Hi there,
Thanks for reaching out! It's a really common question, trying to weigh up Google Shopping against social media ads. Tbh, it's one of those things where there isn't a single right answer, and anyone who tells you one is definitively 'better' than the other probably doesn't have your best interests at heart.
The real question isn't which platform is superior overall, but which one is the right starting point for your specific business, with your products, your audience, and your immediate goals. They do fundamentally different jobs. I'm happy to give you some of my initial thoughts and a framework for how we'd approach this decision. It should help you get some clarity on where to put your first ad pounds to get the best return.
TLDR;
- Intent vs. Discovery: Google Shopping captures existing demand from people actively searching for products like yours. Social media creates new demand by showing your products to people who weren't necessarily looking.
- Product-Led Decision: If you sell a known commodity people search for (e.g., "black cotton t-shirt"), start with Google Shopping. If you sell a unique, visual, or impulse-buy product (e.g., handcrafted jewellery), social media is often a better first step.
- The Real ROI Question: Stop thinking about just Cost Per Click. You need to understand your Customer Lifetime Value (LTV). Our interactive calculator below will help you figure out how much you can actually afford to pay for a customer, which changes the entire game.
- The Goal is Synergy: The best businesses don't choose one or the other; they build a system where both platforms work together, feeding each other data and customers. We'll show you how that looks.
- The most important piece of advice is... Don't just throw money at a platform. Start with the one that aligns with the "easiest" first sale for your specific product type, master it, then expand.
We'll need to look at the fundamental difference: Intent vs. Discovery
Before we even think about clicks and budgets, you have to get your head around the core difference in user mindset on these platforms. This is the absolute foundation of a solid paid advertising strategy, and it’s something a surprising number of people get wrong.
Google Shopping is about capturing intent. Think of it like a customer walking into a massive department store, heading straight for the aisle they need, and asking a shop assistant, "Where are the size 10 walking boots?" They already know they have a problem (need new boots), they know the solution (buy boots), and they are actively trying to make a purchase. They are in 'pull' mode. They are pulling information towards them. Your job with Google Shopping is simply to be the best, most visible, and most competitively priced option on that digital shelf when they ask the question. The demand already exists; you just need to intercept it.
Social Media Ads (like Meta or Pinterest) are about creating discovery. Think of this as someone flicking through a lifestyle magazine while waiting for a coffee. They aren't looking for anything in particular. Then they see a stunning photo of a unique watch or a clever new kitchen gadget. Five minutes ago, they didn't know it existed, and they certainly didn't know they wanted it. Now, a seed of desire has been planted. This is 'push' marketing. You are pushing a new idea, a new product, a new aesthetic in front of an audience you believe will be receptive. You are creating the demand from scratch.
Neither is inherently better; they're just different tools for different jobs. Trying to use a screwdriver to hammer a nail is frustrating and ineffective. Same thing here. Choosing the right platform first depends entirely on whether your customers are more likely to be actively searching for your product or discovering it by chance.
Here’s a simple way to visualise the two customer journeys:
I'd say you need to diagnose your product and audience
So, how do you figure out which path your customers are on? You have to be brutally honest about what you're selling and who you're selling it to. This is where you remove your founder bias and think like a customer.
First, analyse your product type.
-> Is it a high-search-intent product? These are often commodities, essentials, or products where people know the specific category or features they need. Think "bamboo toothbrush," "leather dog collar," "replacement HP printer ink," or "Miele vacuum bags." If someone can easily and accurately describe your product in a Google search, it has high search intent. For these, Google Shopping is almost always the best place to start. Why? Becuase you're meeting a customer who is already halfway to the checkout. Your only job is to convince them you're the best option.
-> Is it a low-search-intent or discovery-based product? These are items people don't know they need until they see them. This includes unique art, innovative gadgets people haven't heard of, niche fashion with a specific aesthetic, or handcrafted goods with a compelling story. No one is searching for "a necklace made from recycled sea glass found on the Jurassic Coast" because they don't know it exists. You have to *show* them. This is where social media, particulerly visual platforms like Meta (Instagram/Facebook) and Pinterest, excel. Your ad isn't just an ad; it's a piece of content, a story, a digital shop window that stops the scroll and creates desire out of thin air.
Second, think about your target audience's behaviour.
Where do they digitally 'live'? Are they professionals who might be researching solutions on LinkedIn? Are they hobbyists who are active in specific Facebook Groups? Are they design-lovers who spend hours creating boards on Pinterest? This is where good old-fashioned customer research comes in. If you have existing customers, ask them how they found you. Look at the language they use. This is crutial. For example, we worked with a women's apparel brand and found through research that their audience was highly active on Pinterest, looking for style inspiration. So, while we also ran Meta ads, a significant part of our strategy and budget was dedicated to Pinterest Ads, which produced a 691% return for them. The platform choice was dictated by the audience's natural behaviour.
You probably should define your business objective first
Your choice of platform also depends heavily on what you need to acheive right now. A business trying to liquidate stock before year-end has a very different objective to a new brand trying to build a cult following.
If your primary goal is immediate sales and a measurable Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)...
...you'll want to use the platform that offers the most direct path to purchase. For products with existing search demand, Google Shopping is often the most direct route. The feedback loop is fast: you spend £X, you get £Y in sales. The ROAS calculation is straightforward because the people clicking your ads have already qualified themselves by searching for what you sell. But a direct, high-ROAS return is achievable on social media too, especially with the right targeting. I remember one campaign for an eCommerce client selling maps and navigation products; using Meta Ads, we generated over $71k in revenue at an 8x return by targeting users with a clear interest in travel and outdoors.
If your primary goal is to build a brand, create a new market, or foster a community...
...then social media is your engine room. This is especially true for discovery-based products. You're not just making a sale; you're earning a follower, an email subscriber, a future brand advocate. It's a longer game. The initial ROAS might be lower, but you're building valuable assets: a retargeting audience of thousands of interested people, a pixel that's learning who your ideal customer is, and brand recognition that pays off down the line. We once launched a luxury brand where the initial goal wasn't just sales, but to make a huge splash. We used Meta ads focused on high-impact video content and reached over 10 million views, cementing the brand's premium position in the market before we even pushed hard for direct sales. It's an investment in future demand.
The smartest businesses, of course, do both. They use social media to create the desire and fill the top of their funnel, and they use Google Shopping to capture that desire when the user is finally ready to buy. But you have to start somewhere. Pick the objective that is most pressing for your business today.
You'll need to understand the real cost of a customer
This is where we get to the heart of your "ROI" question. Most business owners get fixated on surface-level metrics like Cost Per Click (CPC) or even Cost Per Acquisition (CPA). They see a £5 CPC on Google and panic, thinking it's too expensive, while they celebrate a £0.50 CPC on Facebook. This is a massive, and potentially fatal, mistake.
The only metric that truly matters is the relationship between your Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) and your Customer Lifetime Value (LTV). Your LTV is the total profit you can expect to make from a single customer over the entire duration of their relationship with you. Once you know this number, you know exactly how much you can afford to spend to acquire a customer and still be highly profitable.
For an eCommerce business, a simple way to estimate this is:
LTV = (Average Order Value × Average Number of Repeat Purchases) × Gross Margin %
Let's say your average order is £80, customers tend to buy from you 3 times on average, and your gross margin after the cost of goods is 60%.
LTV = (£80 × 3) × 0.60
LTV = £240 × 0.60 = £144
In this scenario, each customer you acquire is worth £144 in profit to your business. A common rule of thumb is to aim for an LTV:CAC ratio of at least 3:1. This means you could afford to spend up to £48 (£144 / 3) to acquire that customer. Suddenly, a £10 or even £20 CPA doesn't look so scary, does it? It looks like a profitable investment. This is the maths that allows you to scale aggressively and intelligently.
To help you with this, here's an interactive calculator. Play around with your own numbers to get a feel for what your LTV might be and what a healthy CAC target could look like for your business.
We'll need to look at how to build a full-funnel machine
So, the end game isn't Google vs. Social. It's Google and Social. The best eCommerce brands build an integrated system where the platforms work together, creating a powerful customer generation machine. They don't see them as separate channels but as interlocking parts of a single sales funnel.
Here’s how it generally works:
- Top of Funnel (ToFu) - Awareness & Discovery: This is primarily social media's domain. You run campaigns (optimised for conversions, not just views!) with compelling videos or carousel ads to a broad but relevant audience. The goal is to introduce your brand to new people, get them to your website, and 'pixel' them (tag them with a tracking code). You're not necessarily expecting a sale here, but you're filling the pipeline with potential customers.
- Middle of Funnel (MoFu) - Consideration & Retargeting: Now you have an audience of people who have visited your site, watched your video, or engaged with your ad. They're warm. You retarget them on social media with different ads – maybe showing customer testimonials, different product use cases, or an introductory offer. You're building trust and keeping your brand top of mind.
- Bottom of Funnel (BoFu) - Conversion & Purchase: This is where it all comes together. This audience is hot.
- On social media, this means running Dynamic Product Ads (DPAs) that show the exact products someone viewed or added to their cart. It’s a powerful reminder.
- On Google, this is where Shopping Ads become lethal. The person who first discovered you on Instagram last week (ToFu) is now actively searching Google for "sustainable backpacks" (BoFu). Because you've been building brand recognition, when your Shopping ad appears next to competitors, they recognise you and are more likely to click and buy from you. You've warmed them up on one platform and closed them on another.
This shows how a customer can flow between the platforms, with each one playing a specific role in guiding them towards a purchase.
This is the main advice I have for you:
To make this as actionable as possible, I've broken down my recomendations into a table. Find the scenario that most closely matches your business to get a clear starting point.
| Your Business Situation | Recommended Starting Platform | Rationale | Key Metric to Watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| You sell products people actively search for (e.g., phone accessories, kitchenware, standard clothing items, replacement parts). | Google Shopping | This is the most direct path to a sale. You're capturing existing, high-purchase-intent demand. The ROI is often faster and easier to measure initially. | ROAS (Return On Ad Spend) |
| You sell unique, visually-driven, or innovative products people don't know to search for (e.g., handcrafted goods, new gadgets, niche fashion). | Meta (Facebook/Instagram) or Pinterest Ads | You need to create demand through discovery. These platforms allow you to tell a story and stop the scroll with compelling visuals, building a brand from scratch. | CPA (Cost Per Acquisition) & Engagement Rate |
| You have an established brand and are selling on one platform, but growth has stalled. | The Other Platform | If you're maxed out on Google Shopping, start building a ToFu/MoFu machine on social. If you're only on social, add Google Shopping to capture the demand you've created. | Overall Blended ROAS & New Customer Growth |
| You have a very small budget (£500-£1000/mo) and need to prove your concept quickly. | Meta Ads | Tbh, you can often get initial data and traffic for a lower cost per click on Meta. This allows you to test messaging, visuals, and audience response without needing the higher CPCs of competitive Google keywords. | Cost Per Landing Page View & CPA |
Ultimately, the lack of clear data you mentioned is the problem we need to solve. The only way to get that data is to start testing, but testing intelligently. Start with the platform that gives you the highest probability of an early win based on your product type. Set up your conversion tracking perfectly from day one. Measure everything. Once you have a profitable system running on one platform, you have the cash flow and the data to confidently expand to the next.
Navigating all of this—the strategy, the LTV calculations, the technical setup of tracking pixels and product feeds, the creative testing, and the ongoing optimisation—is a full-time job. It's where having an expert team can make the difference between burning through cash and building a scalable, profitable advertising machine.
If you'd like to chat through your specific situation in more detail, we offer a free, no-obligation initial consultation where we can take a look at your products and goals and give you a tailored strategic plan. It's a great way to get some expert eyes on your business and a clear path forward.
Hope this helps!
Regards,
Team @ Lukas Holschuh
