Facebook Ads vs Google Ads: Which One Works Better for Beginners in 2025?

When a business owner decides to start advertising online, two platforms immediately stand out: Facebook Ads and Google Ads. Both are powerful, both can generate leads and sales, and both come with learning curves that can overwhelm beginners.

But the real question is simple:
Which one is better for your business when you’re just starting out — Facebook Ads or Google Ads?

In this guide, we’re going to break down both platforms in a beginner-friendly, practical way. You’ll learn the basic setups, how each platform behaves, what results to expect, and how to grow from simple campaigns to advanced strategies. We’ll also talk about the reality of modern digital marketing — the noise, the scams, the overpriced “experts”,  and why having a trusted partner like Creativa Forge truly matters.

1. Beginner Setup: How Facebook Ads and Google Ads Differ From Day One

Facebook Ads – The Easy Creative Playground

Facebook Ads (including Instagram Ads) are often considered the easier starting point for beginners.
That’s because Facebook is interruption-based advertising, meaning your ads appear while people are scrolling through their feed. You’re not waiting for them to search; you’re pushing your brand in front of them.

Beginner Setup Includes:

  • Creating a Facebook Business Manager account

  • Installing the Meta Pixel on your site

  • Choosing your campaign goal (traffic, leads, sales, engagement)

  • Selecting your audience (interests, behaviors, demographics)

  • Designing creative assets (image, video, headline)

Why Beginners Like Facebook:

  • Very visual

  • Straightforward to set up

  • Allows broad testing

  • Ideal for brand awareness and early-stage audiences

However, and this is where most businesses get tricked —
likes and engagement don’t equal sales.
Beginners often spend money thinking visibility will magically turn into revenue. It doesn’t work that way.

Google Ads – The Intent-Based Machine

Google works differently.
People are already searching for what you sell.

For a beginner, Google Ads setup usually involves:

  • Creating a Google Ads account

  • Setting up conversion tracking

  • Choosing a campaign type (Search, Performance Max, Shopping, etc.)

  • Adding keywords that match user intent

  • Writing text ads

  • Setting a daily budget and bidding strategy

This sounds harder, and it is, but the benefit is enormous:

Google Ads captures people who are ready to buy.
There is no guessing. No hoping. They tell you what they want.

If you sell products, Google Shopping campaigns can put your item right in front of the buyer.
If you offer services, Search Ads bring in high-intent leads.

2. Which Platform Works Better for Beginners?

If you want leads → Google Ads wins.

If you want fast brand visibility → Facebook Ads wins.

But let’s break this down clearly.

3. Google Ads for Beginners: From Basic to Advanced

Basic Setup (Beginner Level):

  1. Use Search campaigns with a small set of very specific keywords.

  2. Turn on conversion tracking so Google knows when a lead or sale happens.

  3. Keep your budget small but steady.

  4. Use exact-match or phrase-match keywords to avoid wasted money.

This simple setup already allows:

  • Lead generation

  • Selling products

  • Tracking performance and adjusting bids

Intermediate Level (A Bit More Experience):

  • Start using Performance Max for automated targeting

  • Link Google Merchant Center for Shopping Ads

  • Use remarketing to pull back website visitors

  • A/B test ad headlines and descriptions

Advanced Level (Full Power of Google Partner Tools):

Once you gain experience or work with a certified specialist, you can tap into:

  • Google Analytics 4 (GA4) event tracking

  • Search Console data for high-intent keywords

  • Smart bidding strategies (Target CPA, Target ROAS)

  • LookaLike audiences based on search behavior

  • Dynamic remarketing for eCommerce

This is where Google Ads becomes a scalable sales engine, not just a marketing tool.

4. Facebook Ads for Beginners: Strengths and Weaknesses

Beginner Setup (Simple):

  • Boosting posts (not recommended long-term)

  • Simple traffic campaigns

  • Basic audience targeting using interests

This helps beginners learn the basics but doesn’t always produce strong results.

Where Facebook Truly Shines:

  • Visual storytelling

  • Showing your brand personality

  • Building awareness

  • Retargeting warm audiences

  • Understanding demographics and behavior

Where Facebook Falls Short:

  • People don’t open Facebook to buy — they come to scroll

  • Ads require good design, videos, and creativity

  • Misleading metrics (likes ≠ sales)

  • iOS privacy limits tracking and makes optimization harder

Facebook Ads perform best when used with:

  • Remarketing

  • Conversion-optimized landing pages

  • Strong creatives

When done correctly, Facebook becomes an excellent mid-funnel tool.

5. So Which Is More Effective — Google or Facebook?

A fair comparison is difficult because they have completely different roles.

Google Ads is more effective when:

  • You want fast leads

  • You want direct sales

  • You want measurable ROI

  • You sell services (law, design, repair, consulting, dental, etc.)

  • You sell products people actively search for

Facebook Ads is more effective when:

  • You want brand awareness

  • You need to reach new audiences

  • Your offer is visual or emotional

  • You launch a new product

  • You build a community

The BEST strategy for 2025: Use both.

Google = captures demand
Facebook = creates demand

Together, they form a complete sales funnel.

6. The Harsh Truth: Advertising Isn’t as Easy as People Claim

Everywhere you look online, someone is trying to sell “cheap ads,” “quick fixes,” “SEO secrets,” or “AI hacks.”
The truth?

Most of it is nonsense.
And a lot of “experts” don’t know how to run ads — they just know how to charge for them.

Ranking a website, optimizing ads, earning leads, and building a brand takes:

  • Strategy

  • Experience

  • Consistency

  • Proper setup

  • Clean tracking

  • A real understanding of how humans behave online

This is the part most beginners never hear.

7. How Creativa Forge Helps You Navigate the Chaos

At Creativa Forge, we work with business owners who want clarity instead of confusion.
Most clients come to us after dealing with:

  • Poorly set up ads

  • Agencies that waste their budget

  • Websites that don’t convert

  • Fake “gurus” promising magic results

  • Tracking that doesn’t even work

We don’t offer magic.
We offer proper, transparent, technically correct setups that make your ads actually work.

Whether you want:

  • Google Ads that generate sales,

  • Facebook Ads that build your audience,

  • A website that finally converts,

  • A long-term marketing strategy that grows with your business,

Creativa Forge does it with:

  • Honest communication

  • Clean tracking

  • Real analytics

  • Modern design

  • And a full understanding of both platforms

Because in 2025, you don’t just need ads.
You need a partner who protects your brand and guides you through all the noise online.

8. Final Verdict: Start Simple, Grow Smart

If you’re a beginner:

  • Start with Google Ads to capture real buyers

  • Support it with Facebook Ads to build awareness

  • Use tracking and analytics from day one

  • Don’t fall for shortcuts

As you gain experience, unlock the advanced tools each platform offers.
The more you learn, the more effective your campaigns become.

And if the whole system feels too confusing — you’re not alone.
That’s exactly why businesses choose CreativaForge.com to help them navigate the digital landscape and turn advertising into real growth.