It's one of the first questions every UK service business asks when they decide to start advertising online: Google Ads or Facebook Ads? The honest answer is that they solve different problems, and for a lot of businesses, the real question isn't "which one" but "which one first."

Here's how to think it through properly.

The core difference: intent vs interruption

Google Ads shows up when someone is actively searching for what you do: "emergency plumber near me", "garage door repair", "boiler installation cost". They already have a problem and are looking for a solution right now. That's intent-based advertising.

Facebook and Instagram Ads work differently. They interrupt someone scrolling their feed who wasn't necessarily looking for your service at that exact moment, but matches the audience you've targeted by location, interests, age and behaviour. That's interruption-based advertising.

Neither is better in the abstract. They're built for different moments in a customer's decision.

When Google Ads tends to win

• Urgent or problem-driven services — emergency repairs, breakdowns, anything with a "I need this fixed now" moment.
• High-intent searches — services people actively research before buying, like driveways, boiler replacements, or legal advice.
• Businesses that want leads ready to act — someone searching is generally further down the decision-making path than someone scrolling.

When Facebook and Instagram Ads tend to win

• Visual, aspirational work — landscaping, renovations, before-and-after transformations that photograph well.
• Building brand awareness in a local area — getting your name in front of the same households repeatedly, even before they need you.
• Lower cost per lead in many cases — Facebook's cost-per-click is often lower than Google's for competitive trade keywords, though lead quality can vary more.
• Retargeting website visitors — bringing back people who checked out your site but didn't enquire the first time.

Cost differences worth knowing

Facebook Ads generally have a lower cost-per-click than Google Ads for the same trade, simply because you're not paying for someone's active search intent, you're paying to be shown to a relevant audience. The trade-off is that a Facebook lead is often earlier in their decision, so conversion rates from lead to paying customer can be lower without a solid follow-up process in place.

This is exactly why we build a CRM into every LeadCrafters campaign. Following up quickly and consistently is what turns a Facebook lead browsing at 9pm into a booked job, not just an enquiry that goes cold.

So which should you choose?

For most UK trade and service businesses, the honest recommendation is this: if you can only run one platform, start with Google Ads for the urgent, high-intent searches, then add Facebook and Instagram Ads once you want to build a wider pipeline and stay visible to people before they're actively searching.

Running both together tends to outperform either alone. Google catches people at the moment of need, Facebook keeps your name in front of them the rest of the time, and retargeting ties the two together.

Final thoughts

There's no universal right answer between Google Ads and Facebook Ads. It depends on what you sell, how urgently people need it, and how visual the work is. If you're not sure which fits your business best, that's exactly the kind of thing worth talking through before spending a penny.