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Used to blast Facebook ads with no targeting... now I focus everything on search intent
Honestly, back in 2022 I was dumping like $3k a month into Facebook ads just targeting broad interests like 'digital marketing' and hoping for the best. I got a ton of clicks but almost zero conversions. Then about six months ago I switched to Google Ads and started building campaigns around exact search queries like 'best SEO tools for small business' instead of vague demographics. That one change made my cost per lead drop from $45 to $12 in three months. The difference is night and day because people searching for a solution already have intent, they're not just browsing. Has anyone else made a similar pivot away from social ads toward search and seen a big shift in their numbers?
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nathana481mo ago
Idunno man I gotta push back on this a little. Saying 'people searching for a solution already have intent, they're not just browsing' is true but its also kinda missing the whole point of social ads. Facebook is literally built for browsing. You can catch someone when theyre bored or killing time and drop a retargeting ad on them later after theyve seen your brand three times. Ive run search ads for years and yeah your cost per lead looks great on paper but half those leads are people just price shopping or comparing you to five other guys. Meanwhile my Facebook campaigns targeting pain points like 'tired of manual data entry' have gotten me actual phone calls from decision makers who had no clue they wanted my product until they saw it pop up on their feed. Search intent is great but its not the only game in town.
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