2-Step Funnel Problems

The 2-step funnel is a popular Meta ads strategy, but it has several inherent problems.

Let’s discuss…

How it Works

The 2-step funnel works like this…

You run two campaigns:

  • Campaign 1 is optimized for link clicks or landing page views
  • Campaign 2 targets those people to sell your product

It’s “two steps” because the entire purpose of the first is to drive traffic that can then be targeted in the second.

The Problems

It sounds good on paper, but there are problems.

The first is the success of this approach relies heavily on the quality of the traffic sent with the first campaign. Optimizing for clicks almost always brings low-quality results.

Second, any conversions you get from remarketing may have nothing to do with the first campaign. If you get traffic to your website naturally, you’ll reach them, too. That traffic is likely to be much higher quality, and Meta will prefer it when optimizing for conversions.

Third, this type of segmentation is rarely necessary now. Meta’s algorithmic targeting automatically favors remarketing and will bake it into delivery.

Meta Ads Test Results for Audience Expansion with Audience Segments

While this approach may have worked five or 10 years ago, it was also necessary then, and it was way cheaper. While it’s possible you could get results this way, it’s more likely that a simpler approach will be more effective.

The 2-step funnel is inefficient and will likely cost more than it’s worth.

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