with text. Shopping shows your product with a price for e-commerce. Display and YouTube build awareness and retarget. Most winning accounts combine them around a single cost-per-result target.
The hidden lever: landing pages
A great click on a weak page is wasted money. Match the page to the search, make the next step obvious, and load fast on mobile. That’s where most Google budgets quietly leak.
Not sure whether Search or Social fits your business? Let’s map it out.
Google Ads or Facebook?
It depends on intent. Facebook interrupts people who might care; Google catches people already searching for you. For high-intent services — clinics, repairs, legal, real estate — Google usually wins. The best plans run both: Facebook creates demand, Google captures it.
What decides whether Google Ads work?
The landing page, more than the campaign. A great click on a weak page is wasted money. Match the page to the search, make the next step obvious, and load fast on mobile.