Every ad platform will happily take your budget. The real question is which one will give it back to you as customers. Here is a simple way to decide.
Google Ads: catch people who are already looking
If people search for your product or service, Google Ads is usually the best place to start. You pay to appear when someone types a search that shows intent, such as “SEO agency in Bengaluru” or “CRM for small business”.
Strengths: high intent, fast results and precise control over keywords and locations. Watch out for: broad keywords that trigger irrelevant searches, and sending clicks to your homepage instead of a focused landing page.
LinkedIn Ads: reach decision-makers by job title
LinkedIn lets you target people by job title, seniority, company size and industry. That makes it powerful for B2B, especially when a single deal is worth a lot.
Clicks are usually more expensive than on other platforms, so LinkedIn works best with a strong offer: a useful guide, a benchmark report or a short demo, rather than a generic “contact us”.
Meta Ads: create demand and retarget
Facebook and Instagram are brilliant for reaching people who are not searching yet. They work well for consumer brands, local businesses, visual products and events, and for retargeting people who visited your website.
Creative is everything on Meta. Test different hooks, images and short videos, and expect to refresh creative regularly.
What about Microsoft (Bing) and ChatGPT ads?
Microsoft Ads shows your search ads on Bing and partner sites. The audience skews towards business users, and costs are often lower, so it is a quick win once Google Ads works.
ChatGPT ads place offers in front of people researching inside ChatGPT, where they are available. It is a new channel, so test it with a small budget and clear measurement before scaling.
A simple way to choose
- Do people search for what you sell? Start with Google Ads.
- Do you sell to specific roles in companies? Add LinkedIn Ads.
- Is your product visual, local or new to the market? Use Meta Ads.
- Is your main channel profitable? Test Microsoft Ads and ChatGPT ads next.
One rule for every platform
Set up conversion tracking before you spend. Automated bidding optimises for whatever you tell it is a conversion. If tracking counts page views as leads, the platform will find you more page views, not more customers.
