Are Facebook & Google Ads Worth the Cost? Don’t Let Google and Meta Waste Your Ad Budget
Digital advertising has never been easier – or more dangerous for your wallet. With AI-powered tools like Meta’s Advantage+ and Google’s Performance Max (PMax), you can now drop in a budget, click “Go,” and let their algorithms run the show. No planning, no targeting tweaks, no ad agency to provide human oversight.
This pure, hands-off automation sounds convenient, right? Unfortunately, that “set it and forget it” approach can quickly turn into “spend it and regret it.” The harsh reality is that these platforms are working your money for their benefit, so not only will they spend your money inefficiently, but they will also convince you to spend even more money so their platforms grow.
The Hidden Agenda Behind Automations
Theoretically, using AI in advertising can help you identify the best audience more quickly than a human can. The problem? These systems operate like black boxes. You see the numbers, but you don’t see the why behind them – or the waste that comes along with fully-AI ad campaigns. Platforms preach that their tools can “maximize reach” or “optimize performance,” but they rarely mention who they’re maximizing it for. Spoiler: it’s not you.
If their algorithm can spend your entire budget by showing your ads to people who will engage just enough to justify more spend, they’ll do exactly that. Whether those clicks turn into sales is your problem, not theirs. Google and Meta are not in the business of helping your business succeed; their goal is to sell ad space and keep money and consumers on their platforms. Our goal at Strategic Marketing? Get people through your door.
Meta’s Motive: Keep People Scrolling
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, makes its money by selling ad space. That space is created by the amount of time people spend scrolling. The longer someone is on their apps, the more ad space they can sell. This means their primary objective is to keep users glued to their feeds and raise your Facebook ad cost, not get you the conversions you need. If your ads keep people engaged but don’t actually lead to purchases, Meta still wins.
Take Advantage+ as an example. Meta promotes this tool as a simple, “smart” way to get in front of more buyers. But when artificial intelligence is “optimizing” your spend, it can override your targeting parameters and increase your Facebook ad cost exponentially. One client came to us after another agency was running their campaigns that were supposed to be in one specific area – yet when this feature was activated, ads showed nationwide, even in places where the company could never realistically gain a customer. That’s wasted spend in action – money going to impressions and clicks from audiences who will never convert.
Google’s Goal: Get Your Data
Google’s strategy is similar. They monetize user data and want to keep people inside their platforms – whether it’s Google Search, YouTube, Gmail, or Maps – because every second of engagement can be turned into ad revenue. Tools like Performance Max push your ads across all of Google’s inventory, often without telling you exactly where they ran or who saw them, instead of what will work best for you. And unless you manually opt out, Google will happily include Search Partners, which is home to third-party sites that offer lower-quality ad placements. The issue? These placements skyrocket your Google ad cost, burn your budget, and get minimal conversions. Your ad will reach as many people as possible, but not the people actually in your target market – making your Google ads campaigns utterly useless.
The Bottom Line: They Profit; You Pay.
There’s an old saying about investors: “They’ll invest your money until there’s none left.” Meta and Google are no different.
Meta’s Advantage+ is designed to spend your budget in full, even if it means showing ads outside of your set audience. Google’s Search Partners are turned on by default, quietly funneling dollars into lower-quality clicks. Both companies know that the easier they make it for you to “launch and forget” a campaign, the more likely you are to overspend without realizing it.
Google and Meta have built empires by convincing businesses that automation is the key to success. And to be fair, AI can be incredibly powerful – when paired with human expertise and strategy. The problem is when you let the platforms run the show without any checks or balances. In that scenario, they get exactly what they want – your budget – while you’re left wondering why the results aren’t matching your spend.
You’re probably still questioning a lot: Are Google Ads worth it? Why are my Facebook adsets turning off randomly? How can I get the most out of my money? No matter what your questions are, we are here to give you the answers you need and fix your ads so they convert for you, not the big guys.
Why You Need an Agency to Help
Here’s the bottom line – Meta and Google don’t care if your campaign is profitable. Their priority is to spend your budget, not to protect it. While they say their tools are simple, there is so much under the surface that most people don’t understand. This is why you need a partner like Strategic Marketing to help with your paid ads. We understand these complex platforms and how to get you Facebook ads that convert. Not only that, we care about your money and treat it like it’s our own. When we spend your money, we do it so it benefits you and your business.
A good advertising and marketing agency:
- Build campaigns around your goals, not the platform’s goals.
- Monitor targeting to make sure impressions are going to the right
- Test and optimize based on data—not just surface-level engagement metrics.
- Prevent budget waste by disabling poor-performing placements and adjusting bids in real time.
Think of it this way: if a TV sales rep walks into your office, their job is to sell you as many TV spots as possible – whether or not TV is the best channel or the spots they sell will have the best viewership for your brand. Meta and Google are doing the same thing, just digitally. An agency’s role is to cut through that bias and make sure your money is going where it’s most effective. This means keeping your Facebook ad cost and Google ad cost low while getting the best leads possible.
Let Strategic Marketing Run Your Ads the Right Way
At Strategic Marketing, we understand how these platforms work below the surface and can run your ads for you while keeping your objectives front and center. Our team knows which tools to use, when to use them, and when to turn them off. We don’t let algorithms run wild with your money. Instead, we craft campaigns and strategies that blend the best of both worlds: the efficiency of AI with the precision and accountability of expert oversight. That means no wasted spend on irrelevant markets, no low-quality clicks from questionable placements, and no “black box” performance reports that don’t tie back to your goals.
Our mission is simple: treat your money as if it were our own. We make every dollar work harder for your business by tailoring every campaign to your unique audience, leveraging data to continuously refine targeting, and protecting your budget from the inefficiencies baked into platform automation. We work to keep your Facebook ad cost and Google ad cost low while getting you results.
When you work with us, you’re not just buying ad space – you’re investing in a strategy that’s designed to deliver measurable, meaningful results. Google and Meta may have the biggest ad networks in the world, but without a trusted partner, you’re just fueling their growth, not your own.
Don’t let your budget become another line item in their quarterly earnings. Let Strategic Marketing put it to work for you. Call us today to see how we can help.
