This is the secret to generating quality Meta ad results…
One of the biggest complaints from advertisers is that they get results that appear good on the surface, but they’re ultimately low quality.
The key to fixing this is easier than it seems. The problem is that the algorithm doesn’t understand what you want. But you do.
Your Mistake
You said you wanted link clicksThe link click metric measures all clicks on links that drive users to properties on and off of Facebook. More (as defined by your performance goal), so it got you link clicks. Then you got mad because those link clicks didn’t lead to another action.
You said you wanted leads (as defined by your performance goalThe Performance Goal is chosen within the ad set and determines optimization and delivery. How you optimize impacts who sees your ad. Meta will show your ad to people most likely to perform your desired action. More), so it got you leads. Then you got mad because those leads didn’t buy.
These results may appear to be low quality, but they’re precisely what you asked for. The algorithm did exactly what you asked it to do. It’s literal like that, and it’s critical that you understand how it works.
Your Solution
If you run into quality issues, it’s because you need to better define what you want.
If your ads are driving low-quality traffic, what is the action you were expecting that would indicate a quality visit? Optimize for that action instead.
That could be another standard event. Or you could create a custom event that represents a quality visit. I’ve created custom eventsConversion events tracked by the pixel, app SDK, or API that are outside of standard events. These tend to be created to fit the publisher's needs when a pre-defined standard event will not. More for things like time spent, scroll depth, embedded video watched, internal link clicks, and more.
If you’re getting low-quality leads, what is it that you were expecting these leads to do? Optimize for that action.
The most common way to do this is with conversion leads optimization, which requires additional setup to define your CRM funnel for Meta. That way, the algorithm will be focused on getting the eventual bottom-funnel action, rather than the lead itself.
If you run ads for website leads, you could optimize for an action that happens immediately after the form completion. Redirect to a confirmation page and select an action that would indicate a quality lead (watch a video, click a button, etc.). Create an event for that.
6 Steps
I can’t stress this enough. Your ability to define what you want is the most critical factor for determining whether your ads drive the actions that you want.
Make sure to check out my blog post that goes into more details about the 6 ways to generate quality results.
