Google Ads captures people already searching for what you sell; Facebook ads reach people who match your buyer but are not searching. Facebook clicks and leads cost less in public benchmarks, while search leads tend to carry more intent. Start with search if buyers search for your product, with social if they do not, and compare both on cost per qualified lead.
The core difference: intent
A Google search ad answers a question someone just asked: "emergency plumber near me", "ERP software for manufacturers". The intent is already there, and the ad competes to catch it. A Facebook or Instagram ad appears while someone scrolls, chosen because they match an audience you defined. Nobody asked; the ad has to create interest. Search is demand capture, social is demand creation, and most of the other differences follow from that.
Cost: what public benchmarks show
WordStream by LocaliQ's Facebook ads benchmarks (last updated 14 September 2026) studied US campaigns from April 2024 to June 2025 and reports medians. Traffic campaigns (554 campaigns) had a click-through rate of 1.71% and a cost per click of $0.70. Lead campaigns (726 campaigns) had a click-through rate of 2.59%, a cost per click of $1.92, a conversion rate of 7.72% and a cost per lead of $27.66.
For search, Search Engine Journal's summary (updated 16 June 2026) of WordStream by LocaliQ's 10th search advertising benchmarks, covering Google Ads and Microsoft Ads campaigns in 20 industries from April 2025 to March 2026, gives averages of a 6.64% click-through rate, a $5.42 cost per click, an 8.18% conversion rate and a $66.69 cost per lead.
The two sets cover different periods and campaign types, so read them as a rough comparison: a search lead cost about two and a half times a Facebook lead in these reports. What matters is cost per qualified lead, measured in your own CRM.
Targeting
Google targets the search: keywords, location, device and time, with audience layers on top. Facebook targets the person: interests, behavior, location, customer lists and lookalikes of your customers, where allowed. Pew Research Center's social media fact sheet (19 October 2026) puts Facebook at 70% of US adults and Instagram at 51%, so the reach is there; the work is choosing who sees the ad.
What wins the auction
Both platforms reward relevance as well as bids. Google counts landing page experience in Quality Score, naming relevant and original content, transparency, ease of navigation, and loading speed and mobile friendliness among the factors. Meta's ad auction combines the bid with estimated action rates and ad quality, so a more relevant ad can beat a higher bid. On Google the keyword and the landing page do most of the work; on Meta, the creative does.
Creative
Search ads are text that must match the query and promise what the landing page delivers. Social ads are images and video that must stop a scroll in the first seconds and carry the offer without a search to lean on. A business with strong visuals or a product people understand on sight has an advantage on social; a business selling something people already look for has an advantage in search.
Which to start with
A simple rule of thumb, adjusted to your own numbers:
- Start with Google Ads if people search for your product or service by name or need, you can serve leads quickly, and each sale is worth enough to pay search prices.
- Start with Facebook ads if people do not search for what you sell yet, the product sells on sight, or you need volume at a lower cost per lead.
- Run both once one channel is profitable: search to capture demand, social to create it and to retarget site visitors.
Conclusion
Google Ads captures demand people already have; Facebook ads create it. Public benchmarks put Facebook's median cost per lead at $27.66 (US, April 2024 to June 2025) against $66.69 for search ads (April 2025 to March 2026), but search leads usually carry more intent, so compare both on cost per qualified lead from your own records. Start where your buyers already are, then add the other channel once the first is profitable.
PromotEdge International is an international strategy, technology, marketing and design company, and our delivery team is in India. Our paid social campaigns and performance marketing run Meta and Google against one cost per lead, in ad accounts that stay in your name.
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