Google vs. Meta Ads: Why One Might Be Better Than The Other in 2025

Google Ads and Meta Ads dominate the world of PPC advertising. We can say that because we’ve tested both. But choosing between them isn’t about preference or budget. We’ve been thinking about how we can future-proof our clients’ strategies, and in this article, we talk about how we do just that. 

Agencies across Australia, even the world, push the use of PPC campaigns because of their immediate results and measurable performance. No matter if your agency uses one over the other or both in conjunction, one simple fact remains:

How well you use the data to continually improve performance will determine your results.

What we commonly see as a PPC and digital marketing agency is a reward of consistent ROI when campaigns are refined week after week, based on what the data tells us. So, if you’re torn between choosing between Google Ads and Meta Ads, know that business goals are met when we focus our efforts on results, not just reach.

Then, we’ve got the hot topic of AI that has certainly propelled these tools from the industry standard to industry powerhouses. However, as a future-thinking digital marketing agency embracing the changes in 2025, there’s one side of the coin we’re favouring… It’s Google Ads. And, we’ll tell you why shortly.

But first, what’s the difference between the two?

Firstly, it depends on user intent. Google Ads is best for users actively searching for a product or service. They’re more commonly further along in the buyer's journey and will convert faster upon seeing direct response ads. 

On the contrary, Meta Ads are best for users passively discovering new brands or offers. They might be in the awareness phase of the buyer’s journey, or be ready to purchase, but looking for the right opportunity.

Take a look at a quick breakdown of the two:

For most businesses that are capturing people ready to buy, starting with Google Ads makes the most sense. Ultimately, we’ve seen faster ROI from Google for service-based clients, especially in competitive industries like trades, home building, and healthcare.

How Do We Determine the Strengths of Google and Meta?

One thing we tell our clients: Stop treating Meta as a conversion-first channel. You’ll just burn the budget. Instead, leverage Meta for top-of-the-funnel awareness. If your budget allows you to run Meta and Google concurrently, utilise Google Ads to capture high-intent users who are ready to convert.

Why Meta Ads Are Powerful

Meta’s advanced targeting options, especially with AI integration, allow you to create lookalike audiences and segmentation. At Zimple, this is a great comparison tool with our current persona-driven research, which allows our clients to accurately connect with potential customers during their browsing activities. All in all, Meta Ads are highly effective for B2B and B2C marketers aiming to enhance brand visibility.

However, there’s one problem: AI audience targeting is not yet perfect. Without a strong customer persona and agency research to guide Meta’s audience tracking capabilities, we commonly see marketers facing the challenges of mistaken audience targeting and segmentation. While agencies with deep persona expertise can navigate this easily, many in-house digital marketers struggle. 

That’s why we guide our newest clients who are in the early stages of digital marketing toward Google Ads, where buyer intent is clearer, ROI is more predictable, and budget is less likely to be lost to poorly targeted ads.

Why Google Ads Wins for ROI-Focused Campaigns

Google’s recent AI enhancements as of 2024 have taken Google Ads far and wide. This core update was Google’s largest, most advanced update to date, refining search algorithms to prioritise high-quality content for a better user experience. And recent AI-driven campaigns have significantly advanced campaign management, enhancing ad performance and targeting precision. It seems so far, Google is ahead in the AI race to the future.

On top of that, Google Ads updated its policies, with a huge leap towards user privacy, which is satisfying the needs of most internet users in the current age who value their autonomy more than ever. New ad formats have not only improved engagement but also compliance.

While Meta is evolving its AI targeting, recent privacy shifts have limited the precision of campaign performance compared to Google’s intent-based system.

Unlike Meta, Google captures user demand as it happens simply by their search intent. It ideally reaches users who are actively searching for solutions. We've seen firsthand how intent-driven campaigns for professional services or enterprise offerings deliver stronger ROI, faster. That’s not to say that it doesn’t work for product-focused companies, too. It does and quite effectively too. Google Ads isn’t just a good option; it’s a great revenue-making solution.

Our 2025 Expert Recommendation

Currently, Zimple is highly focused on leading clients to high-quality leads with immediate ROI. Google and Meta both do this excellently. In fact, if you aren’t combining both platforms to create a full-funnel strategy, you could be missing maximised revenue.

However, given our agency's current focus and expertise in search-based advertising, we recommend leveraging Google Ads. For B2B and high-ticket industries, Google Ads consistently outperforms. It’s evident that B2B campaigns now average a 7.04% conversion rate, with SaaS companies reporting an 18% drop in cost per MQL in early 2024 through better targeting.

Ultimately, if you’re running both platforms but they aren’t working together, or you’re not utilising either of them, you’re missing great audience targeting opportunities. We can help you fix that. Schedule a call with our PPC team, and we’ll show you how your ad spend can deliver stronger ROI.