How is Google Ads different from Meta ads for my D2C brand?
The short answer
Google is a capture engine, people already know what they want and are searching for it, so you're paying to be found, not to interrupt. Meta is a discovery engine, you're creating the want with creative. Most Indian D2C brands should run both, Google to catch existing demand (branded search, category search) and Meta to build new demand, and budget them differently rather than treating Google as an afterthought.
A quick summary to orient you. The real value is below: the resources worth your time, from people who've actually done it, not us.
Here are the resources
Hand-picked from around the web, each with a note on why it earns your time. India-specific ones carry a badge.
Why we picked it
Google's own APAC case study featuring OnePlus scaling its D2C business through Google (130% revenue increase, 3x ROAS), a rare instance of the platform showing its own India playbook rather than just selling you the product.
Why we picked it
A thorough current reference covering setup through optimisation, useful as a single bookmark to return to as your PMax account matures past the first few weeks.
Why we picked it
Free, official, and the source of truth for Google's own terminology and mechanics, start here before an agency's sales deck teaches you their version of how Google Ads works.
