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When we talk about Google Ads vs Meta Ads, most people default to CPCs, impressions, or engagement rates. That’s surface-level. The deeper question is: Where is your customer in their buying journey, and how do you structure your campaigns to intercept them at that exact point?
For a growing number of New Zealand brands, running both platforms in harmony with a clear delineation of role and function, has become essential. But let’s pull them apart first.
Google Ads in 2025: Demand Capture and Commercial Intent
Google Ads remains the strongest platform for bottom-of-funnel acquisition. When someone types a search query, there’s an immediate opportunity to satisfy that intent with a solution. You’re not creating demand. You’re harvesting it.
The structure of your campaign, and how tightly it maps to that intent is where the magic happens.
Keyword match types, SKAGs (Single Keyword Ad Groups), location-based bidding strategies and refined negative keyword lists still make or break campaign efficiency in 2025. Google’s automated Performance Max campaigns are powerful, but only when guided by sharp human oversight, especially on creative input and audience signals.
NZ Example: Yume Japanese Restaurant
With Yume, we started with traditional Google Search but noticed that one offering — “All You Can Eat Japanese” — had surprisingly low keyword competition despite thousands of monthly searches in Auckland.
We built a search campaign tightly around this niche with hyperlocal targeting and ad copy that aligned exactly with user phrasing. We then supported that with a viral social media post showcasing the all-you-can-eat experience which exploded with thousands of comments and tags. Once the post gained traction organically, we applied paid spend to boost it further across lookalike audiences. The search campaign fed the bookings; the Meta campaign fed the hype. They went gangbusters.
Meta Ads in 2025: Interest-Based Discovery and Social Proof
Meta Ads are interruption-based, so success here is not just about reach, it's also about narrative structure and audience psychology. In 2025, the platform rewards brands that behave like creators: performance creatives that don’t look like ads, and targeting strategies that shift based on behaviour patterns, not just demographics.
Meta’s native AI optimisation has improved, but the foundational principles haven’t changed. Your creative needs to be your targeting. Ad fatigue sets in fast, especially in high-frequency local campaigns, so variation in copy hooks and visuals is vital.
Case Studies: WOMAN Magazine and Chatty Chums
For WOMAN Magazine, Meta Ads allowed us to break through the noise by showcasing featured stories that weren’t just shared, they were debated discussed. The content they published was born from indemand topics found through keyword research, that had high monthly search rates but low competition. Meta’s algorithm rewarded the engagement and showed the ad to even more users at a very low cost per impression.
With Chatty Chums, we leaned heavily on dynamic creative testing, particularly for mobile audiences using lifestyle-centric visuals optimised for iPad and mobile-first consumption. Although we didn’t design their desktop site, we led the mobile responsive design overhaul. When we launched ad sets targeting urban female readers aged 25 to 40, bounce rates dropped significantly and in-session dwell time nearly doubled. Ads brought them in, and responsive design kept them there.
The Cost Equation: Google Ads vs Meta Ads in 2025
Cost is rarely about how much you're spending. It's about what you're spending it on. A $3 click on Google might be ten times more valuable than a $1 CPM on Meta if it leads directly to a qualified conversion.
On Meta, you're often paying for volume and interest generation. On Google, you're paying for action. But here's where people go wrong: they measure both platforms using the same KPIs. They shouldn't.
Your Meta ROAS needs to be measured over time. You're building awareness, then retargeting, then converting. For Google, you can (and should) measure short-term ROI more aggressively. Especially if you're in legal, medical, hospitality or trades.
Can Meta & Google Ads Work Together?
They absolutely should. Some of our best-performing campaigns start on Meta and close on Google. Others flip that. A user sees a strong Meta ad, checks out your brand, but doesn’t convert. Two days later, they Google your business name or related service — and now you have the opportunity to close via Search.
That’s where remarketing audiences become crucial. We often segment Meta audiences into warm viewers and build remarketing lists in Google for high-intent phrases. Or we set up brand defence campaigns in Google to intercept those exposed to our Meta ads who are now searching for the brand or its competitors.
It’s an ecosystem. Not a duel.
Which Is Better?
Neither. That’s like asking if billboards or TV are better without knowing the campaign objective. Meta will outperform Google for top-of-funnel discovery, especially with strong creative, a social-friendly brand, and a broad appeal. Google will outperform Meta for bottom-of-funnel performance, especially when someone is actively seeking your service.
But here’s the kicker: it’s not just about platform choice. It’s about timing, sequencing and message structure. And most NZ businesses still don’t structure campaigns this way.
Which Ad Platform Should I Use?
If you’re still asking “Which platform should we use?”, you might be asking the wrong question. The real question is: what behaviour are we trying to influence, and where does that behaviour live?
We’ve scaled campaigns for e-commerce brands, service businesses and publishers by treating each platform as a piece of a conversion engine, not a silo. From a viral Meta campaign for Yume that filled tables every weekend, to a refined performance funnel for WOMAN Magazine subscribers, the same rule applies: respect the platform’s purpose, and align your strategy to it.
Want help with platform strategy, creative, media buying and conversion architecture? Get in touch with TopTalent. We’re not just performance marketers. We’re behaviour designers.
