Google Ads or Facebook Ads, and how much to spend?

Both work. They do different jobs, and most small businesses pick the wrong one for the wrong reason: a friend said so.

The one-line difference

Google Ads catch people who are searching for you right now. Facebook and Instagram ads interrupt people who weren't, with something worth stopping for. Intent versus attention.

Which one for which business

• Emergency or need-now services (plumbing, locksmith, towing, urgent dental): Google first. Nobody scrolls Instagram for a burst pipe.
• Considered home projects (kitchens, decks, landscaping, windows): both. Google for the people searching, Facebook and Instagram for before-and-after photos that create the desire.
• Restaurants, salons, gyms, clinics with a local radius: Facebook and Instagram are strong because the product is visual and the audience is nearby. Google Business Profile does the rest.
• B2B services: Google for specific searches, LinkedIn for targeting roles. Facebook rarely.

How much to spend

Start where you can run a fair test without flinching: for most local businesses that is $600 to $1,500 a month per platform for the first two or three months. Below that, you never get enough data to learn anything. Above that, before the basics are fixed, you just lose faster.

The number that matters is not the budget, it is the cost per booked job. If a roof replacement is worth $12,000 and a lead costs $90 and one in five books, you are paying $450 per job. Spend more. If a $60 haircut costs $40 in ads to acquire, something is wrong with the targeting or the offer.

The three mistakes that waste the money

• Sending ads to the home page. Build one page for the one offer, with one form and one phone number.
• No tracking. If you can't see which ad produced which call or form, you can't improve anything. Call tracking and form tracking are not optional.
• No follow-up. Ads produce leads at 10pm. If the reply comes at 11am tomorrow, you paid for someone else's customer. Instant text-back, then a human.

Before you spend a dollar

• Profile verified, reviews flowing, website fast on a phone.
• A real offer. "Free estimate" is table stakes; "estimate within 24 hours, written, no pressure" is a reason.
• A way to answer the phone during the hours the ads run.

Our take

For most Ottawa service businesses: fix the foundation, start with Google search ads on your most profitable service, add Facebook and Instagram once you have photos and a customer list to build audiences from. Review the numbers every week for the first month, then every two. Kill what doesn't book jobs. Scale what does.