Which should you use: Google remarketing or Facebook retargeting?

Which should you use: Google remarketing or Facebook retargeting?
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Which should you use: google remarketing or Facebook retargeting?

Online marketing is crucial whether you are an e-commerce-only, brick-and-mortar, or somewhere in-between business. However, while there are numerous tools in the web marketing armory, few are as effective as capitalizing on pre-existing interest in your brand, product, or service.

Retargeting — or remarketing, depending on the platform (e.g., Google) — allows you to reconnect with people who have visited your website, added items to their shopping cart, or downloaded your app. What is the first step in using the potential of retargeting? Choosing the best platform!

Google and Facebook are the two most popular and effective remarketing platforms. With both being so valuable, having some ad spend in both is preferable to select either/or.

Both Google and Facebook provide effective retargeting and remarketing options, but there are certain distinctions to keep in mind when creating campaigns with either. Let us investigate what they are.

Retargeting on Facebook

Facebook, with over 3 billion active users, is an excellent place to launch your first retargeting campaign. Many of the possible customers you might target will be present on the platform as well. Instagram is also a part of Facebook, so you may reach both audiences.

A Facebook retargeting strategy involves identifying people who have previously connected with your company and displaying relevant adverts in their Facebook feed to tempt them back. These adverts may appear while people scroll across the site looking for content or as they search for topics connected to your business.

To begin using Facebook retargeting, insert a pixel into the code of your website, which allows the platform to identify users who have connected with your brand across various marketing touchpoints.

You can tailor your marketing audience to the people you wish to retarget. Popular alternatives include:

  • Website visitors during specific time periods (usually 30, 60, or 90 days).
  • Return visitors to the blog.
  • Visitors to specific landing pages and blog content
  • Existing clients
  • Cart abandoners often known as online shoppers who did not finish their purchase.
  • Online customers who browsed but did not add anything to their shopping carts.
  • Once you’ve generated your unique retargeting audience, you can design individual advertising for each user, whether it’s a carousel ad on Facebook or an Instagram Stories post.

The Advantages of Facebook Retargeting

Working with Facebook for retargeting marketing has some distinct advantages. Let’s have a look at the features that distinguish the platform:

Mailing list integration.

Facebook retargeting methods do not have to be limited to Facebook, Instagram, and website activity. You can upload your existing email subscriber list when choosing a Facebook remarketing audience. The user information will then be linked to Facebook and Instagram profiles, and the ad will be shown directly to appropriate users.

The most conversions.

Conversions are the goal, and no remarketing platform delivers more than Facebook. According to the data, Facebook retargeting directly results in the highest conversion rate, increasing engagement by 300% over non-retargeting advertisements. This is why:

People are more likely to engage with social media ads since the platforms are usually less crowded than a search page. If they encounter an ad on their profile page, it will not clog their search data or prevent them from executing a vital job. As a result, the advertisements receive greater attention and, as a result, more conversions.

People use search engines to conduct their searches and may visit several websites, including yours, before abandoning their quest and moving on with their lives. As a result, you are now just one of several brands on their mind. When people visit their Facebook or Instagram sites, however, your ad will only compete with the information currently on their feed – not with another brand with the same goal.

Audiences with similar characteristics.

The lookalike audience option on Facebook is one of the most useful retargeting capabilities, allowing you to build a pool of customers that are similar to those you have successfully converted in the past. Why reinvent the wheel when you may spend your money on simple audiences that are similar to your existing customers’ habits and demographics?

Remarketing by Google

Google Remarketing is Google’s version of retargeting, and it is similar to Facebook retargeting in many aspects. Google, for example, can generate a target audience based on everybody who has connected with your brand on your website or Google.

The main distinction is that with Google remarketing, tailored advertisements are displayed across all Google Display Network platforms, which include millions of websites. The platform also has access to a wealth of search data, with Google being the world’s most-used search engine.

The Advantages of Google Remarketing

While there are some social media components, Google’s traffic is mostly driven by search, YouTube, and even Chrome browser users. Unsurprisingly, many of the benefits of Google remarketing stem from this distinct position.

Ad rating based on merit.

You don’t have the biggest marketing budget in the world? Don’t be concerned. When it comes to which ads get the most screen time, Google Ads favors relevancy and quality. That means that a well-designed ad with a high click-through rate and an effective message will usually triumph over a poorly crafted ad with a large budget.

Variation in placement.

The Google Display Network can reach more than 90% of the world’s internet users. That audience will be difficult to beat with ad placement options as diverse as the web itself.

Which one should you pick?

There’s no need to pick a winner in the epic fight of Google remarketing vs. Facebook retargeting. Both have distinct advantages, and a thorough web marketing strategy should always contain a strategy for each platform.

After all, the more productive channels you can incorporate into your marketing strategy, the better. Your retargeting audience will spend time on several channels, and so should you! You must broaden your approach in order to capture as much of their attention as possible. You may also be considerably more adaptable with this method. In the event of algorithmic changes or disruptions in one channel, you’ll have several options.

That is why it is advisable to use a multi-channel approach to reach your retargeting audience, utilizing both Google and Facebook. This expands your retargeting/remarketing options by providing you with different channels and ways to choose from. However, you may require some new technologies to ensure that your cross-channel efforts are optimized.

What to Do First

Cross-channel marketing is about providing current and prospective customers with an integrated experience. Every single online marketing channel and campaign is integrated across all of your platforms.

A cross-channel marketing strategy has an inherent benefit. You can not only ensure that your messaging and branding are consistent across all platforms, but you can also engage with the same customer across them.

However, if you build up your retargeting and remarketing ads on each channel separately, you risk diluting your brand message. A disconnected strategy wastes time and money because it is impossible to compare campaigns on one channel to campaigns on another. It’s also more difficult to keep them consistent in this manner – one thing all marketing gurus agree on is that repetition, and consistent brand exposure is essential for increasing conversions. Furthermore, it’s generally a good idea to restrict the number of dashboards and data you have to track to a minimum.

Consider using a cross-channel marketing platform. We assist you in starting, monitoring, and improving Google and Facebook retargeting and remarketing campaigns so that you can:

  • View all of your campaigns from all channels (including Pinterest and TikTok) in one place.
  • Keep track of key data like click-through and conversion rates.
  • Ad spending can be adjusted at any time to keep your campaigns cost-effective.
  • Specific, high-intent audiences should be targeted.

While the war between Google remarketing and Facebook retargeting may have ended in a tie, one thing is certain: a cross-channel marketing approach is the most effective way to contact potential clients online.

Are you ready to launch a Google Ads remarketing campaign? With our Ultimate Google Remarketing Guide, you’ll be well on your way to closing the deal with a slew of new consumers.