It is the question we hear most. The short answer is that it depends on whether people already search for what you sell.
Google Ads: catching people who are already looking
Someone types "CA in Jodhpur" or "villa in Udaipur" and sees your ad. They have a need right now, so the leads tend to be warmer. The catch is that it only works if enough people search for your service. If almost nobody does, there is nothing to catch.
Meta Ads: creating interest
Facebook and Instagram let you show your offer to people who match your ideal customer, even if they have never searched for you. This works well for fashion, travel, education and anything visual. Leads are usually cheaper but need faster follow-up, because the person was not actively looking when your ad appeared.
How to decide
A simple rule works for most small businesses:
- People search for your service: start with Google.
- Your product is visual or an impulse buy: start with Meta.
- You have a longer sales cycle: use both, with retargeting.
Budget: how much is enough to learn anything
Both platforms need a few weeks of steady data. Spreading a very small budget across five campaigns teaches you nothing. It is better to run one or two campaigns properly for a month than to dabble in everything.
Whichever you pick, fix the page first
Both platforms send traffic. What happens next depends on your landing page and your follow-up speed. A good ad sent to a slow page is money wasted, and a good page with slow follow-up wastes the lead you paid for.
Measure enquiries, not clicks
Set up tracking so you can see calls, forms and WhatsApp chats against each campaign. After a month you will know which platform brings you customers at a cost that works. Then you can move budget to what is winning.