If you pass purchase events to Meta via the pixel and API, you may be aware of a challenge: What do you do when the value of the purchase is variable?

Here’s an example of the purchase event code and parameters that you’d use when you know that the price of a product is $147…

fbq('track', 'Purchase', {
value: 147.00,
currency: 'USD'
});

This is great when the loading of a specific page (like a confirmation page) means that someone purchased a product for $147. It’s no longer useful when that total is variable.

What do you do if you don’t know the total amount spent? What if the customer can add multiple items to their cart prior to completing a purchase? What if the customer can apply promo codes that impact the total order value?

This is where it gets tricky. Let’s discuss the factors that would help you solve this problem…

Dynamic Variable

In simple terms, you need to replace “147.00” above with a dynamic value that represents the total order value.

It might look like this…

fbq('track', 'Purchase', {
value: order_total,
currency: 'USD'
});

In this example, we replace the dollar amount with a variable that reflects that total. That total will then be injected dynamically.

Of course, I’d love to tell you that your platform utilizes a variable called “order_total.” Unfortunately, it is not universal and what you use is going to be different depending on your platform.

Meta provides the following well-known examples:

Shopify:
'{{ total_price | money_without_currency }}','currency':'USD'

Magento:
$amount

WooCommerce:
$order->get_order_total()

Squarespace:
{orderGrandTotal}

BigCommerce:
%%ORDER_SUBTOTAL%%;

The good news is that if you use any of these solutions, the dynamic value may be passed via the pixel already. Confirm that, but it’s likely the case. So, again, we haven’t solved a problem yet.

The issue comes into play when we have to pass events manually by adding our own event code.

General Solution

Let me start this section by being clear that I am not a web developer. Based on Meta’s documentation and my own research (always dangerous), this is my interpretation of what you need to do.

There do appear to be multiple approaches, but the most common is related to pulling the order total from the confirmation page. This may be your first obstacle.

I use Infusionsoft (Keap). Purchases are made using an Infusionsoft order form. Customers are then redirected to a confirmation page on my website.

We need the Infusionsoft form to pass the order total to the confirmation page and display it. There is actually an Infusionsoft setting when creating order forms to “Pass contact’s information to the Thank You Page.”

This information should then be passed using URL parameters (characters that are appended to the end of the confirmation page URL).

From what I can tell, when using Infusionsoft, the product price is passed using an ID of “price,” though there may be a different ID for the total if you have multiple items in your cart. You can use that information to display the total on the confirmation page.

Of course, you won’t be able to display that information on the confirmation page without some programming effort.

Consult a Web Developer

I know. I’d love to be able to give you the specific step-by-step instructions to solve this problem, but I can’t. Not only am I not a web developer and I already worry I’ve overstepped my expertise, how exactly this is solved will depend on your platform.

But, pass this post (and Meta’s documentation) on to a developer.

The main steps:

1. What platform is used for purchases?
2. What ID is used to define the purchase total?
3. Pass that total to the confirmation page
4. Display that total on the confirmation page as a variable (it could probably be hidden)
5. Pull that variable into the purchase event code that fires on that page

Hope that helps!

Your Turn

Is this a problem that you’ve solved? What did you do?

Let me know in the comments below!

The post Pass Dynamic Purchase Value With Meta Events appeared first on Jon Loomer Digital.

I wrote recently about the role of custom conversions in your Facebook advertising. Today, I want to provide some specific examples of how I use them.

If you aren’t using custom conversions, it’s time to start. There’s really no excuse.

Quick Refresh

First, a very brief reminder about what custom conversions are, in the simplest terms.

It’s important to know that custom conversions should not be used in place of standard and custom events; they should be used in addition to them.

Custom conversions provide granularity for both reporting and optimization. They allow you to map standard and custom events with parameters to better track how many purchases of a specific product, for example, resulted from your ad.

This granularity is the key. You can optimize for and get reporting on standard and custom events generally, but all product purchases are lumped under the same Purchases event. Custom conversions allow you to get access to the details.

Standard and custom events require additional coding. Custom conversions do not.

You can create website custom audiences based on standard and custom events. You can’t do this with custom conversions.

We good? Now, here’s what I do…

Individual Products and Opt-ins

Every time I launch a new paid product, I create a custom conversion for that specific purchase. I should note that I make sure that the Purchase standard event with parameters (“content_name” to provide the name of the product) is firing on the confirmation page first.

Every time I launch a new opt-in, I create a custom conversion for that specific registration. And like with the product, I make sure that the CompleteRegistration standard event with parameters (“content_name” to provide the name of the opt-in) is firing on the confirmation page.

Now, there are a couple of ways to create the custom conversion. Admittedly, I do it kind of old school. I blame this on having been exposed to website custom audiences first. I was comfortable creating audiences based on URLs, so that’s how I created some of my custom conversions.

So, I usually create these particular custom conversions based on the confirmation page URL.

But, the more sophisticated approach is probably to create it based on the Purchase standard event, refining by the “content_name” parameter.

Either one works. Do what makes you happy.

Once I do this, I can then add columns to my reporting for the specific products and opt-ins that I’m promoting.

I can also optimize for them, though I generally optimize for the standard event since it will provide more volume.

Product Groups

Second, I create custom conversions to group products.

For example, I have sold many different training courses over the years. While I create a custom conversion for each individual course purchase, I also create a custom conversion for the general “training” category. This allows me to track purchase results by that category.

You could once again use the URL route here, but you’d need to be sure that all of the confirmation pages within a particular category follow the same structure.

For example…

It probably makes more sense for you to send the “content_category” parameter instead and create the custom conversion based on the Purchase event, refining by parameter.

I can then also optimize for that type of purchase. Here, it could make sense since the type of customer who buys training programs may be very different than those who sign up for a membership or book a one-on-one with me.

For Custom Events

Finally, I create custom conversions for many of my custom events. There are a couple of reasons for this.

First, I’m not sure if this is intentional by Facebook, but I’ve found that some custom events don’t appear in the list for adding columns. It seems like Facebook may only list the custom events you’ve ranked for event configuration.

For example, I have far more active custom events than these three.

But, I can create a custom conversion based on that event and then add a column for that custom conversion. Here is one such example…

Another reason I need to create a custom conversion for some custom events is to provide more detail. For example, the Page Views Per Session custom event fires on every page. I can create a custom conversion to isolate only those who loaded two page views per session (or 3 or 4).

And then I can add a column to reporting to get a better idea of traffic quality sent by my ads.

Your Turn

I hope these examples of how I use custom conversions help. How do you use custom conversions?

Let me know in the comments below!

The post How I Use Facebook Custom Conversions for Reporting and Optimization appeared first on Jon Loomer Digital.

You can track events on your website — both standard and custom events — using the Meta pixel and Conversions API. It’s the Facebook event parameters that provide the power of granular reporting and targeting.

Let’s break this down, covering the following:

• The role of parameters
• An example of parameters
• Using parameters for granular reporting
• The role of parameters in powerful targeting
• How to set up parameters

The Role of Parameters

You can set up conversion events to fire on your website when people perform important actions. Standard events will typically fire on a button click or load of a specific page to notify Facebook that an action like a purchase, registration, search, or lead has occurred. This information can then be used in reporting (conversion attribution), optimization, and targeting.

Thanks to these events, you can know the number of people who purchased anything on your website. That volume can help with optimization to find other people likely to purchase. And you can then target anyone who has purchased anything on your website.

But, it’s the parameters that provide the granularity and details of these purchases and other actions. The parameters send information like the product purchased, the amount spent, and more.

Examples of Parameters

Let’s use the Purchase standard event as an example. You can send the following details of a purchase:

• Currency
• Value
• Conent_name (product name)
• content_id (product ID)
• Number of items

Collecting value helps an advertiser know if they are achieving a positive ROI.

The product name helps an adveriser know what was actually purchased.

And the number of items are helpful because a single purchase may actually include multiple products.

Of course, these are just a few examples used for the Purchase event. Standard events are structured, and you can only send specific information that Facebook expects as parameters with these events. You have much more flexibility with custom events.

Targeting Based on Parameters

When you create a website custom audience, you have the option of basing it on your events.

Let’s stick with the Purchase event. You can then “refine by” Parameter to isolate purchases by the accompanying parameters.

The parameters that appear will depend on the parameters your event uses.

I could, for example, create an audience that is refined by the value of the purchase.

You can also refine by aggregated value. You could, for example, create an audience of people who have made at least two purchases.

It could also be based on the total amount spent, average amount spent, or minimum amount spent.

I also do this with custom events for quality traffic activity. I send parameters like the scroll depth, amount of time spent on a page, and embedded YouTube video played. I can then create an audience for one of these events and isolate the audience by parameter.

For example, I can segment the YouTube video people watched on my website using parameters.

I can segment the people who played my audio player at least 5 times.

And I can segment the people who viewed a specific blog post on my website for at least two minutes.

How Parameters Contribute to Granular Reporting

These parameters also allow you to drill down in your reporting. Instead of getting reporting for all purchases, you can filter by purchases of a specific product, for example. You’ll do this with custom conversions.

Custom conversions are created a similar way to website custom audiences based on events. First, select the event.

Then, create a rule based on event parameters.

The parameters that appear will depend upon what you are using.

Here’s an example of a custom conversion for a purchase based on the name of the product.

You can and should also include the value of that purchase.

This custom conversion can then be used for both reporting and optimization. You can optimize for the purchase of a specific product, for example. But you can also add columns in your reporting for the purchase of that product.

Setting Up Parameters

How you set up parameters will depend upon how you’re sending events. You may be using partner integrations that automatically send events and parameters. Custom events will require custom coding to decide on the parameters you want and to send them.

The pixel event setup tool can help you set up standard events with some parameters without code.

It’s not a perfect tool and doesn’t provide a ton of flexibility, but it’s an option.

If you want to add code manually, you can use my Pixel Event Generator to help construct your event code with parameters.

Answer some basic questions, and the tool will spit out the exact code you need to use. It’s completely free!

Your Turn

What’s your experience been with event parameters?

Let me know in the comments below!

The post Facebook Event Parameters for Granular Reporting and Targeting appeared first on Jon Loomer Digital.

We need to talk about the Pixel Event Setup Tool. Conceptually, it is a great idea. The Event Setup Tool allows advertisers to add standard events for conversion tracking to their website without code, which is pretty great. But… Should you use it?

I first wrote about the Event Setup Tool when it came out more than three years ago. Here’s the crazy thing: It still has the exact same limitations and bugs that I experienced way back then.

That doesn’t make the tool worthless. It still has value for very specific situations. But, it’s mostly frustrating at this point that it’s not better than it is after all of this time.

Let’s talk about how the Event Setup Tool works and its limitations…

How it Works

Let’s assume you’re not technically savvy. You need to create a standard event, but you either don’t know how or don’t have access to the backend of a website to add the proper code.

If that’s the case, the Event Setup Tool is your solution. Go to Events Manager, click the “Add Events” drop-down, and select “From the Pixel.”

Now you’ll get the following message…

Click “Open Event Setup Tool.”

Now paste in the URL where you’ll want to add standard events and click “Open Website.”

It will open that page of your website, and it will include a floating dialog that looks like this…

All great so far, right?

Events by URL

Let’s assume that you want to fire an event any time someone opens this page. An example would be a CompleteRegistration confirmation. By loading the page, you know that the registration has been completed.

So, you would click “Track a URL.” It will look something like this…

You can use “URL equals” or “URL contains” (you’ll then be able to edit the URL) logic. It’s up to you. You then select an event. We’ll go with CompleteRegistration.

Click “Confirm,” and you’ve successfully set up an event! You’ll just need to click “Finish Setup” and you’re done.

Really easy. I have some reservations about it that I’ll get to in a moment, but this is a pretty darn good option.

Problem: Parameters

Okay, now let’s start talking about the issues with this tool.

Having the ability to create a standard event without code is great. But, Facebook provides very limited opportunities for adding parameters. Parameters pass additional details about the event — like the name of the product.

Well, in the example above, I can’t do that. I created a CompleteRegistration event, but that event will not send details beyond that.

The only way to do that now would be to create a custom conversion based on the URL. Something like this…

And really, this is fine. It’s not the end of the world. But, it limits options for the advertiser. It would be nice if we could simply pass the parameter from the start.

Problem: Track New Button

Maybe it’s a browser issue (I’ve tried both Chrome and Safari), but I know I’m not alone in this. If you try to create an event based on button click, Facebook tries to detect where the button is. Well, the detection is an absolute mess.

Here’s an example…

What in the actual… What is it that I’m supposed to select here??

“Buggy” does not begin to describe this issue. It’s unusable.

Problem: Purchase Value

Another issue is adding the Purchase value for any event. You have a few options for this.

One is that you can have Facebook detect that value from the page. But once again, the tool’s ability to detect that value is absolutely horrendous.

Here’s an example…

Facebook highlights the entire line that includes a dollar amount. If I select that, here’s the value it will try to send…

Yeah, no. That’s not a value at all.

One of the other options is to pass the value from the Initiate Checkout event. That assumes, however, that Facebook was able to properly detect the value on that page (which I doubt it will!).

The final option is “Don’t Include Value.” NO! That’s not what we want either! Can’t we just manually enter it? Why is this so hard?

Of course, we can’t pass the name of the product with parameters either. So, once again, our last option is to create a custom conversion that will include the name of the product and the value.

So, fine. Another workaround. You can make it work. But the point is, it sure would be easier if this all just worked properly in the first place.

It Still Has Potential

Yes, the Event Setup Tool has some value. It has potential. But, it’s had the same potential and limitations for the past three-plus years now. It’s amazing that none of these issues have been corrected or improved in any way during that time.

So for now, this tool is a good option when you can’t get access to the backend of a client website to add code. Or maybe you have no confidence in your ability to add event code to a website. This remains, though imperfect, a stopgap solution.

I just can’t help being left with how disappointing it is that this tool, which has so much potential, isn’t better than it is.

Your Turn

Do you use the Event Setup Tool? Do you run into these same issues, or how do you deal with them?

Let me know in the comments below!

The post Is the Event Setup Tool Worth the Hassle? appeared first on Jon Loomer Digital.

Facebook pixel events are critical for conversion tracking, optimization, and retargeting. You may not have partner integration that automatically injects this code. The Pixel Event Setup Tool may not be sufficient (it’s not for me). You may need to add the code manually, and this post is meant to help.

The Problems with the Pixel Event Setup Tool

As I write this, the Pixel Event Setup Tool, though it has promise, simply isn’t a solution.

It should allow for full parameter flexibility. You should be able to add any qualified parameter that you want. But, you can’t. In particular, you can’t add a product name. Why in the world can’t you add a product name?

The most excruciating part may be how value is added for the purchase event.

If you don’t use the Initiate Checkout event, you can’t provide a value unless Facebook reads it from the page. There’s no option to enter a value manually.

Needless to say, this isn’t good enough. Facebook may very well fix these issues. But in the meantime, creating your pixel events manually may be the best solution.

Pixel Event Code

The base pixel code goes before the closing HEAD tag on every page of your website. The pixel event code typically goes soon after, following the opening BODY tag (though it can go anywhere prior to the closing BODY tag).

Pixel event code is script that includes the event that should be tracked and any relevant parameters. It could be as simple as this…

The example above doesn’t include parameters, which provide additional details like the product and value. The purchase event is the only event that requires parameters (value and currency).

Here’s an example with parameters…

There are 17 standard events in all. For a full list of the events, code, and parameter options, check out this resource.

The Easy Solution: Pixel Event Generator

Look, I’m not a programmer. I’m not all that technical. So, I won’t waste any more energy trying to explain how to code events with parameters.

No, I have a much easier solution for you…

There was a time when Facebook offered a tool that helped you generate pixel event and parameter code really easily. For some crazy reason, they got rid of it. I think it’s because they assume the Pixel Event Setup Tool is sufficient. As we’ve discussed, it’s not.

That’s why my team developed the Pixel Event Generator. It’s free. There are no strings attached.

[GO HERE TO USE THE PIXEL EVENT GENERATOR]

It’s really simple…

1. Choose the event you want to track.

All 17 standard events are there. If you aren’t sure what an event is, select it to get a definition.

2. Choose your parameters.

The parameters that are relevant to your selected event will now appear. They are optional. You won’t need to enter anything, but you can if you’d like. Only fields you fill will appear in your code.

3. Copy your code.

Your pixel event code will be provided to you automatically based on your settings. Simply click the “Copy” button and paste it into the relevant location on your website (typically after the opening BODY tag on the page where the event occurs).

The video below walks through how it works…

Reminder: If you need a refresher on how pixel events work, read my guide here.

Learn More About the Facebook Pixel

Want to master the Facebook pixel? Take your learning a step further with the Facebook Pixel Masterclass, a video series covering advanced topics related to the pixel. We’ll go into detail related to pixel events, custom conversions, tracking, optimization, and targeting.

Or, if you aren’t ready for the advanced topics, check out my Facebook Pixel Basics free video series (this is also included within Facebook Pixel Masterclass). You can register by clicking the link below…

[GET THE VIDEO SERIES]

It includes eight lessons covering what the pixel is, why it’s important, how it works, how to add it to your website, and how to test that it’s working.

Enjoy!

The post How to Create Facebook Pixel Events and Parameters Manually appeared first on Jon Loomer Digital.

[NOTE: This post has been updated from its original publication.]

Any business serious about conversion tracking and optimization needs the Facebook pixel installed on their website. But getting the pixel and events installed correctly has been a chore, particularly for those who are less technical or lack the staff and resources to handle some basic code.

That changes with the Facebook pixel Event Setup Tool. Or it potentially does (more on the issues with this tool later). While you will still need to add the base pixel code to your website, the Event Setup Tool is meant to provide a codeless, seamless method to integrate pixel events.

It has enormous potential for simplifying the pixel event creation process, no matter your technical expertise. Before we get to the juicy stuff of using this tool, we’ll need to take a couple of steps back.

In this post, you’ll learn:

• How to install the base pixel code (if you haven’t already)
• A refresher on pixel events
• How to use the Event Setup Tool

Install the Pixel First

First, there’s no way around getting the base pixel code installed on your website. If you haven’t done that yet, you’ll need to before dealing with events.

The Facebook pixel is a unique piece of code that connects activity on your website to Facebook. It is the pixel that gives you access to all of the following, and more:

• Retargeting with Website Custom Audiences
• Attribute conversions to your advertising
• Optimize advertising for Landing Page Views
• Optimize advertising for conversions
• Track marketing performance with Facebook Attribution
• Track customer funnel with Facebook Analytics

If you haven’t yet installed the pixel, go here.

What Are Pixel Events?

Adding the base pixel code connects your website to Facebook. With your unique pixel on every page of your website, Facebook will be notified when a page of your site is loaded.

If you do nothing else, you’re limited in terms of how much you can get from the pixel. You can create Website Custom Audiences to retarget those who visit your website, which is amazing. But, the extent of your targeting will be limited without pixel events. And you’ll need those same pixel events for better tracking and optimization.

[READ THIS INTRODUCTION ON PIXEL EVENTS]

A pixel event is a modifier that adds details to the information sent to Facebook. Events allow Facebook to be notified that not only was a page visited, but a purchase (or registration, lead, search, etc.) was completed.

Standard pixel events (expanded since first announced) include:

• Add Payment Info
• Add to Cart
• Add to Wishlist
• Complete Registration
• Contact
• Customize Product
• Donate
• Find Location
• Initiate Checkout
• Lead
• Purchase
• Schedule
• Search
• Start Trial
• Submit Application
• Subscribe
• View Content

Events become particularly useful for conversion tracking and optimization. They allow you to connect your advertising efforts to a specific number of resulting conversions and, if applicable, the related revenue. Once Facebook collects this info, it also allows the advertiser to better optimize for a particular event.

Earlier, I described some of the tools that become available to you once you install the pixel. But, once you start using events, each of those tools become more powerful.

What is the Event Setup Tool?

Without the Event Setup Tool, advertisers need to modify their pixel code on specific pages of their websites to collect anonymous event information. This can be done manually, with the assistance of a plugin, or through partner integration.

The Event Setup Tool allows advertisers to add events based on page views or button clicks. Most importantly, no coding is required.

When in your Events Manager, click the Add Events drop-down and select “From the Pixel.”

You will now see the option to use Facebook’s Event Setup Tool.

Before we move forward, determine on what page the pixel event will occur, whether by viewing a URL or clicking a button. Enter the URL for that page here…

After entering the URL for this page in the step above, click “Open Website.” That will open a new window for that particular page that includes a Facebook dialog at the top left.

If any events have already been created for this page, you’ll see them here.

Set Up an Event by URL

One option is to set up a pixel event by URL. In other words, if someone loads a particular URL, this is a sign that a conversion is complete. An example would be a thank-you page following registration for a webinar or purchasing a product. This should be a page that users will only visit once.

Click the “Track a URL” button. You’ll now see this…

You’ll want to choose an event that has occurred once a person visits this URL. Facebook provides several standard options…

I am going to choose “Complete Registration.”

You also have the option of tracking the entire URL or portion of the URL.

“URL Equals” would limit qualified URLs to a single URL whereas “URL Contains” could result in multiple qualified URLs.

Once you’re done, click “Confirm.”

You will now see that event listed.

Set Up an Event by Button Click

This has the potential to be the most valuable application of the Event Setup Tool. Updating button code to track conversions on click is very technical. I can tell you that I rarely got it to work properly on my website.

Click “Track New Button.”

Suddenly, the page grays out and highlights appear for links and buttons that would qualify.

By selecting a link or button here, Facebook will begin reporting on events whenever a visitor clicks it. Once you select your button or link, Facebook will ask you to connect that click to an event.

I am going to choose “Lead.” Then click “Confirm.” Once again, you’ll see that event listed under “Events on this Page.”

Since I previously created an event based on URL, I have two listed (you may have only one).

Test Your Event

From the image above, note that you can edit or delete an event before finishing. Once you’re finished, click “Finish Setup” at the top right.

Facebook now asks to review your events.

If it looks good, click “Finish.”

Back on your Events Manager screen in Facebook, you’ll get a notification that your event setup is complete.

Click the blue button to test your events. You’ll get a page that looks like this…

Note that while in test mode, Facebook will only track the events on that page that you trigger, not the events triggered by other website visitors. Assuming the link to that page you were just working on is in the text box (it should have prefilled), click “Open Website.”

If you created an event by URL, you have already triggered an event. Otherwise, click the link or button on that page that triggers your button event. Then go back to the testing page in Events Manager.

Here is what that page looks like now for me…

In the middle column, you’ll see those two events were created via Event Setup Tool. In the far right column, you’ll see the last time that event was triggered. In other words, these were set up properly!

The Problems With This Tool

The Pixel Event Setup Tool has been available long enough now that all of the bugs should have been worked out of it. We should be beyond versions 1, 2, and 3. And yet… The tool still has some major flaws.

When it was first released, the Pixel Event Setup Tool didn’t allow the ability to add parameters. Parameters are additional details about a conversion (like value, product name, quantity, etc.). While parameters are now partially integrated in this tool, their availability is rigid and not incredibly helpful.

Here’s an example when creating a purchase event…

The only parameter options I’m given are for value and currency. However, we should be able to provide parameters for other items, including the name of the product (content_name) and type of product (content_type). The product name, in particular, is a critical item.

But, even the parameters available aren’t good enough. As you can see from the image above, my options for value are:

• Use Value from Initiate Checkout (Recommended)
• Choose Value on Page
• Don’t Include Value

This is painful. I don’t use the Initiate Checkout event. I tried, using the Pixel Event Setup Tool, and ran into all sorts of technical roadblocks of bugginess. I don’t include the value on the confirmation page. I tried to include it for this purpose, but Facebook didn’t detect it. And providing no value should not be an option.

WHY CAN’T I JUST MANUALLY ENTER THE VALUE??

This is a regular issue. I want to provide the name of a product for a CompleteRegistration event, but it’s not an option. There is no flexibility when it comes to parameters. Why not? It would seem to be an easy addition, and it would make this tool a slam dunk.

I’ve also run into general bugginess with Facebook’s detection of buttons, links, and values. It may be a browser compatibility issue in some cases, but the highlights often don’t line up.

These are big problems. Until they are addressed, the Pixel Event Setup Tool simply isn’t a viable option for serious marketers. It’s otherwise a nice little tool with big potential. It can solve small tasks if all you want to do is add a standard event without details. But that’s about it.

Adding Code Manually

I’m sure Facebook will eventually address this. In the meantime, I’ll continue to use partner integration or add code manually.

Of course, Facebook scrapped their valuable manual pixel event creation tool with the redesign of Events Manager. We saw this as an opportunity and created the Pixel Event Generator that you can us at no cost. It allows you to select an event, enter parameters, and copy the relevant code to be pasted on your website.

Learn More About the Facebook Pixel

Want to master the Facebook pixel? Take your learning a step further with the Facebook Pixel Masterclass, a video series covering advanced topics related to the pixel. We’ll go into detail related to pixel events, custom conversions, tracking, optimization, and targeting.

Or, if you aren’t ready for the advanced topics, check out my Facebook Pixel Basics free video series (this is also included within Facebook Pixel Masterclass). You can register by clicking the link below…

[GET THE VIDEO SERIES]

It includes eight lessons covering what the pixel is, why it’s important, how it works, how to add it to your website, and how to test that it’s working.

Enjoy!

The post How to Use the Facebook Pixel Event Setup Tool appeared first on Jon Loomer Digital.

A few days ago, I wrote about Facebook’s new Event Setup Tool that simplifies adding pixel events to your website. This is a huge development because Facebook pixel events aren’t fully utilized by marketers as they should be.

Why do you need to use pixel events? How can events benefit your marketing? Let’s break down a few of the primary ways…

[Learn more about how to master the Facebook pixel for 2019 in my upcoming training. SIGN UP HERE.]

1. Advanced Website Custom Audiences

If you have the base pixel installed on your website, you can create audiences like…

• All website visitors
• Visitors based on URL visited
• Visitors based on time spent

All are great! But, if you add events to your pixel, you can also create Website Custom Audiences based on these actions.

You could, for example, create an audience of all people who have performed any purchase on your website during the past 30 days.

Of course, it could be a search, lead, registration, or any other event that happens on your site.

For extra credit, you can add event parameters, which provide more details to the transaction. For example, adding the “Purchase” event allows you to create an audience of those who performed any purchase. Add parameters, and you can create audiences of those who purchased a specific product or spent over a certain amount.

Here’s an example of an audience that consists of people who performed purchases that, in aggregate, were equal to or greater than $100…

2. Conversion Optimization

One of the powers of Facebook ads is the ability of the algorithm to optimize to help you reach your ideal audience. One way Facebook can do this for you is optimizing to show ads to people most likely to convert — or perform the specific conversion action you want.

If you want to use the Conversions objective, you’ll need to select a pixel event to optimize for…

While you can optimize for a Custom Conversion (typically a specific product), optimizing for a broader event action (like “Purchase”) gives Facebook more data to help you effectively optimize.

3. Conversion Tracking

How effective are the Facebook ad campaigns that you’re running? Without the pixel and events, your focus is likely on a combination of Cost Per Click, Click Through Rate, and Engagement Rate. But these may have little, if any, connection to whether conversions occurred.

If you use pixel events, you can add a column specifically for the total number, unique number, value, cost, and unique cost of any standard event.

And if you use event parameters and utilize a product catalog, you can break reporting down by product ID.

While you can (and should) track results by Custom Conversion, you are limited to 100 of them per ad account. There are no such limitations to events.

4. Facebook Analytics

Facebook Analytics is a pretty awesome marketing tool. It’s a free tool (described by my friend Andrew Foxwell), “designed to help you visualize your entire sales funnel, understand the lifetime value of users, and see how your organic and paid strategies intersect.”

Facebook naturally has valuable data from interactions with your Facebook page and posts (organic and paid). But, how valuable are those interactions? Do these people buy from you? Are some reactions and interactions more valuable than others?

Well, you won’t know the answers to these questions without the Facebook pixel and events.

The number of valuable reports that you can generate with Facebook Analytics is too many to cover in this blog post. But, you can create funnels to view the percentage of your top of the funnel that ultimately converts…

You can track customer lifetime value…

You could also look at a breakdown of age, gender, and country by purchase value…

You can create a cohort of those who registered and then eventually purchased a product…

You can run a breakdown of the demographics of those who make a purchase to view info based on age, gender, country, city, language, and more…

Compare the stickiness of someone who registered for something to those who made a purchase…

This is just scratching the surface regarding the reporting available to you with Facebook Analytics. But none of it is available without the use of pixel events.

5. Facebook Attribution

Facebook Attribution is yet another powerful tool that not enough marketers are using and benefiting from. As I described in my introduction to this tool, Facebook Attribution is designed to help you understand the impact of your content and ads across multiple publishers, channels, and devices. Note that this includes and goes beyond Facebook — not only the organic referrals from Google and others, but your non-Facebook advertising efforts.

There are limitless use cases of Facebook Attribution, but let’s lay out a few.

View the top sources of website purchases by channel…

View the number of conversions that occurred on mobile after viewing your content from desktop…

Or vice versa…

In order to get any of this information, you’ll need to utilize Facebook pixel events.

6. Dynamic Ads

If you manage ads for an e-commerce brand, dynamic ads are invaluable. They allow you to dynamically show ads to people based on their interaction with that or other similar products in the past. This is done, in part, with ad templates and product catalogs that are provided to Facebook.

These are most useful for those with dozens, hundreds, or thousands of products, particularly those with high ad spend. You don’t need to manually create ads for all of these products, or focus only on a select few. You can hyper-target those expressing interest with a highly relevant ad.

You shouldn’t be surprised to learn this, but you need the Facebook pixel and events to utilize dynamic ads. This is how Facebook knows what stage of the funnel a visitor has reached (add to cart, add payment info, add to wishlist) and organize what products were viewed by product ID.

Your Turn

The reality is that Facebook pixel events aren’t only beneficial, they are required for any serious Facebook advertiser. The benefits are simply too great, and I’m undoubtedly missing some here.

Are there any other benefits of Facebook pixel events that I’m missing here? Let me know in the comments below!

The post The Value of Facebook Pixel Events appeared first on Jon Loomer Digital.

Facebook advertisers have a deep toolbox available to help reach their ideal audience. One underutilized and underappreciated group they can target is their referral traffic.

How much of your traffic comes from Google? From Instagram? From somewhere else? Are the behaviors, needs, and expectations of these people different from your typical visitor?

Knowing the referral source could allow you to create advertising that caters specifically to their needs.

I have admittedly long taken for granted that not everyone has the ability to create referral Custom Audiences. I’ve been able to do this for years. It’s not because I have access to any Facebook features that others do not. It’s simply due to how my pixel is set up.

My pixel collects parameters along with the standard PageView event. These parameters allow Facebook to collect things like referrer, language, post category, post tags, and more related to the visit.

I have a third party tool that does this for me. While I’ll provide details on that, you don’t necessarily need to use a third party tool to accomplish this. I’ll also provide the manual solution for everyone else to create the custom parameters that will help you generate referral Custom Audiences.

Custom Parameters: Test

You may already be adding parameters to your pixel for certain events, like purchases. In that case, you may include details like product ID and price. But we can do the same for the base PageView event.

In order to create Custom Audiences based on referral source (and other information mentioned above), we need to collect parameters for all visits with our pixel. In a moment, I’ll get to how you set this up. But first, let’s test to see if you have this set up already.

If you use a plugin that injects your pixel code, you may have a setting like I do to control whether your visits as an administrator get tracked.

For this test, you may either want to turn this off or simply log out first. Then, do the following…

1. Install the Facebook Pixel Helper Chrome plugin (it’s free).

2. Go to Google.

3. Type in a search that would bring up results to a blog post or page on your website. Be as specific as possible to make sure you get the results you want.

4. Click the link in the Google Search results that redirect you to that page on your website. You will now be referral traffic from Google.

5. While on that page of your website, click the Pixel Helper icon.

Here’s what my results look like:

I have a section for AdvancedEvents. That’s where my parameter info is. I click to expand and the following details are revealed…

As you can see, the following parameters were collected:

1. Login Status
2. Post Tag
3. Post Category
4. Language
5. Post Type
6. Object Type
7. User Agent
8. Object ID
9. Referrer

Note that there may be others that my pixel collects, but these are the items that were relevant in this case. If I went directly to my home page without a referral from Google (or somewhere else), I wouldn’t see parameters for Post Tag, Post Category, or Referral.

Keep in mind that you may still have Custom Parameters, but organized differently. My plugin organizes them under AdvancedEvents, but it may appear differently for you.

Add Custom Parameters: Pixel Caffeine

The reason I’ve long added these parameters is that I use the free Pixel Caffeine WordPress plugin (not an affiliate link).

[SIDE NOTE: I don’t use affiliate links. I get nothing from Pixel Caffeine for referring them.]

Within my Pixel Caffeine general settings, I have all of the Advanced Tracking checked…

Add Parameters to PageView Event: Manually

Of course, I realize not everyone uses Pixel Caffeine. In fact, it occurred to me during research for this post that most websites don’t collect parameters on every page view. As a test, I went to several websites (including as a Google referral), and I couldn’t find a single one that tracked this information.

I reached out to an engineer at Pixel Caffeine to find out how someone would do this manually. They were very kind to provide the info.

When you go through the manual pixel setup process, Facebook provides the base pixel code that you need to paste before the closing HEAD tag in the template of your website.

If you paste this base pixel code manually into your template or into either a plugin or Google Tag Manager, you should be able to do this.

We need to inject some additional code after ‘PageView’ and before the closing SCRIPT.

As a result, Facebook should then track the referrer for every page view of your website.

Note that I haven’t tested this myself, but I’ve been assured it will work. Please report back.

Create Website Custom Audience

Once you start collecting this information, you should be able to create Website Custom Audiences for these relevant groups. Note that it may take a day or two to show up.

When creating a Website Custom Audience, you should see an option for “From Your Events.” Under it, select the “PageView” event.

Next, click “Refine by” and then “URL/Parameter.”

Click the drop-down where “URL” appears. You will now see relevant parameter options that you are tracking. Select “referrer.”

If you want to create an audience of all referral traffic from Google, I’d select “Contains” and enter in “google.com” below it.

I’d avoid containing traffic that only includes “google” as it’s possible that this will pull in traffic that includes Google in a URL or UTM parameter. In those cases, it’s not guaranteed to always be referral traffic from Google.

After doing this, of course, it occurred to me that the domain is different depending on the country. You may also want to include other variations of the Google domain, like google.co.uk. Or, include far more variations at once by using google.co.

You may not want to create Custom Audiences of referral traffic from Google. Maybe it’s from Pinterest. It’s the same process. Simply create your audience based on the Pinterest domain instead.

The duration you use for this Website Custom Audience is up to you. Keep in mind the volume of referral traffic that you get when setting this.

Alternate Method: Facebook Analytics

Thanks to Yan Yanko for alerting me of an alternative. If you are using Facebook Analytics, you can also create a filter for referral traffic. In fact, you should be able to create a filter for many of the things that would otherwise be covered with parameters. You could then create a Custom Audience from that.

At the top of Facebook Analytics, click the “Add Filter” button…

Then click “Create new filter” > “had matching web parameters” > “Referral Domain” > “contains” > “google.”

Then, at the top right click the “…” and select “Save Filter.”

After saving the filter, go back to the same menu at the top right and select “Create Custom Audience.”

I assumed that this would only work if you had the necessary parameters set up with your pixel, but Yan assures me it’s a workaround that works.

Other web parameters I see when creating filters in Facebook Analytics:

• Current Domain
• Current URL
• Referral Domain
• Referral URL
• Session Exit URL
• Session Landing URL
• Session Referrer Domain
• Session Referrer URL
• Session Traffic Source
• Session Traffic Source by Search Engine
• Session Traffic Source by Social Network

There are also several UTM-related filters. I had assumed these would only appear and work if you were using these parameters. That doesn’t appear to be the case.

Try it and report back!

Target Referral Traffic

Now that you’ve created the Website Custom Audience of referral traffic, you can target these people!

Within the ad set, enter the name of the audience you just created…

You may want to use the Worldwide region, but it’s up to you at this point. Only you know what kind of volume you get from these referrals.

Is there something specific that people search for when they come to your website as a result of a referral? If so, can you then serve them an ad related to this need?

Your Turn

I hope this guide helps you set up the ability to target referral traffic with Facebook ads. Have you done this before? What results do you see?

Let me know in the comments below!

The post How to Target Referral Traffic with Facebook Ads appeared first on Jon Loomer Digital.