A practical way to decide which paid channel fits your offer, your audience and your current stage of growth — before you spend a dollar.
The honest answer is that it depends on whether people are already searching for what you sell. Everything else — budget, creative, audience size — follows from that one question.
Start with intent
Google Ads captures existing demand. Someone types ’emergency plumber Parramatta’ and you appear at the exact moment they need you. Meta creates demand: nobody opens Instagram looking for your service, so the creative has to interrupt and interest them.
If a keyword tool shows meaningful monthly search volume for your service and location, start on Google. If volume is thin because the category is new or the need is not yet obvious, start on Meta.
Match the channel to the offer
High-consideration, high-value services usually justify the higher click cost on search. Visual, impulse-friendly products with a clear price point tend to perform better on social feeds where scroll-stopping creative does the heavy lifting.
Budget realistically
Neither platform learns anything useful from a few dollars a day. Work out your target cost per enquiry, multiply by the number of enquiries you need each week, and commit to enough spend for the algorithm to leave the learning phase.
Do not skip the landing page
Sending paid traffic to your homepage is the most common and most expensive mistake we see. Build a page for the specific promise in the ad, and keep the message identical from headline to form.
