This is the question we get more than any other, and the framing is usually wrong. Facebook and Google aren't competitors — one creates demand and the other captures it. Which you start with depends on the trade you're in.
Google captures people who already decided
Someone typing 'emergency plumber Wellington' has a problem right now. There's no persuasion needed, just availability and a phone that gets answered. Google Search is unbeatable for urgent, well-defined jobs: leaks, blocked drains, power faults, lockouts, broken hot water cylinders.
The limitation is volume. Only so many people search for your service in your area each month, and once you own those searches, extra budget has nowhere useful to go.
Facebook creates demand that didn't exist yet
Nobody wakes up searching for 'new deck'. But show a homeowner a before-and-after of a backyard two streets away and a project they'd vaguely considered for two years becomes a phone call this week. Meta is where discretionary, higher-value work comes from: re-roofs, renovations, landscaping, repaints, solar.
It's also far more scalable. If the creative and offer are right, you can keep adding budget and keep getting leads long after Google Search has run out of room.
A simple rule
- Urgent, break-fix trade with steady search demand? Start with Google.
- High-value, considered projects people put off? Start with Facebook.
- Once one is producing consistently and profitably, add the other.
Running both is where it compounds
The strongest setups use Meta to generate awareness and Google to catch the people who go looking for you afterwards. Brand searches climbing a month into a Facebook campaign is one of the clearest signals that the money is working.
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