Google Ads is an online advertising platform enabling businesses to place ads on Google search, YouTube videos, and third-party websites or mobile apps. It’s the first option most people think of when they want to advertise online. However, you can use many Google Ads alternatives to place effective ads.
Google Ads was formerly known as AdWords until a name change in 2018. Yet, many people still refer to it by its former name. We’ll show you the best AdWords competitors to advertise your products and services and get good results.
What is Google Ads?
It is an online advertising platform created by Google, the world’s most popular search engine. This platform allows individuals and businesses to place ads on Google search, YouTube videos, and a large network of third-party websites and mobile applications connected to the Google Ads ecosystem.
Google Ads is a self-serve platform, which makes it easier to use. Businesses can set up their ads without external help and deploy them immediately. You can pay per click or mille (for every thousand impressions). Pay-per-click (PPC) is the most popular model for Google Ads users, and you can pay with a credit or debit card.
What are some alternatives to Google Ads?
Google Ads is the most popular online advertising platform worldwide, but that doesn’t make it the best choice. Many Google Ads competitors exist, and you can use them to create and deploy ads effectively. They include:
Metaleadmedia
Metalead Media
is a thriving display advertising network. It connects you to a network of over 28,000 publishers serving over 1 billion impressions daily. You can create different types of ads, including Popunders, Social Bar, Banner Ads, and Native Ads.
Adsterra connects you to legitimate publishers with high-quality traffic. You can target specific locations with your advertisements to court customers. You can filter your target audience by device type, web browser, operating system, and many other factors.
If you need help, you can contact an Adsterra representative anytime. Our support staff can help you create and deploy ads if you’re struggling with the process.
Metalead Media makes it as easy as possible to launch and deploy ads. We provide over 20 targeting options, including country, language, device, operating system, etc. You can pay per click, mille, or action and deploy ads to a global audience.
Social media advertising
Social media refers to online websites where people share content and communicate with each other. The most popular social media platforms currently include Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Reddit, Twitter, and many more.
You can run advertisements on social media to reach the billions of people signed up on such websites. These websites let you target ads in a detailed manner to achieve the best results.
Facebook ads
Facebook is the world’s biggest social media platform, with 3 billion monthly active users. You can use Facebook’s self-serve advertising platform to create and deploy ads to global users.
A great thing about Facebook is that it lets you target ads in detail. You can filter your target audience according to location, interests, school, workplace, internet service provider, etc. Facebook has enormous data on its user base, which makes it easier to create personalized ads.
Facebook ads are perfect for online retailers because it lets them target users precisely. The drawback is that Facebook’s ad platform requires significant time and effort to understand. It has many complexities, so you may need several attempts before creating effective ads.
Instagram advertising
Instagram is another popular social media platform, with over 2 billion monthly active users. It’s owned by Meta Platforms, the same company that owns Facebook.
Instagram is primarily a visual platform. It’s an ideal option to create and deploy visually appealing ads. You can filter your target audience by interests, location, device type, spending habits, etc. You can promote your Instagram posts or create ads that lead to your website.
Instagram is a great option to showcase visually appealing products, e.g., clothing, jewelry, furniture, food, etc. Competition for user attention is high, so ensure your visuals are as creative as possible.
Twitter ads
Twitter is another social media juggernaut, with over 300 million global users. It’s a micro-blogging service where users create posts called “tweets.” Twitter has been quite in turmoil in 2023 following its acquisition by American entrepreneur Elon Musk.
Under Musk’s directions, the platform has erratically changed advertising policies, e.g., introducing mandatory verification for advertisers. The company also recently changed its name to X, although it retained the Twitter.com domain.
However, Twitter remains a good place to advertise to global users. It offers a self-serve advertising platform for businesses to promote their products and services.
Twitter ads are suitable for businesses needing engagement and general public exposure. You can filter your target audience by location, interests, device type, and similar factors that you’ll find on other social media platforms. Twitter represents one of the best Google ads alternatives because of its massive popularity.