Facebook V/S AdWords

I run a small but active social networking site called Melinda's Filipina Penpals and Asian Dating. To bring in new lady members I ran an Ad Campaign with Google AdWords for years. The goal was to bring in approved new lady members to our site. While traffic is traffic, if the desired result is new members that is how I gauge the success of any ad campaign.

ADWORDS

With Google AdWords targeting the ad has always been a problem. I tried to bring in more female members but ended up with more guys instead. This targeting problem seemed to get worse over the past couple of years. It got to the point where the ad was producing very few registrations, male or female. In the last 3 weeks of my campaign I was averaging 3 complete registrations for every 150 visitors brought in through AdWords. That is a 2% conversion rate. To me converting a visitor to a member is all that matters, and you can throw the rest of the stats out the window. 

A lot of the sites that displayed my ads were garbage sites. For every garbage site I blocked from showing my ads 10 more would take it's place. It was becoming very frustrating, and most of my daily budget was wasted. Some days I went through and entire budget and did not get one female registration.

FACEBOOK

I received an email about advertising on Facebook. I was curious and checked out their advertising program. All I can say is it the early results indicate I have solved my advertising problem. Facebook seems to attract a more loyal and educated group of Internet users. My registrations in the first 5 days using Facebook are as follows. 152 visitors brought to the site from Facebook and 16 complete registrations. That is a 10.5% conversion rate. While the amount I am paying for each visitor is 30% higher I am happy to pay a few pennies more for these results.   

Why Better Results with Facebook

1) Better Ad Targeting - I am able to target my ad displays down to the geographic location, age group, gender, marital status, and the type of relationship the Facebook user is seeking. This is what I call targeted advertising. I do not think Google can match Facebook when it comes to targeting a social networking audience. This is especially true when you are trying to bring in members from outside the U.S.

2) Less Ad Confusion - Facebook displays their ads where everyone knows they are ads. They are clearly visible, uniform, and most Internet users know they are ads. When someone clicks the ad chances are they are interested in what the advertiser is offering. While my ad impressions are lower on Facebook, the click through rate is better than with Google AdWords.

3) Attractive and Cleaner Ads - When I first signed up with Facebook I was concerned about the size of the ads. They are a lot smaller than Google AdWords. However, while the ads may be smaller they still attract visitors. They are uniform and thus more appealing to the Internet user. Also, the option of displaying a small image above the ad is very helpful. It dramatically increases your click through rate with both the image and written content.

Please keep in mind these results are in the early stages. But over the past 5 days I see no indication the results are changing. Also, I am giving a specific example of a social networking site seeking a specific gender for new registrations. For MelindasPenpals.com this is just what the doctor ordered.