Illustration of online ads on a laptop, for advertising with Google Ads and Facebook Ads

Online advertising: Google Ads, Facebook Ads or SEO for your business.

· 4 min read

A website without visitors is like a shop on a street nobody walks down. Online advertising brings people to you, but not every channel works the same way. Below you will find how Google Ads, Facebook Ads and SEO differ, when each one is worth it, what budget to start with and how to tell whether a campaign brings in money or just clicks.

What online advertising means

Online advertising means everything you do to get your business found on the internet: paid ads on Google and social networks, good positions in the natural search results (SEO), emails to customers and a presence on maps. For most small and medium businesses, three channels bring most of the results: Google Ads, Facebook Ads and SEO.

On Google, your ad appears exactly when someone searches for your product or service. The demand already exists, you just put yourself in front of it. You pay per click, and the cost depends on the competition for the keyword.

The most common campaign types:

  • Search — text ads in the search results, for people searching for exactly what you sell;
  • Performance Max and Shopping — store products appear with a photo and a price on Google, YouTube and Gmail;
  • Display and remarketing — banners for people who have already visited your site.

Facebook Ads: the customer who doesn't know you yet

On Facebook and Instagram you don't wait for people to search. You choose the audience by age, location, interests and buying behavior, and the ad shows up in their feed, Stories or Reels. It is the right channel for new products, for brand awareness and for bringing back people who left products in the cart.

SEO: traffic without paying per click

Search engine optimization brings visitors from Google's natural results, with no cost per click. Results come more slowly than with ads, usually within a few months, but they stay after you stop paying. The official Google Search Essentials guide spells out what Google requires from a site to appear in search, and the SEO Starter Guide focuses on useful content and a clear site structure.

It isn't a choice between one or the other. Google captures demand that already exists, Facebook creates it. For a service people actively search for (plumber, accountant, web hosting), Google Ads usually brings customers faster. For a product people don't yet know to search for, Facebook Ads takes the first step. An online store works best with both: one brings today's order, the other next month's customer.

What budget to start with

There is no fixed threshold. The right way is to start with a daily budget you can afford and raise it only after you see which keywords and ads bring orders. Watch out for two common mistakes:

  1. Measuring clicks, not results — a cheap click that brings no order costs more than an expensive one that sells.
  2. Sending the ad to the homepage — people should land directly on the product or service page, fast and easy to use on a phone.

How to measure whether advertising works

Every campaign should be connected to Google Analytics, Google Search Console and, for Facebook, the Meta pixel. That way you see how many calls, forms and orders each keyword and each ad brought in. The metric that matters is cost per result, not the number of impressions.

Online advertising at RDN Network Data

We run Google Ads and Facebook Ads campaigns starting from your goal: awareness, traffic, engagement or conversions. We pick keywords by buying intent, write the ads, run A/B tests, set up the Meta pixel and conversion tracking, and move the budget based on the numbers. Every month you get a written report on what was spent, what was earned and what we change.

Because an ad has to lead somewhere, we also take care of building the site and maintaining it, so paid visitors land on a fast page.

Frequently asked questions about online advertising

What is better for a small business: Google Ads or Facebook Ads?

If people already search for your service on Google, start with Google Ads. If you sell something they don't search for yet, Facebook Ads makes you known. For online stores, they work best together.

How soon do results show?

With Google Ads, the first clicks come on the day the campaign starts. With SEO, results usually appear within a few months. The number of orders depends on the product, the price and the page visitors land on.

Can I stop the campaign at any time?

Yes. The budget can be paused, raised or lowered at any time from the ad account.

Do I need a website to run ads?

For good results, yes. The ad has to lead to a fast page with the information and buttons a customer needs to buy or to contact you.

In short

Google Ads brings the customers searching for you, Facebook Ads finds the ones who don't know you yet, and SEO builds long-term traffic. Write to us about what you sell and to whom, and we will suggest the right mix for your budget.

Official sources

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