Facebook advertising has always been an interesting sell. Their ability to hyper-target individuals based on specific interests is simply incredible. The low cost-per-click ad rate is simply incredible as well. Here’s why. Because the ads are never timely. They don’t react to searches. On Facebook, you don’t search for “golf club discounts” and see an ad for golf clubs pop up. The ads are random, based on what you “like” in your profile along with your demographic statistics.

In short, Facebook ads can be relevant, but are rarely timely. Whereas, Google ads react to your specific search entry. And therefore, they tend to cost a little more. But now, it turns out that Facebook’s CPC ad costs have risen by 22% this past quarter. Why? Because you’re competing with more and more advertisers – specifically, all of them! You’re not competing with other golf vendors. You’re competing with publishing companies trying to sell their books based on other books the individual has “liked”. You’re competing with Higher Education institutions trying to persuade people back to school based on their most recent level of education. As advertisers continue to enter the Facebook arena, we’re all competing for the exact same audience at the exact same time. And I wonder if that will mean an exodus back to Google for some advertisers?