“Should I run Google Ads or Facebook Ads?”
Wrong question. The right question is: “How should I split my budget between Google and Meta based on where my customers are in the buying journey?”
Google and Meta serve fundamentally different purposes. Treating them as interchangeable — or choosing only one — is the most expensive mistake Indian D2C brands make with their ad budget.
| Dimension | Meta (Facebook/Instagram) | Google (Search + Shopping) |
|---|---|---|
| Intent | Demand creation (“I didn’t know I wanted this”) | Demand capture (“I’m actively searching for this”) |
| Best for | Brand awareness, impulse purchases, new customer acquisition | High-intent buyers, comparison shoppers, repeat searches |
| Typical CAC (India D2C) | ₹250-500 | ₹150-350 (Shopping), ₹200-600 (Search) |
| ROAS benchmark | 1.5-3x (good), 3-5x (great) | 3-6x (Shopping), 2-4x (Search) |
| Creative dependency | Extremely high — creative IS the targeting | Low — keywords and product feed matter more |
| Scale ceiling | High (can reach 260M FB users in India) | Limited by search volume for your category |
| Learning curve | Moderate (creative-heavy) | Steep (keyword strategy, Shopping feed, bidding) |
For most Indian D2C brands starting with ₹50K/month (₹1,650/day), here’s how to allocate:
70% Meta (₹35K) / 20% Google Shopping (₹10K) / 10% Google Brand Search (₹5K)
New brands need demand creation. Nobody is searching for your brand name yet. Meta introduces your product to people who don’t know it exists. Google Shopping captures the small percentage already searching for your product category. Google Brand Search protects your brand name from competitors.
50% Meta (₹25K) / 35% Google Shopping (₹17.5K) / 15% Google Search (₹7.5K)
As brand awareness grows, more people search for your product category and brand name. Google becomes more efficient. Keep Meta for top-of-funnel acquisition and retargeting. Google Shopping becomes your highest-ROAS channel.
40% Meta (₹20K) / 40% Google (₹20K) / 20% Retargeting across both (₹10K)
Established brands have significant search volume. Google captures high-intent buyers at lower CAC. Meta maintains awareness and reaches new audiences. Retargeting across both platforms captures abandoners.
Most Indian D2C brands ignore Google Shopping — and they’re missing out on their lowest-CAC acquisition channel.
Why Google Shopping works so well:
How to set up:
At this budget, run exactly 3 campaign types:
1. Prospecting (60% of Meta budget) — Advantage+ Shopping campaign or broad targeting with 3-5 UGC-style creatives. Optimize for Add to Cart or Purchase. This finds new customers.
2. Retargeting (30% of Meta budget) — Target website visitors, Add-to-Cart abandoners, and Instagram engagers from the last 30 days. Show them a specific offer (“You left something in your cart — here’s 10% off”).
3. Lookalike/Advantage+ (10% of Meta budget) — Once you have 100+ purchases, create a lookalike audience from buyers. This scales your best customers.
Go 100% Meta if:
Go 100% Google if:
For most Indian D2C brands: use both. Meta creates the demand that Google then captures.
Running both platforms means you need proper attribution. A customer might see your Meta ad, Google your brand name, and buy through Google — but Meta deserves credit for the awareness.
Setup essentials:
At Growww Tech, we manage combined Meta + Google ad campaigns for Indian D2C brands. We’ve helped brands go from ₹500/day test budgets to ₹50K/day profitable scale. Get a free ad account audit.
Related reading:
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