The Pros and Cons of Search Ads and Social Ads
There’s a lot of noise and competition In today’s digital landscape, but businesses have many ways of standing out and reaching potential customers, with search ads and social ads among the most effective methods. Both play pivotal roles in your digital marketing strategy, but they serve different purposes and have unique advantages and drawbacks. In today’s article, we’ll introduce, explain, and compare search ads and social ads, helping you decide which type of ad might best suit your business needs.
What Are Search Ads?
Search ads are advertisements that appear on search engine results pages. When users enter specific keywords into a search engine like Google or (once in a blue moon) Bing, search ads related to those keywords are displayed, usually at the top or bottom of the organic search results. Search ads typically display as text-based ads and are designed to target users actively seeking information or products related to what they’ve searched.
Benefits of Search Ads
High Intent Targeting:
Search ads (provided they’re targeted correctly!) are shown to users who are actively searching for specific information or products. This means you’re reaching someone who is almost definitely interested in what you’re advertising and is, therefore, more likely to convert.
Measurable ROI:
Ad campaigns can be directly linked to analytics platforms, allowing for detailed reporting and, consequently, clear performance tracking and effective optimisation.
Local Targeting:
You can target specific geographic locations to serve ads (smaller than with social ads), meaning these are great for supporting a local business looking to drum up business in the neighborhood.
Drawbacks of Search Ads
High Cost in Competitive Industries:
Individual keywords can have high cost-per-click figures if you’re in a competitive or saturated industry, or are serving ads in an area dominated by a rival business with more ad spend than you have at your disposal.
Limitations of Creativity:
Search ads are primarily text-based, keeping you from ensuring that your ads can stand out in the ways you may see on social platforms. This can limit creative expression and engagement, and requires thinking outside the box to make a lasting impression.
What Are Social Ads?
Social ads are advertisements displayed on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn. These ads come in various formats, making use of both images and videos. Campaigns can be structured to target users based on a wide range of online behavioral or identification traits, such as demographics, interests, browsing habits, and social interactions.
Benefits of Social Ads
Broad Reach and Engagement:
With social ads, you have access to a vast audience (a little over 5 billion or so!) with diverse backgrounds, needs, and resources. This brings with it a high potential for engagement through likes, comments, clicks, and shares.
Targeting Capabilities:
Many of these platforms have highly advanced targeting options, from age and industry, to favourite movie genre or holiday destination, allowing for precise audience segmentation.
Brand Awareness:
With the right designers, or your own creativity, you can create and display visually appealing ads with interactive features that help build brand awareness and tell compelling stories.
Drawbacks of Social Ads
Ad Fatigue:
A lot of optimisation and maintenance is required to ensure users don’t become overwhelmed by the volume of ads, leading to decreased effectiveness over time. This means careful monitoring of ad frequency, and constant iterations of design and imagery to ensure your ads stay fresh and don’t feel spammy.
Lower Intent:
Users are often browsing for entertainment or social interaction, rather than searching for specific products, which can result in lower conversion rates. You don’t tend to embark on a financial services partnership or buy a new car when you’re scrolling on the bus or checking Instagram on your coffee break.
Measurement Challenges:
Tracking and attributing conversions from social ad campaigns can be rather complicated, especially across multiple devices and platforms. This means that optimising campaigns does involve a lot of testing and learning, as it can be difficult to narrow down the specific cause and effect of certain changes and updates.
Conclusion
Both search ads and social ads are powerful tools in your marketing arsenal. The choice between them depends on your specific goals, target audience, and budget. Search ads are perfect for capturing high-intent users and driving immediate conversions, while social ads excel at building brand awareness and engaging a broad audience through rich, interactive content. By understanding the strengths and weaknesses of each platform, you can craft a balanced advertising strategy that leverages the best of both worlds, maximising your marketing ROI.
If you’d like to learn more about Search Ads you can do so here, and if Social Ads sound interesting, then take a look here. If you need a little more information before you decide which route to take, get in touch with us, and we can help you muddle through the world of paid support.
