Google AdWords has dominated the online advertising market for the past few years; however, with Facebook’s 500 million users and reported revenue of $800 million in 2009, could their innovative platform become the next big thing? Google’s 69.7% search market share and their $23 billion 2009 advertising revenue may think disagree...

But, what’s the difference?

Firstly, it is necessary to state the obvious... Google is a search engine and Facebook is a social networking site.

Demographic Targeting/Keywords

With Google AdWords, users are searching for a specific product/service, while Facebook users are connecting with friends and networks. Apart from some of your previous searches (through the use of cookies) Google doesn’t know a lot about you, however, due to user profiles, Facebook is able to target ads more specifically.

For example, Facebook uses profile data such as - sex, age, interests and now even birthdays - to really focus and display ads to target audiences. Users then have the option to click through, ‘like’ or even close the ad, which in turn enables Facebook to build a type of ad profile to help target more relevant ads to specific users in the future.

On the other hand, although some users are registered with Google, this is only a small percentage of those who click on their ads. Google and its advertisers therefore must observe the behaviour of users and analyse search patterns, e.g. use of keywords, if they are to successfully target consumers.

Use of images/Impact on ads

One of the main differences between Facebook and AdWords is that Facebook enables advertisers to use images in their ads. This is a huge advantage as it is commonly accepted that the use of imagery can enhance the effectiveness of any advert. However, this is not to say that Google couldn’t introduce this feature in the future.

Cost

Both ad types can be cost effective, however, AdWords can be very competitive and so bidding on medium or even low popular keywords can be very expensive. On the other hand, Facebook can sometimes prove to be more cost effective and deliver decent traffic for a much lower cost.

What Next?

For the foreseeable future, Google will remain the number one online advertiser, however, Facebook hope their innovative advertising platform and strong knowledge of users can redefine and revolutionise online advertising. Can Google be moved? Only time will tell...