Most businesses setting a paid advertising budget face the same decision: Google Ads or Facebook Ads? Both platforms can bring in real enquiries. Both can waste money fast if set up wrong. But they work in fundamentally different ways, and putting your budget into the wrong one for your situation is an expensive mistake. Here is how to figure out which one suits your business, and when using both together starts to make sense.
The Core Difference You Need to Understand
Google Ads is about capturing demand that already exists. When someone types “IT support company near me” or “accountant in Birmingham” into Google, they are actively looking for a solution right now. Your ad appears at the top of their search results. You are reaching a buyer who is already in the market.
Facebook Ads work differently. Nobody scrolling through Facebook is searching for your service. They are catching up with friends and watching videos. Facebook places your ad in front of people based on who they are: their age, location, job role, interests, and online behaviour. You are putting your business in front of people who may not know they need you yet.
That distinction, capturing existing demand versus creating new demand, should shape every decision you make about where to spend your advertising budget.
When Google Ads Makes More Sense for Your Business
Search advertising tends to work well when there is clear demand for what you offer. If people are already typing your service into Google, you want to be at the top when they do it.
It suits local service businesses particularly well: IT support companies, solicitors, plumbers, accountants, and healthcare providers all see strong results from search campaigns. When someone searches “emergency IT support London” or “business accountant Surrey”, they have a specific need and they are ready to make a call. Catching that moment converts well.
It also works well for B2B services where decision-makers search for specific suppliers, and for any business where the problem is clear and the customer knows what to type into a search engine. The higher cost per click is justified because you are paying to reach people at the exact moment of intent.
When Facebook Ads Makes More Sense
Facebook and Instagram Ads come into their own when your product or service is visual, when your ideal audience does not know they need you yet, or when you want to reach a very specific demographic.
E-commerce businesses selling lifestyle products, fashion, gifts, and homewares often find Facebook far more cost-effective than Google. Someone does not search for a new candle brand, but they might stop scrolling when they see one that looks right in their feed. Discovery happens through interruption here, not search.
Facebook’s targeting tools offer a level of audience detail that Google search simply cannot match. You can reach UK business owners aged 35 to 55 in specific postcodes who have recently engaged with technology content. For businesses launching in a new area, entering a new market, or wanting to build brand recognition before investing in search, Facebook is often the right first step.
What Each Platform Costs in the UK
Costs vary significantly between the two platforms, and within each one depending on your sector and how well your campaigns are set up.
Google Search Ads in the UK typically cost between £1.50 and £2.50 per click across most industries. Competitive sectors push that much higher. Legal services average around £7 to £10 per click. Finance and insurance can exceed that. London campaigns often run 15 to 30% more expensive than equivalent campaigns elsewhere in the UK, because more advertisers are competing for the same searches.
Facebook Ads tend to cost less per click, with the UK average sitting around £1.00 to £1.50. But cheaper clicks do not automatically mean a better return. Facebook audiences are generally less ready to buy than search audiences, so conversion rates are lower. You need to account for both figures when assessing whether a platform is working for your business.
For most UK small and medium-sized businesses, a realistic starting budget for properly testing one platform is £500 to £1,500 per month. Below £300 per month, there is rarely enough data to tell what is and is not working, and campaigns tend to underperform.
Which Industries Tend to Suit Which Platform
There is no single right answer, but some patterns hold consistently across UK businesses.
Service businesses where the customer knows they have a problem, including IT support, legal advice, financial services, and building trades, tend to get better results from Google Ads. The search intent is clear. The buyer is ready. A well-run Google Ads campaign targets those searches precisely and keeps wasted clicks to a minimum.
Consumer product businesses, particularly where aesthetics and discovery matter, tend to do better on Facebook and Instagram. Clothing, food and drink brands, subscription boxes, wellness products, and event-based businesses all find that visual advertising on social platforms outperforms search for driving initial sales.
Hospitality and leisure businesses often find both useful at different stages. Google captures people planning a specific trip or event. Facebook and Instagram reach people earlier, before they have started searching, planting the idea.
Why More Businesses Are Running Both Platforms Together
There is a well-documented pattern in paid advertising that most businesses with a reasonable budget eventually arrive at: use Facebook to build awareness, then use Google to capture the demand that follows.
People who have seen a brand on social media convert at a meaningfully higher rate when they later encounter that brand in search results. The two platforms reinforce each other. Facebook warms up the audience. Google catches them when they are ready to act.
According to IAB UK’s Digital Adspend 2025 report, social media spend in the UK grew 21% to £11.5bn in 2025, while search maintained its dominant position at 44% of all digital ad spend. The pattern among UK advertisers investing across both channels reflects exactly this combined approach: reach people on social, convert them through search.
Running both platforms effectively does require more budget and more active management. If you are starting out, pick the platform that best matches your immediate goal, get it working, and then add the second channel. Splitting a small budget between two platforms and expecting either to perform well rarely works.
If you want support setting up or improving your paid advertising campaigns, our team works with UK businesses across both Google Ads and social media advertising, building campaigns around your specific goals.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Google Ads better than Facebook Ads for UK small businesses?
It depends on what your customers are doing. If people search for your service on Google, start there, as you are reaching buyers at the moment they need you. If your audience does not search but can be reached by interest or demographic, Facebook often makes more sense. Many UK businesses eventually run both, using each platform for what it does best.
How much should a UK small business spend on Google Ads?
A realistic starting budget for testing Google Ads properly is £500 to £1,500 per month, depending on your industry and competition level. Legal, financial, and medical sectors typically require more because cost per click is higher. Spending below £300 a month rarely generates enough data to optimise effectively, and results will be inconsistent.
Why is my Google Ads cost per click so high?
Google Ads cost per click is driven by competition. The more advertisers bidding on a keyword, the higher the price. Your Quality Score also affects what you pay: ads with relevant landing pages and strong expected click-through rates typically cost less than poorly matched ads. Improving your Quality Score is one of the most direct ways to reduce cost per click without cutting your budget.
Can Facebook Ads work for B2B businesses?
Facebook Ads can work for B2B, particularly for awareness campaigns targeting business owners and decision-makers. However, Google Ads tend to deliver better conversion rates for most B2B services because search intent is clearer. LinkedIn Ads are also worth considering for professional B2B targeting, particularly in sectors like finance, legal, and technology.
How do I know if my paid ads are actually working?
Both platforms have conversion tracking built in, but it needs to be set up correctly. For Google Ads, track form completions, phone calls, and key page visits. For Facebook, the Meta Pixel lets you track actions visitors take on your website after clicking an ad. Without conversion tracking in place, you cannot tell which campaigns are generating enquiries and which are burning through your budget.
Should I manage Google Ads myself or use a specialist?
You can set up Google Ads yourself, but campaigns run without proper keyword research, match type strategy, and ongoing management tend to overspend on irrelevant searches. A specialist PPC manager typically pays for themselves through reduced wasted spend and better targeting. Getting an honest assessment of your current setup is a good starting point before deciding whether to bring in professional support.
The Short Version
The question is not which platform is better overall. It is which one fits where your customers are and what they are doing when they need you. Start with the platform that matches your business model. Set a realistic test budget. Measure the results properly before scaling.
If you would like to talk through the right paid advertising approach for your business, get in touch with UK IT Services today. We work with UK businesses to put their PPC budget to work properly, whether that means Google Ads, social media advertising, or both running together.