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Chapter 2 of 5

The platforms, their role and priority

There is no fixed number of platforms you must use. Once you group them by the job they do, it is obvious which ones you need and the order to add them in.

6 min read ยท Chapter 2 of 5

People often ask how many platforms they need, as if there were a set list to work through. There is not. New advertising channels appear every year, and the ones you have heard of (Google Ads, Meta, TikTok, and the rest) are separate products with separate logins, built by different companies to solve different problems. Sharing the "Google" name does not mean two of them talk to each other, and there is no prize for using all of them.

The useful way to think about it is by role: the job a platform does in your marketing. There are only a handful of roles, and most businesses need two to four platforms in total. Once you can name the roles, you can tell which platforms earn their place, and in what order to add them.

The platforms, at a glance

Where to show up, in order

Left to right is roughly the order to add them: the free backbone first, then the paid channel that fits your customers, then everything you layer on once the core is profitable.

Start hereAdd when ready
GA4Measure what happens on site.
Search ConsoleHow you show up in search.
Google AdsCapture existing demand.
MetaCreate new demand.
TikTokDiscovery, add later.
Merchant CenterFeeds Shopping, for stores.

Start on the left. The free measurement backbone comes first, then the one paid channel that matches how your customers find you. Everything to the right is something you add once the basics are working and profitable.

The four roles

What each platform is actually for

Every channel, including ones not named here, does one of these four jobs. Name the job and you can place any platform.

Role one · Measure

The measurement backbone

Before any advertising, you need to know what happens on your website. GA4 records every visit and whether it turned into a goal; Search Console covers the step before the click, which searches you appear for and how often people click through.

Both are free, and every paid platform is interpreted through them. There is no reason not to have them in place first.

  • Key events (conversions) in GA4, the actions you count as a win
  • Sessions and engagement rate, how much real traffic you get
  • Clicks, impressions and position in Search Console

Role two · Capture

Demand capture

Demand capture reaches people who are already looking. With Google Ads you pay to appear at the top of results for chosen keywords and pay per click. Because the person is actively searching, intent is high, which is why this role usually pays back first. Microsoft Ads does the same job on Bing, often cheaper, worth testing once Google is working.

  • Clicks and cost, how many people came and what you spent
  • Cost per conversion, total cost divided by results
  • ROAS, revenue divided by spend, for stores

Role three · Create

Demand creation

Demand creation puts you in front of people who are not searching yet. Meta (Facebook and Instagram) targets by interests and behaviour rather than a search term, so creative and audience matter more than keywords. The same role is played by TikTok, Pinterest and LinkedIn. You do not need all of them: pick the one where your customers spend time, prove it, then consider a second.

  • Reach and impressions, how many saw the ad and how often
  • Results, the count of your chosen objective
  • Cost per result, spend divided by results

Role four · Support

Product feed and presence

Two platforms exist to support the others. Google Merchant Center matters only if you sell physical products: it holds your catalogue and feeds Google Shopping, and errors there quietly stop products from showing. Google Business Profile is the free listing in Maps and local search, and for a local business it often earns more calls than any paid channel.

  • Active vs disapproved products and feed errors in Merchant Center
  • Calls, direction requests and website clicks from your Business Profile

Quick reference

The platforms by role, cost and intricacy

Grouped by who runs them. Click any platform for the full picture: what it does, who it is for, and the budget it needs.

Google Measurement, search and Shopping
RoleMeasurementMeasurementDemand captureProduct feedLocal presence
CostFreeFreePaidFree*Free
Intricacy

Meta Paid ads plus your Facebook and Instagram presence
RoleDemand creationOrganic presenceOrganic presence
CostPaidFreeFree
Intricacy

Other A cheaper second search channel and the social ad networks
RoleDemand captureDemand creation
CostPaidPaid
Intricacy

Intricacy is a rough guide to how much there is to learn and maintain. Google Ads also runs Shopping, fed by Merchant Center. "Social ads" covers TikTok, Pinterest and LinkedIn. *Merchant Center itself is free; the Shopping ads it powers are paid.

Priority

The order to add them

It is the same for almost every business. Adding a platform is easy; running four of them badly is the common mistake.

  1. 1 Start with the free measurement backbone.

    GA4 and Search Console, plus Business Profile if you are local. They cost nothing and make everything after them readable.
  2. 2 Add the one demand channel that fits your customers.

    If they search for what you sell, start with demand capture. If they discover by scrolling, start with demand creation. Stores add Merchant Center here so Shopping can run.
  3. 3 Prove it before you add more.

    Hold that channel steady until you know its cost per result. Only then bring in a second, whether that is Bing alongside Google, or Meta alongside Search.

Common questions

Frequently asked

Do the Google products share data with each other automatically?

No. GA4, Google Ads, Search Console and Merchant Center are separate products with separate logins. They can be linked so data flows between them (Google Ads to GA4 is the important one), but that is a step you set up, not something that happens on its own.

Which platform pays back the fastest?

Usually demand capture, meaning search ads (Google Ads, and Microsoft Ads on Bing). Because you are reaching people who are already looking for what you offer, intent is high and the first sales tend to come sooner than from platforms that create demand.

Do I need Meta if I already run Google Ads?

Not to start. They do different jobs: Google Ads captures existing demand, Meta creates new demand. Get one channel working and proven first, then add the other when you want to reach people who are not searching yet.

Is Microsoft Ads (Bing) worth bothering with?

Often yes, as a second step. It runs the same kind of search campaigns as Google Ads, usually at a lower cost per click and with less competition, so it is a sensible test once your Google Ads are working.

Do I need Google Merchant Center?

Only if you sell physical products online. It feeds your catalogue into Google Shopping. If you sell services or generate leads, you can skip it entirely.

The next chapter turns this into money and time: how much to start with on your first paid channel, what results are realistic, and how long to wait before you judge them.

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