The first lesson explained what Andromeda actually is and does. If you understand these basic elements, you realize there’s nothing to be worried about. It is merely an upgrade over the prior systems that became insufficient with today’s ad variations.
Most frustration with Andromeda originates from this basic misunderstanding. I’m convinced that if Andromeda didn’t have a fancy name, no one would know what it was or give it any attention. After all, do we know what the system was named that preceded it?
But because it’s named, advertisers are giving Andromeda powers over things it simply doesn’t have.
Andromeda Isn’t an Algorithm
We love simplifying things, so it’s easy to say that “Andromeda is the new algorithm that determines how your ads are delivered.” And that’s just not it.
Andromeda is step one of multiple steps for determining which ads get shown. But referring to it as an “algorithm,” akin to the news feed algorithm, is beyond a stretch.
Andromeda Doesn’t Impact Targeting Strategies
I keep seeing advertisers tie Andromeda to targeting, saying that it changes what you should do. The reality is that you should have changed your targeting strategy long ago. Maybe Andromeda is the final motivation to get you there.
Yes, Andromeda has indirect impact on targeting because it helps determine the pool of ads that are eligible to be shown to a person. And that process of retrieval should be far more powerful, efficient, and accurate now. But does that really mean it changes what you should do?
If you’ve been paying attention, you’ve leaned heavily into algorithmic targeting for a year or two now. You know that remarketing happens naturally, so you’ve limited, if not eliminated, that strategy from your toolbox.
Might the impact of algorithmic targeting be better now, thanks to Andromeda? Maybe. But that hardly means that I’m making any changes to targeting because of it. There isn’t a step of control below embracing algorithmic targeting, so I’m already there.
Andromeda Didn’t Kill Your Results
And this is a claim that’s become far too common, and it drives me crazy…
When performance drops or things feel different, advertisers often look for a single explanation. And when there’s a new, poorly understood system involved, it becomes an easy target. That’s how statements like “Andromeda killed my results” start spreading.
When results change, advertisers often confuse correlation with causation. If results were strong before and suddenly decline after Andromeda rolls out, it’s tempting to connect those dots. But that assumption only works if Andromeda is doing something it simply isn’t.
It also assumes we know exactly when Andromeda did and didn’t directly impact our advertising. There’s no clear knowledge on a universal rollout.
Ad performance is impacted by countless factors like strategy, creative, budget, offer, seasonality, and competition. Andromeda gets blamed because it’s abstract and technical, not because it’s actually responsible.
Andromeda didn’t kill your results. If anything, it helped them.
The Change is Positive
So throw away all of those excuses about how Andromeda is the reason for your bad results or why it’s making it hard to reach the right people. That’s all nonsense.
That doesn’t mean it’s without impact. You’re here because the impact is real. But it’s all positive.
Because Andromeda is better and more powerful than before, there are ways to take advantage of it. Ignore claims that there’s a single structure or number of ads that will “please” Andromeda, because that’s again nonsense.
I’ve seen ads that worked more than a year ago still working today. But if you want to make the most of this upgraded hardware, there are things you should be thinking about.
And we’ll cover them in the upcoming lessons.
Read This
Here are some resources to dig deeper on this topic before moving to the next lesson:
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But How Do You Know Meta’s Reaching the Right People?
You know Andromeda is about getting the right creative in front of the right person. But here’s the thing — I didn’t fully trust algorithmic targeting until I could see it working. That’s what Audience Segments did for me. They let you break down exactly how your budget is distributed between remarketing and prospecting. The first time I saw that 20-30% of my budget was automatically going to remarketing — with zero targeting inputs — it changed my entire approach. My free mini-course shows you how to set them up and what to do with what you find.
