I've spent millions of dollars across both platforms for roofing companies. Not theoretical millions — real ad spend, real leads, real revenue tracked all the way to the sale.
And after all of that, I can tell you the answer to "Facebook or Google?" is the wrong damn question. But I'll explain why after I break down what each platform actually does.
The Fundamental Difference Nobody Explains
Here's the simplest way to think about it:
Facebook is demand creation. People are scrolling through their feed looking at their cousin's vacation photos. They're not thinking about their roof. Your ad interrupts them, plants a seed, and — if it's good — gets them to raise their hand. They weren't searching for a roofer. You created the demand.
Google Search is demand capture. Someone types "roof replacement near me" into Google. They already have a problem. They already know they need a solution. Your ad shows up at the exact moment they're looking for you. You're capturing demand that already exists.
Google Demand Gen is the hybrid — and it's the one nobody in roofing is talking about. It places visual ads across YouTube, Gmail, and Google Discover. It uses Google Search Console data to find lookalike audiences — people who behave like your customers but haven't searched for a roofer yet. We pioneered this for roofing about two years ago, and we were one of the first to do it. The results have spoken for themselves.
Three different tools. Three different jobs. And most roofing companies are only using one of them.
Facebook Ads: The Good, the Bad, and the Expensive
What Works
Facebook gives you reach that Google can't match — broader audience, lower CPM, and the ability to target by geography, demographics, home value, and behavior. It's incredible for brand awareness and storm damage campaigns where you need to blanket an area fast.
Here's something I tell every client: the less something looks like an ad, the better it converts. On Facebook especially. The polished, corporate-looking creative with stock photos and a "Call Now!" button? It gets scrolled past. The before-and-after photo that looks like something a neighbor posted? That stops the scroll.
What Hurts
Costs are going up. Year over year, more advertisers are entering the Facebook auction, and that means you're paying more for the same eyeballs. That's how auction-based platforms work — more competition, higher prices. It's not broken. It's math.
The leads are also "colder." These people weren't searching for a roofer five seconds ago. They need more nurturing, faster follow-up, and a tighter sales process to convert. If your team doesn't call within five minutes and follow up aggressively, Facebook leads will feel like garbage. That's not a platform problem — that's a process problem.
And then there's the volatility. An algorithm update can tank your campaign performance overnight. If Facebook is your only channel, one bad week can crater your pipeline. That's a hell of a position to put your business in.
Google Ads: Intent Is King (But It Costs Like It)
What Works
The intent is unmatched. When someone searches "emergency roof repair" or "roof replacement cost," they're not casually browsing. They need a roofer. These leads close at a significantly higher rate than Facebook leads because the homeowner is already in buying mode.
Google Demand Gen extends that advantage. It taps into YouTube, Discover, and Gmail with visual ads — giving you Facebook-style reach but powered by Google's search behavior data. It finds people who look like your best customers before they even start searching.
What Hurts
Higher cost per click. You're competing with every other roofer in your market who's bidding on the same keywords, and in established markets, that competition drives CPC up. Google Search isn't cheap — but when you track to the sale, the cost per acquisition often tells a different story than cost per click.
The volume ceiling is real, too. There are only so many people searching "roof replacement near me" in your market each month. You can't manufacture more search demand. That's where Facebook and Demand Gen come in to create the demand that Google Search captures later.
The Real Answer: It's Not Either/Or
Here's what I actually tell roofing companies: start with one platform, prove the system works, then expand.
Get your tracking right. Build your landing pages. Nail your follow-up process. Prove that leads from Platform A turn into appointments and appointments turn into sales. Then — and only then — add Platform B.
Because here's what happens when you run both: they cover each other's weaknesses. When Facebook CPMs spike in Q4 (and they will), Google often picks up the slack. When search volume drops in the winter, Facebook campaigns keep demand flowing. No single point of failure.
But none of that matters if you're not tracking to the sale. I don't care what your cost per lead is. I care what your cost per sale is. That's the number that tells you where your next dollar should go.
Hope is not a good strategy; data is.
What About Other Platforms?
Facebook and Google aren't the only game in town. We run campaigns across TikTok, Nextdoor, Newsbreak, Bing, and programmatic channels like Taboola. Each one serves a different purpose and reaches a different audience.
There's also a platform we keep under our belt that consistently delivers leads at a lower cost than Facebook or Google — with higher household income to boot. We don't talk about that one publicly.
The point is: be platform-agnostic. Follow the data, not platform loyalty. The best roofing companies aren't married to Facebook or Google. They run wherever the numbers tell them to run.
Before You Blame the Platform
I have to say this because I hear it on almost every call: "Facebook didn't work for us."
Okay. What didn't work? Were you not getting leads? Were leads not converting to appointments? Were appointments not converting to sales?
If you can't answer that question specifically, you can't blame the platform. Maybe Facebook worked fine and your follow-up was the bottleneck. Maybe the leads were good but your landing page was your homepage. Maybe the ads were great but nobody called the leads back for 24 hours.
Dissect the problem before you throw out the platform. That's not defending Facebook — it's defending your ability to make a smart decision about where to spend your money.
The Bottom Line
Facebook creates demand. Google captures it. Demand Gen bridges the gap. The best roofing marketing programs run all three — plus whatever else the data says is working.
Start with one. Prove it works. Scale to the next. Track everything to the sale. And for the love of God, call your leads back within five minutes.
For a side-by-side breakdown of cost per lead, close rates, and ROAS benchmarks across all three platforms, check out our Facebook vs. Google comparison page.