Top 10 Google Ads Alternatives In 2020

In recent years Google ads have become king after appearing in paid search. Millions of businesses are spending big money on paid traffic to their sites, to take advantage of billions of daily searches.

But with so much competition among businesses, the cost per click on Google ads is only getting more and more expensive. In many mature and saturated markets, including finance and law, some costs per click can reach above 100USD.

With prices so high for the average small and local businesses, many are now looking for cheaper options to improve their return on investment.

Depending on the product or service you are advertising, there are many alternative advertising networks that you can take advantage of. Not only is competition less on these alternative networks, but the cost per click is often much lower.

No matter whether you are running a retargeting, location, or user intent campaign, these Google advertising options are sure to help you improve your marketing efforts.

In no particular order, Google advertising options are not being searched!

The Best Google Ads Alternatives 2020

1. Bing Advertising.

Great for:

1-Cheap Search Advertising

2-Affiliate Marketing Advertising

Google's most common option, Bing, has been around since 2009 after Microsoft merged several search engines. As of October 2018, Bing is the third largest search engine behind Baidu (14.45%) and Google (77%) with 4.58% of the query volume.

Similar to Google, Bing offers paid search ads where the ads are displayed on the search engine results page. Bing is an excellent addition to any marketing strategy, with a cheaper price per click than Google ads and fewer restrictions on ads.

In addition to powering Bing, the service also empowers most of Yahoo's search power, which is included in its advertising network. This means that by running ads with Bing ads they will appear on Yahoo Search.

Like Google Ads, Bing Ads also have a range of accessories, including their own keyword research tools, that help you get the most out of your campaign. If you are looking for a direct alternative to Google advertising, then this is the closest one to you!

2. AdRoll.

Great for:

1-eCommerce Campaign

2-Targeting an Enhanced Audience

Founded in 2007, AdRoll is an all-in-one advertising platform that not only makes advertising easy for businesses, but it also connects over 500 ad networks. Currently, AdRoll uses the power of several networks in this list, including Instagram, Yahoo, Outbrain, and Taboola, to help businesses bring their message to the right audience.

Known for expertise in remarketing campaigns, AdRoll helps track users across the web to display your ad throughout the customer's journey. Packed with shopper profiles, AI predictions, and advanced tracking, AdRoll is definitely worth a try if you're looking for an eCommerce store to improve your paid marketing campaigns. With a bold claim that on average their customers get a 500% return on advertising spends, this may be the Google advertising option you're looking for.

3. Amazon Advertising.

Great for:

1-Google Shopping Options

2-physical goods

The largest online marketing space in the world, Amazon needs no introduction to online shoppers. Starting as an online booker seller in the 90s, Amazon has grown into one of the largest companies in the world and dominates most markets.

Currently, Amazon offers a number of paid advertisements, including sponsored listings, display ads, and video ads to target customers at the end of their shopping journey.

Unlike users who search on Google for research purposes, most users who search on Amazon are nearing the end of their purchase journey. They have decided to buy a particular product, they are just deciding how much they should pay and which brand they should go for.

With Amazon PPC ads, you can position yourself near the top of the search results to see your products and increase your chances of conversions.

Amazon also has its own advertising network, which includes a variety of services and websites, which means that it can manage your advertising on external websites outside of Amazon. If you sell physical goods and use Google shopping at this time, then Amazon advertising may be the best option for you.

4. Outbreak.

Great for:

1-content promotion

2-country advertising

Unlike the other networks on this list, Outbrain is a content search platform that helps advertisers promote their content with native advertising. If all those buzzwords are misleading, don't worry, it basically means that they help users read your content.

Founded in 2006, Outbrain currently has an advertising network of over 100,000 websites including some big names such as CNN, The Guardian, MSN, and Sky News. If you visit these websites and read an article, you will see recommendations on the bottom. They are all operated by Outbrain and attract millions of relevant users per month. With a low cost per click.

Recently Outbrain announced that it would merge with another content discovery platform, Tabu. When the merger is completed, the company will have a vast network of websites and reach approximately 2 billion users in a month.

The company hopes the merger will allow them to become the biggest competitors of Facebook and Google ads. If you are looking for relevant users to run content on your blog and hopefully convert them to conversions, Outbrain is a try.

5. LinkedIn Advertising.

Great for:

1-B2B Advertising

2-event advertisement

One of the largest social media networks growing out there, LinkedIn Network is home to millions of business professionals who collaborate.

Currently, there are over 630 million active business professionals on LinkedIn. And if you are trying to get your SaaS or B2B business in front of key decision-makers within a company, then look no further. With the ability to target users based on their job title, work, industry, and more, LinkedIn ads are great for getting your product or service by the right people.

If you have tried to run SaaS and B2B ads on Google ads before getting any success, then trying LinkedIn ads should be your next step. With many advanced targeting options and pricing models including CPC and CPM, reaching the B2B marketplace has never been more accessible (or cheaper)!

Including a series of advertisements, such as text, sponsored content, and in-mail, why can you continue to spend money on regular users when you specifically target professional professionals?

6. Instagram Advertising.

Great for:

1-Advertising Lifestyle Products

2-viral and social advertising

The home of social media influencers, Instagram has exploded in recent years and has had a major impact on how brands advertise their customers. Founded in 2010 and purchased by Facebook for $ 1 billion in 2012, Instagram is now part of the Facebook advertising network.

Incredibly popular for millennia, Instagram is about lifestyle products and viral marketing. With over 500 million active monthly Instagram accounts on the platform, advertisements can be featured as stories, pictures, videos, and more within the app. All while keeping a smooth transition from Instagram to checkout to ensure maximum conversion.

Targeting features include options such as location, interests, demographics, and lookalike audiences, which are based on Facebook's advertising system. However, unlike Facebook, Instagram's ads are more interactive with built-in "swipe up" calls for actions and interactive polls, buttons, and sliders that can be used.

Extremely popular with fashion and makeup brands, Instagram allows advertisers to bring their products to shoppers compared to Google's search ads.

7. Facebook Advertising.

Great for:

1-New Audience Detection

2-Advanced Algorithm Targeting

Familiar with billions around the world, Facebook was the first company to start making serious money from social media advertising. Since its inception, Facebook has become the largest social media network on the planet and has also acquired other social networks (Instagram) on its journey. Today, Facebook is the market leader in social media advertising and is constantly adding new advertising and targeting options to its system that allows advertisers to better target users.

Currently, advertisers can select multiple ads, including video, image, archive, carousel, slide show, and more, to increase engagement in their products. Facebook ads have become very popular, with a lot of targeting options including their popular "lookalike audience" who find similar audiences that are likely to convert.

Suitable for most brands and markets, Facebook ads are primarily used for targeting millennials due to their use of the platform. No matter if you are selling a physical product or service, Facebook ads are worth trying out due to its sheer size and audience engagement. With billions of people on stage, there is an audience for practically every niche.

8. Reddit Ads.

Great for:

1-Super Targeted Traffic

2-Reaching the 2-millennium and Generation-Z

The most popular discussion board in the world with 1.6 billion monthly visitors, Reddit is home to discussion and communities about any topic you can think of. Incredibly popular with US residents, they currently make up 55% of the userbase, which is excellent if you are looking for an alternative or new advertising channels to target customers.

Like Facebook and Instagram, Reddit has sponsored posts within a user's feed that are likely to convert. Campaigns can also be customized based on the user's location, interests, and the subreddits they view. One of the most popular strategies is to target a particular sub-group with sponsored posts because they are great for targeting niche users.

Compared to Google ads, CPC is significantly cheaper on Reddit ads, which means they are a great way to get relevant users for your site. If you want to be seen as a new viewer, often overlooked by other advertisers, Reddit advertising is a great way to capture more of the market.

9. Twitter advertising.

Great for:

1-Event Targeting

2-targeting hashtags

Another highly popular social media network that competes with the likes of Facebook and Instagram is Twitter, released in 2006 on a microblogging website. Known for its famous character range (which was extended in 2017), Twitter is home to millions of influencers and business professionals.

If you are in the B2B marketplace, Twitter advertising is a good addition to running LinkedIn ads for maximum performance.

With a lot of business professionals on Twitter, this can be a great way to promote services, develop your brand, and grow your social media.

One of the most popular features of Twitter is its capability that allows you to target via hashtags. This means that you can target trending topics, events, and Nash with great accuracy.

This not only helps you get your ads in front of the right audience, but it also ensures you to play casually for irrelevant clicks. Other targeting methods include location, user interest, and followers of a specific Twitter account.

No matter which product or service you are selling, there are many ways to harness the power of Twitter ads. And with great user reach and great targeting options, this is an excellent Google advertising option.

10. Snapchat Advertising.

Great for:

1-Mobile Advertising

2-targeting generation-Z

With fewer and fewer members of Generation-Z using Facebook and Instagram, many of them are exclusively using Snapchat to talk and message their friends. If your target audience is mainly younger users, then using Snapchat advertising is a must.

Since Snapchat is only available on mobile and tablet devices, it is an excellent platform to target mobile users. If you are trying to promote a mobile app for users, this is the right way to bring people to the app/play store efficiently. Over 210 million people actively use the app every day, and with 38% of them not using Facebook or Instagram, this can be a great way to target other users.

Most advertisements are displayed full screen, giving your brand greater exposure while increasing the likelihood of engagement. Currently used by big brands around the world including Wendy's, Pirate Kings, and Vivint, Snapchat ads are still relatively new and receive cheap clicks.

The conclusion

Now that you know the best Google advertising options out there, it's important to remember that for now, Google ads are still king. In some circumstances, other advertising networks can help you target users who cannot be reached through Google. But with millions of people visiting Google every day, you should always try to take advantage of it, even if it is a branded campaign for advertisements on your own brand name.