"Google or Meta?" is a question I hear in almost every intro call. Usually there is a disappointment behind it: one channel was tried, did not deliver and is now supposed to be replaced by the other. But the question is framed wrong. The two channels do fundamentally different things. Once you understand that, you use them for different goals and measure them differently.
The basic difference in one sentence
On Google, someone is looking for something and you are the answer. On Meta, nobody is looking, and you have to win attention. Google captures demand that already exists. Meta creates demand that would not have existed without the ad. Almost everything else follows from this: which goals fit, which content works and how long it takes for results to show.
Which channel for which goal
| Goal | First choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Enquiries from customers already searching | Someone searching for "tax adviser Hamburg succession" or "sell house Eimsbüttel" has an urgent need. | |
| Winning owners who are not selling yet | Meta, supported by Google | Most owners only think about selling when there is a trigger. Meta reaches them before; Google catches them when the time comes. |
| Hiring | Meta | Good people rarely search actively. You reach them where they spend time anyway. |
| Building brand awareness | Meta | Images, video and repetition build recognition. Search ads hardly do. |
| Selling a product with clear search demand | Demand is measurable and budget can follow it. |
Swipe sideways for all columns →
For many mid-sized companies the honest answer is: Google first, because money comes back faster there, then Meta once search demand is exhausted or a goal like hiring is added.
Cost per enquiry and the most expensive mistakes
What an enquiry costs depends so much on industry, region and offer that blanket numbers do more harm than good. But two patterns come up again and again:
- Google with broad keywords and no negative list. Ads show up for searches that have nothing to do with the offer. In accounts I take over, a noticeable share of budget often goes to searches that could never have fit. More in the article on the most common budget drains.
- Meta without creative testing. One ad, one image, one text, and after two weeks the verdict is that Meta does not work. On Meta the creative decides. Three to five variants in parallel are the minimum to learn what stops your audience.
A third mistake affects both: campaigns are judged after ten days. Google usually needs two to four weeks for bidding to settle, Meta a similar time for its learning phase. Steering earlier mostly measures chance.
Measurement: which metric counts per channel
On Google, the right metric is almost always cost per qualified enquiry, better still per meeting or deal. On Meta the path is longer: many people see the ad, visit the site and only come back later via Google or directly. Judging Meta by direct enquiries alone regularly underestimates the channel.
- Google: cost per qualified enquiry, share of enquiries that turn into meetings.
- Meta: cost per enquiry, plus the development of brand searches and direct visits during the campaign.
- Both: the source of every enquiry through to the CRM, so what counts in the end is revenue, not clicks.
Technically this needs tracking that runs through consent and, on Meta, the Conversions API, so enquiries are recorded even when the browser blocks cookies. Without clean measurement you are deciding budgets blind.
Recommendation for budgets from 3,000 euros a month
With 3,000 euros a month both channels can be run sensibly, but not rolled out at the same time. A proven sequence:
- Months 1 and 2: most of the budget goes to Google, on the searches with the clearest intent. Negative list from day one, measurement through to the CRM.
- From month 2: a smaller budget for Meta with three to five creatives to learn which message works. Plus remarketing to website visitors.
- From month 3: shift budget by cost per qualified enquiry, not by feeling. If Meta wins on hiring or brand awareness, it gets more there.
So the question is rarely "Google or Meta?", but "which goal, which channel, which metric?". Separate those three cleanly and you get considerably more out of the same budget.