The question isn't whether to advertise, but where. Google Ads and Meta Ads are the two dominant platforms, but they work fundamentally differently. Google captures buying intent, people who are actively searching. Meta creates demand, you show people something they didn't know they wanted.
When Google Ads
Google Ads is ideal when demand for your product or service already exists. People actively search for "buy running shoes", "plumber Amsterdam", or "compare accounting software". You don't have to create the demand, just capture it. That makes it perfect for local businesses, B2B service providers, and webshops with products people actively search for.
The strength of Google is intent. Someone searching "hire Meta Ads agency" is much further in the decision process than someone seeing an Instagram ad. The conversion rate is therefore often higher, but reach is limited to the search volume that exists.
When Meta Ads
Meta Ads is ideal when you need to create demand. New products, niche brands, or products people don't actively google but do buy when they see them. Fashion, beauty, gadgets, lifestyle products, anything where the visual presentation makes the difference.
The strength of Meta is scale. You can reach millions of people and the algorithm finds your ideal customer. But you have to invest in strong creatives and accept a longer ramp-up before you see ROI.
The best strategy: both
The strongest results come when both channels work together. Meta creates awareness and interest, Google captures the search intent that follows. Someone sees your product on Instagram, googles your brand, and buys via a Shopping ad. Without Meta that Google search wouldn't have existed. Without Google that potential customer might not have converted. At ByPortus we combined both channels and scaled to £100K+ a month.