AdRoll vs. Google Ads

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
AdRoll
Score 3.6 out of 10
N/A
AdRoll provides a platform, performance, and services to meet companys' marketing goals while streamlining marketing operation. Solutions technologies for brand awareness, retargeting, and abandoned cart recovery. And the AdRoll Cross-Channel Performance Dashboard displays campaigns holistically so users can analyze performance, run reports, gather insights.
$40
per month
Google Ads
Score 8.2 out of 10
N/A
Google Ads (formerly AdWords) is Google's pay-per-click online advertising program. With Google Ads users set their budget and choose where their ads appear in search listings, and on partner websites. Google Ads uses cost-per-click (CPC) bidding.N/A
Pricing
AdRollGoogle Ads
Editions & Modules
Essentials
$12
per month
Growth
$25
per month
Starter
Free
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
AdRollGoogle Ads
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
YesNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
AdRollGoogle Ads
Considered Both Products
AdRoll
Chose AdRoll
Google Ads is a powerhouse, but AdRoll provides its own niche ability to target specific people.
Chose AdRoll
AdRoll has been used by a few of our clients for a long time now, but I'm not sure it has ever proven as valuable as the other advertising platforms. We have continued to use it because it is inexpensive (and because it says it drives a lot of revenue), but it is a minimal …
Chose AdRoll
AdRoll is easier to navigate and get your ads up and running smoothly. It's nice to be able to upload your own design and see how it will look in real-time. Changing budgets, ad groups, etc. is quick and easy!
Chose AdRoll
While I haven't used some of the other similar competitors such as Criteo or AdTheorent, many of our clients have before switching over. Being able to go into the accounts and look at the data, the results we've witnessed have been subpar. One platform our agency has had …
Chose AdRoll
AdRoll offers an easy campaign management system and with the ability to segment via website pages and audience targeting, AdRoll is superb for retargeting. Conversions can be set up in numerous ways and offer solid tracking/accountability. You also do not need to worry about …
Chose AdRoll
Adroll ends up being more costlier than alternatives offered from companies such as Google or Microsoft as you ultimately have a higher level of control on the budget, the platforms that your display banners are showing up on as well as the demographics. I would not choose …
Chose AdRoll
AdRoll has an easier to use and more intuitive dashboard than other companies that we have used. The customer service team has been top notch, always available to hop on a call or online chat. Email requests are also responded to in a very quick manner. The downside is that the …
Chose AdRoll
  • I don't really know of any direct competitors.
  • I'm sure you can do a lot of what AdRoll does using Facebook and/or Twitter and/or AdWords retargeting features but using AdRoll was way easier.
  • I'm sure there are also added benefits fo using AdRoll vs. retargeting options available …
Chose AdRoll
The worst we've tried. We switched back to AdWords after our negative experience with AdRoll and have been very happy since.
Chose AdRoll
Stronger account team. Better dashboards and self-serve features.
Google Ads
Chose Google Ads
Google is the most comprehensive search ad network of the ones I work with. They do well top of funnel too, mostly due to YouTube ads, but Facebook ads is great for that if you have good creative. AdRoll also has a good display ad network, but I've struggled to determine their …
Chose Google Ads
Google Ads is pretty strong when it comes to search and shopping campaigns. It's a great tool to target people who are ready to buy and actively looking for products we have to offer. On the other hand, Facebook has been a great tool for raising awareness, brand uplift, and …
Chose Google Ads
I strongly prefer Google Ads because it gives more insight and has better inventory.
Top Pros
Top Cons
TrustRadius Insights
AdRollGoogle Ads
Highlights

TrustRadius
Research Team Insight
Published

AdRoll and Google Ads are both online advertising platforms. Google Ads allows users to implement paid ads across Google products and services, from search results to shopping to YouTube. AdRoll helps people implement paid ads across a variety of platforms and media, and is specifically known for its remarketing functionality. Google Ads is popular with large businesses that want to appeal to a nationwide audience, while AdRoll can help small businesses target specific audiences. 

Features

Though AdRoll and Google Ads both offer users a way to advertise their business, products, or services online, they each have diverse features that may appeal to different types of users. 

Google Ads excels at its primary purpose: allowing users to advertise on Google properties. Its robust features enable businesses to run ads in Google search results, on Google Maps, Google Shopping, Gmail, YouTube, and more. With Google Ads, users can create simple advertisements and modify them for use on each different Google property, then track those ads with detailed statistics. Ad spend is the only cost with Google Ads, and users can set a monthly budget cap so that they’ll never pay more than they’re expecting. When budget caps are set, Google Ads will estimate the results that are possible within that budget.

AdRoll’s standout features are in remarketing. Users like that they can implement ads that will market specifically to potential customers who visited their website without completing a purchase or other task. The AdRoll interface allows users to create and serve ads on a variety of platforms, tailoring each ad to specific user demographics, or in the case of remarketing, to what the user was doing on the website before they left. AdRoll also includes features like email marketing and product recommendations. Support is included at every pricing tier.

Limitations

Google Ads is popular with large companies selling products or services to a large audience. However, it can be difficult to use for small businesses or confusing for those without online advertising experience. New users report having a hard time navigating the interface to target ads to their specific demographic or location. As is the case with some large technology providers, support can range from spotty to nonexistent.

While AdRoll includes support at every pricing tier, users note that support is occasionally delayed, or that account representatives or engineers are unable to fix problems. Lack of consistent pricing can also be an issue, as ad spend is not included in pricing tiers and may fluctuate. Additionally, businesses with websites that do not involve specific trackable user actions may not find many of AdRoll’s features useful.

Pricing

Google Ads runs on a pay per click model, so businesses only pay when a potential customer clicks on the ad to call the business or visit the website. The per-click cost is set by Google, but advanced or high-volume users can look into advertising auction bidding strategies to maximize their budget. 

AdRoll is priced by tier and has three pricing plans. Their free tier is ideal for users looking for the basics and includes many of their ad, email, product recommendations, and measurement and attribution features. AdRoll’s Essentials plan costs $9 per month and gives users access to more advanced features. These include the ability to remove AdRoll branding and set up custom audience segmentation. Users on the Pro plan, which starts at $19 per month, gain access to the reporting data API and performance benchmarks. The Pro plan also includes up to 20,000 email sends per month. As mentioned above, the actual ad spend is not included in the monthly price.

Features
AdRollGoogle Ads
Ad Network Integration
Comparison of Ad Network Integration features of Product A and Product B
AdRoll
6.7
21 Ratings
10% below category average
Google Ads
-
Ratings
Data Transfer6.721 Ratings00 Ratings
DSP integration6.815 Ratings00 Ratings
Ad Campaigns
Comparison of Ad Campaigns features of Product A and Product B
AdRoll
5.3
44 Ratings
38% below category average
Google Ads
-
Ratings
Ad campaign creation3.043 Ratings00 Ratings
Ad deployment8.144 Ratings00 Ratings
Display advertising5.241 Ratings00 Ratings
Ad display and retargeting segmentation5.344 Ratings00 Ratings
Sequence targeting4.826 Ratings00 Ratings
Ad Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Ad Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
AdRoll
3.3
44 Ratings
81% below category average
Google Ads
-
Ratings
Ad dashboards2.944 Ratings00 Ratings
Ad performance reports3.044 Ratings00 Ratings
Ad conversion tracking4.242 Ratings00 Ratings
Ad attribution reporting2.738 Ratings00 Ratings
Cross-channel ad management4.231 Ratings00 Ratings
Ad forecasting and optimization2.528 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
AdRollGoogle Ads
Small Businesses
Google Ad Manager
Google Ad Manager
Score 8.6 out of 10
Serpstat
Serpstat
Score 9.2 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
The Trade Desk
The Trade Desk
Score 8.1 out of 10
WordStream Advisor
WordStream Advisor
Score 7.0 out of 10
Enterprises
Adobe Advertising Cloud
Adobe Advertising Cloud
Score 8.9 out of 10
Adobe Advertising Cloud
Adobe Advertising Cloud
Score 8.9 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
AdRollGoogle Ads
Likelihood to Recommend
3.2
(49 ratings)
7.1
(115 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
7.0
(6 ratings)
9.5
(21 ratings)
Usability
8.0
(6 ratings)
7.3
(7 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
1.4
(6 ratings)
8.9
(8 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.0
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
1.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
AdRollGoogle Ads
Likelihood to Recommend
NextRoll
Adroll is perfect for companies and situations in which you are trying to retarget customers with specific products. Their platform is perfect for dynamic content on their web and social ads. Also, if you are running multiple campaigns at once then the Adroll platform is perfect when organizing many different campaigns at once. If you are just running one or two social campaigns I feel it is easier to go directly to the source and you can probably leave Adroll out of the mix
Read full review
Google
Clients who are selling products such as dresses, clothes, jewelry, beauty products, etc., generally work well. Also, in some cases, it doesn't fetch a good ROAS for very small business owners. If a client is already doing well in SEO, the probability for it to perform well over Google Ads is always enhanced, and if it doesn't have a good organic reach, Google Ads also suffers.
Read full review
Pros
NextRoll
  • A customer service rep can help us out with any campaign questions, any time during the work week.
  • The platform has a very transparent platform that provides great detail about analytics of the ads.
  • The platform shows what digital advertising mediums are working the best for your website, not just the ads that you run through them.
Read full review
Google
  • Keyword Research - Google Ads has a handy built in tool that helps determine important keywords to target both for Ads & SEO
  • Intuitive Analytics Dashboad - Google Ads makes it fairly simple to see and analyze important metrics on how your ads are running week after week
  • Intuitive Setup - Google Ads makes it easy to figure out how to run ads with little to no training (although training is highly recommended to run effective ads), as their interface is clean and easy to figure out (unlike competing products).
Read full review
Cons
NextRoll
  • Improved level of support during the technical setup process would really improve the onboarding process
  • Consistent, proactive account management is key with organizations like AdRoll. A dedicated rep goes such a long way.
  • More granular reporting would help with back-end optimization and client recommendations
Read full review
Google
  • If you don't know what you're doing, it will be a costly mistake. You need to target ads, and it is difficult the first time to do that.
  • There isn't a feature to run an add for a couple set date spans, just hours you want to run them or a single date span.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
NextRoll
We like AdRoll as it's filling a hole in our advertising right now, but it's not our favorite platform for running our online ads. Google and Facebook especially are our favorites, as we can do much more with them than we can with AdRoll, hence the 7 out of 10 rating.
Read full review
Google
I think Google Ads is good for getting your company out there and becoming more visible to potential customers in general. However, for specific product launches, social media advertising might be a better fit. Also, our user base is younger so social media is a better channel for our target audience.
Read full review
Usability
NextRoll
Once tags are given and things are set up, it is fairly easy to utilize the reporting dashboard and check in on your ongoing campaigns. Metrics are simple to follow and can be toggled for specific dates or other qualifiers
Read full review
Google
I suspect that Google Ads is not for the novice user. I told my 'Ad Specialist' that I was not the best on computers and apprehensive about my ability to maneuver the website. He told me on more than one occasion that "I work for you...I'm your sherpa...call me any time or send me an email"!
The sales and service representatives for Google Ads are very well trained, though not much integrity. Despite that I told my Google Ad Specialist that my website was incomplete the ad was published live anyway! Beware that the 'talk' is good, but it ain't cheap!
Read full review
Support Rating
NextRoll
We don't use AdRoll support much, but when we have it's been fine, in line with other advertising platforms where it takes a few days maximum to resolve an issue that you have with them. In general though, the platform is very self sufficient and we do not have to use their support much, which is a good thing.
Read full review
Google
We have not yet had an account rep who hasn't tried to bully me or other employees to raise our budgets. At the same time, several years ago, one attempted to help refine our ads and ended up changing the ads to be something we were not affiliated with
Read full review
Online Training
NextRoll
No answers on this topic
Google
Daily use with advanced account structures. Familiarity with reporting/api and complex setups.
Read full review
Implementation Rating
NextRoll
Implementation was easy, as all we needed to do was use Google Tag Manager's built in AdRoll tag type and input our client ID and we were up and running. If you're not using Google Tag Manager, I imagine the implementation would be relatively easy as well, as all that's needed is a basic pixel.
Read full review
Google
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
NextRoll
AdRoll is better than Taboola in that the ad creation process. I like how the ads have better retargeting than Taboola. Also, I can make the ads look more elegant and fit our brand more than Taboola. Adroll's analytics are also better than Taboola in my experience. Lastly, Tabool is relatively the same price as Taboola.
Read full review
Google
Our agency invests heavily in Google Ads (particularly paid search advertising) on behalf of our clients relative to competitors like Microsoft and Yahoo because Google is the top search engine in the world. Google collects the most search data which enables the company to improve its AI to drive better performance for agencies and brands. As such, our paid search and app install campaigns always start with Google. If a client has a large budget, we will allocate media dollars to other search engines, but in some cases, the entire search budget goes to Google because we see the best returns.
Read full review
Return on Investment
NextRoll
  • Mixed - while the tool provides an invaluable productivity gain the actual ROI it provides is less certain. We found if used in combination with other revenue analytics it was useful to determine the impact it had on revenue from returning visitors. If data is used on its own the impact on revenue is less quantifiable.
Read full review
Google
  • Google Ads is often one of our highest ROI channels, especially when you factor in branded ads.
  • Depending on the stage your business is in, search ads can be really powerful from an ROI perspective, providing an investment with a very high spend cap.
  • If you do not manage the campaigns well though, you can quickly spend a lot of money on nothing. So make sure someone is keeping an eye on your account.
Read full review
ScreenShots