2021 Ad Platform Review: A Laser-Focus on Genuine Results!
Enhance your advertising success with the lessons we learned from testing for the best ad platform earlier this year!
The ad industry is constantly changing, and it’s essential to stay up-to-date on the latest ad platform innovations. There are many ad platforms on the market, but which one is best?
Earlier this year, Algorithmic Global ran ads on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google and found many things we liked about all three. So we decided to review these three ad platforms in-depth and see what we found out.
In this article, we will discuss our findings from a recent ad platform review so that you can find the best for your business!
The experiment
Our experiment involved running ads on each ad platform (Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google) specifically for lead generation. We counted lead generation in one of two ways: either phone calls or website form submissions.
We ran ads on each ad platform for digital marketing to our website and disaster restoration services with a national brand.
We split the spend three ways, ensuring a consistent burn rate each day.
The ads themselves included similar copy and language, and both LinkedIn and Facebook ran identical images.
The question we tried answering: which ad platform generated the most conversions (leads) over three months?
Overview from each ad platform
Facebook ads spent the money each day at a consistent rate. The cost per impression on this ad platform was the lowest among all three we tested, and there was a fair amount of click volume.
We ran into a problem with both the digital marketing and disaster restoration ads: high bounce rate.
No matter how much we tweaked the language or adjusted the audience, the people who clicked the ad from this ad platform would visit the website then back out right away.
This metric suggests we had a decent image (because of the click volume) and advertising copy, but the audience wasn’t looking for the services.
What’s worse, the low qualified lead generation tanked with the introduction of Apple’s new privacy measures.
Our conclusion? Facebook ads isn’t a good ad platform for large-ticket items like digital marketing and disaster restoration.
LinkedIn was another platform with no problem spending the day’s budget, regardless of the audience or the service.
The problem? The cost. Each click costs four to five times what it cost on Facebook.
The ads on this platform generated a lower bounce rate, meaning users stuck around on the website for a while, but the number of conversions didn’t make a meaningful impact without Facebook’s volume.
Our conclusion? LinkedIn ads can work with enough spending, but the high cost per click makes justifying low to moderate budget campaigns difficult.
Unlike LinkedIn and Facebook, there was a bit of a breaking-in period for Google ads. Because of this, this ad platform didn’t spend each day’s budget right out of the gate, but it still averaged out to the proper amount over the course of the experiment.
Plus, Google also doesn’t require images. People who click on Google ads do so because of the headlines and the copy, not because of an attractive, attention-grabbing photo. We believe this explains why this ad platform had the lowest bounce rate, meaning more people poked around the website after clicking these ads.
The cost-per-click fell right between LinkedIn and Facebook, at two to three times Facebook’s cost.
One added benefit? Google’s call extension generated leads for the disaster restoration client before they even went to the website.
Our conclusion? The quick-contact option sets the Google ad platform apart from the other two.
Moving forward
After the experiment ended, we stopped both Facebook and LinkedIn ads and put all the money towards Google ads.
The cost-per-click is right in the middle, and the conversion volume was the highest of all three, making the decision easy.
Keep in mind that the advertised services impact the conversion volume—both digital advertising services and disaster restoration are big-ticket items that require relationship building. Plus, both carry a hefty price tag.
Apple’s privacy decisions that affected Facebook ads also made ending the Facebook ads the easy answer.
Digital marketing with Algorithmic Global
Based on our results testing Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google, we recommend Google as the best ad platform in 2021 and beyond. We follow this recommendation when advertising our services and creating advertising programs for our disaster restoration clients.
The opportunity for converting before visiting the website, the detailed targeting options, and the relatively cheap cost-per-click makes the Google ad platform the one to beat.
Give us a call if you are interested in expert Google ads management. We specialize in disaster restoration marketing and run campaigns for services like water and mold damage restoration. Whatever your digital marketing needs, we’re here to help!
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