Guide · Choosing a channel
Meta ads or Google Shopping for a furniture store?
One finds people already searching for your product. The other shows it to people who weren't.
Google Shopping reaches people who are already searching for something like your product, like "sectional sofa cover" or "jute rug 8x10". Meta ads, on Facebook and Instagram, show your product to people who weren't searching but fit your buyer. In our view, if people already search for what you sell, start with Google Shopping; if your product is new, visual or design-led, start with Meta.
How are they different?
| Google Shopping | Meta ads | |
|---|---|---|
| Who sees the ad | People searching for the product | People scrolling Facebook and Instagram |
| What sells | Price, photo and reviews next to competitors | The product in a room, in video or photos |
| What it needs from you | A clean product feed in Merchant Center | New creative every month |
| Where it struggles | Products nobody searches for yet | Buyers who only buy after comparing prices |
Which one should I start with?
In our view, it depends on whether people already type your product into Google.
- Sofa covers, bedding, curtains, rugs in standard sizes: people search for them by name and size. Google Shopping catches that demand first.
- A chair with a design nobody has seen, a new material, a decor line built on a look: there is little search for it yet. Meta can create the interest that Google would later catch.
In our view, most home goods stores end up using both. In our view, Meta starts the interest, and Google and email can close the sale days later, when people come back looking for the brand or the item.
What do I need to set up Google Shopping?
A Google Merchant Center account with your product feed. On Shopify, the Google & YouTube app syncs your catalog. What decides your results is the feed itself: titles that say what people search ("Linen sofa cover for 3-seat sofa, beige"), every size and color as its own variant, and the right price and stock.
How do I split the budget?
There is no correct ratio. Start the channel that fits your product, give it enough budget to get sales every week, and add the second one when the first is above break-even. To know where that line is for your margin, see what a good ROAS is for home goods.
Judge both channels against your total store sales, too. Each platform credits itself with the sales it can track, and both may count the same order.
Questions about Meta and Google for home goods
Is Google Shopping or Facebook better for furniture?
Google Shopping is better when people already search for your product by name or size, like sofa covers or rugs. Meta is better for new or design-led products that people don't search for yet. In our view, most stores end up using both.
Do I need Google Merchant Center for Shopping ads?
Yes. Shopping ads read your products from a Merchant Center feed. On Shopify, the Google & YouTube app syncs the catalog for you.
Why do Meta and Google both claim the same sale?
Each platform counts the sales it can link to its own ads. A buyer who saw an Instagram ad and later clicked a Shopping ad can show up in both reports. Compare both with your total Shopify sales.
We run Meta and Google ads for home goods brands on Shopify, from $1,500 a month. See Meta ads for furniture and home decor and pricing.
Keep reading: Abandoned cart emails for home goods · Agency, freelancer or in-house? · All guides
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