These three stats are easy to manipulate:
1. CPMCPM measures the cost per 1,000 impressions. It's a good metric to evaluate competition level and costs to reach your audience. More (Cost Per 1,000 ImpressionsImpressions are the number of times your ads were displayed to your target audience. Impressions aren't counted if it is detected they came from bots. More)
2. CTR (Click-Thru Rate)
3. Cost Per ClickFacebook reports on CPC (All) and CPC (Link Click). The first refers to all clicks and the second on all internal and outbound links. More
The Problem with CPM
A low CPM is easily attainable if that’s all you care about. Target the cheapest countries so you don’t need to compete with advertisers in countries like the US. While you’re there, use the broadest audienceThis is the group of people who can potentially see your ads. You help influence this by adjusting age, gender, location, detailed targeting (interests and behaviors), custom audiences, and more. More possible. And abandon conversionsA conversion is counted whenever a website visitor performs an action that fires a standard event, custom event, or custom conversion. Examples of conversions include purchases, leads, content views, add to cart, and registrations. More for top-of-funnel optimizationThe 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 actions only.
The Problem with CTR
Want a high CTR? No problem. Optimize for link clicksThe link click metric measures all clicks on links that drive users to properties on and off of Facebook. More or landing page viewsLanding Page View is a Facebook ads metric that represents when people land on your destination URL after clicking a link in your ad. More. Your ads will be shown to the ideal audience to get you the finest bots, accidental clicks, and clicks from people who click on everything.
The Problem with Cost Per Click
And if you want a low Cost Per Click, it’s a bit of both. Optimize for link clicks or landing page views and you’ll get plenty of cheap clicks. Keep those costs down by only targeting the broadest audiences in the cheapest countries. And make sure to use Advantage+ Placements to take advantage of certain placements that are prone to extra cheap clicks (like Audience Network).
Secondary Metrics and Context
Of course, none of these tricks will get you higher-quality results (wait, you wanted that?). And I hope it sounds ridiculous that you might do any of these things.
But too many advertisers look at their results and they’re thinking just that.
“How can I get my CPM down?”
“How can I get my CTR up?”
“How can I get my Cost Per Click down?”
The only methods you should consider are related to improvements in your copy and creative. If your ads aren’t converting because no one is clicking your ads, you should improve your ad to invite that action. Otherwise, the tricks I mentioned won’t help you get more conversions.
That’s why stats like CPM, CTR, and Cost Per Click are all secondary metrics. It doesn’t mean they don’t matter at all, but they should never be your primary concern. They help tell the overall story.
Focus on your Cost Per Optimized Action, which should typically be a conversion of some kind. If your costs are too high, these three stats may provide insight.
But improving them won’t necessarily solve your problem. In fact, it may just make your problems worse.
