Check Meta Ads
Meta Ads is one of the most popular online marketing platforms. Its algorithm heavily relies on both the data collected within its platform and the first-party data you provide.
For instance, if Meta Ads displays your ad to 400 Facebook or Instagram users and 25 of them click the ad, the Meta Ads algorithm gathers insights about which user profiles are most likely interested in your offering. However, Meta Ads can refine its audience targeting even further when it knows which of those 25 users converted and which ones left your site without further action.
If you have configured tracking for Meta Ads via Server-Side Tagging, events with detailed parameters are continuously sent to Meta Events Manager—even for your organic site visitors, not just ad traffic. However, in your Meta Ads dashboard, you will only see data linked to visitors who reached your site via an ad campaign.
Meta Ads determines which users arrived through their campaigns by processing the events your tracking setup sends to Meta Events Manager. Each event can include either an fbc or fbp parameter:
• fbc: Known as the Facebook Click ID, this parameter stores a unique identifier for users who clicked on an ad.
• fbp: Known as the Facebook Profile Code, this parameter represents the unique identifier associated with a user’s Facebook, Instagram, or WhatsApp account.
For a deeper understanding of how Meta Ads tracks users interacting with your campaigns, read our blog on conversion attribution.
What to Check in Meta Events Manager
After implementing Server-Side Tagging, you should examine two key areas in Meta Events Manager: event warnings and the volume of browser versus server events received.
Event Warnings
Log in to business.facebook.com and access the Meta Events Manager associated with your Meta Ads account and Pixel. Navigate to Events Manager from the vertical menu on the left.
In the Events Manager Overview, you may encounter one or more warnings:
One critical warning is: “Custom events cannot be used with ad elements.” This indicates Meta has received unrecognized events. You should confirm these events (if they are from your first-party tracking) or reject them (if they are not). Confirmed events can then be used in your campaigns or for audience segmentation.
Browser and Server Events
To check browser and server events, click on your pixel within the Meta Events Manager. Select the pixel linked to your Server-Side Tagging configuration.
Under the events overview, you’ll see the total number of events received over the last 28 days, their volume, and their quality scores. Expand any event, such as PageView, and select View Details.
Here, a graph will show the breakdown of browser and server events. The legend below provides specific counts for both types:
• Server-only setup: If your Meta Ads tags are only in the server container, most (if not all) events will be server events.
• Server and browser setup: If Meta Ads tags are present in both the web and server containers, you’ll see counts for both types of events.
Examples of these setups:
Server-only events:
Browser and server events:
If the number of browser events (blue line) far exceeds server events (green line), it likely means a third-party tracking solution for Meta Ads is still active on your site. Take these steps to fix the issue:
Verify that no events remain active in the Meta Event Setup Tool. Remove any that do.
Create an allowlist for permitted entities to ensure events are only received from your domain.
Check for third-party connections in your site’s backend:
• For Shopify, this might include the ‘[Facebook & Instagram](https://helpdesk-tagging.adpage.io/nl/article/oude-facebook-ga4-en-tiktok-connecties-in-shopify-ontkoppelen-bv0kf6/)’ app.
• For WordPress, it could be the ‘Facebook for WooCommerce’ plugin or a manually added script.
Repeat this process for all events you use in campaigns or retargeting audiences. Remember that webhook-based events will always appear as server events unless you’re using webhook deduplication.
Event Quality Scores
While checking browser and server events, you might notice low-quality scores for most events. Meta assigns these scores automatically based on the completeness of event parameters, such as postal code, country, first name, etc.
Only events tied to actions like form submissions or purchases (where users provide this information) will contain all these parameters.
Meta uses these quality scores to suggest improvements, but they do not impact campaign performance. Instead, these are just recommendations for optimization that you can implement based on feasibility.
For instance, if Meta Ads displays your ad to 400 Facebook or Instagram users and 25 of them click the ad, the Meta Ads algorithm gathers insights about which user profiles are most likely interested in your offering. However, Meta Ads can refine its audience targeting even further when it knows which of those 25 users converted and which ones left your site without further action.
If you have configured tracking for Meta Ads via Server-Side Tagging, events with detailed parameters are continuously sent to Meta Events Manager—even for your organic site visitors, not just ad traffic. However, in your Meta Ads dashboard, you will only see data linked to visitors who reached your site via an ad campaign.
Meta Ads determines which users arrived through their campaigns by processing the events your tracking setup sends to Meta Events Manager. Each event can include either an fbc or fbp parameter:
• fbc: Known as the Facebook Click ID, this parameter stores a unique identifier for users who clicked on an ad.
• fbp: Known as the Facebook Profile Code, this parameter represents the unique identifier associated with a user’s Facebook, Instagram, or WhatsApp account.
For a deeper understanding of how Meta Ads tracks users interacting with your campaigns, read our blog on conversion attribution.
What to Check in Meta Events Manager
After implementing Server-Side Tagging, you should examine two key areas in Meta Events Manager: event warnings and the volume of browser versus server events received.
Event Warnings
Log in to business.facebook.com and access the Meta Events Manager associated with your Meta Ads account and Pixel. Navigate to Events Manager from the vertical menu on the left.
In the Events Manager Overview, you may encounter one or more warnings:
One critical warning is: “Custom events cannot be used with ad elements.” This indicates Meta has received unrecognized events. You should confirm these events (if they are from your first-party tracking) or reject them (if they are not). Confirmed events can then be used in your campaigns or for audience segmentation.
Browser and Server Events
To check browser and server events, click on your pixel within the Meta Events Manager. Select the pixel linked to your Server-Side Tagging configuration.
Under the events overview, you’ll see the total number of events received over the last 28 days, their volume, and their quality scores. Expand any event, such as PageView, and select View Details.
Here, a graph will show the breakdown of browser and server events. The legend below provides specific counts for both types:
• Server-only setup: If your Meta Ads tags are only in the server container, most (if not all) events will be server events.
• Server and browser setup: If Meta Ads tags are present in both the web and server containers, you’ll see counts for both types of events.
Examples of these setups:
Server-only events:
Browser and server events:
If the number of browser events (blue line) far exceeds server events (green line), it likely means a third-party tracking solution for Meta Ads is still active on your site. Take these steps to fix the issue:Verify that no events remain active in the Meta Event Setup Tool. Remove any that do.
Create an allowlist for permitted entities to ensure events are only received from your domain.
Check for third-party connections in your site’s backend:
• For Shopify, this might include the ‘[Facebook & Instagram](https://helpdesk-tagging.adpage.io/nl/article/oude-facebook-ga4-en-tiktok-connecties-in-shopify-ontkoppelen-bv0kf6/)’ app.
• For WordPress, it could be the ‘Facebook for WooCommerce’ plugin or a manually added script.
Repeat this process for all events you use in campaigns or retargeting audiences. Remember that webhook-based events will always appear as server events unless you’re using webhook deduplication.
Event Quality Scores
While checking browser and server events, you might notice low-quality scores for most events. Meta assigns these scores automatically based on the completeness of event parameters, such as postal code, country, first name, etc.
Only events tied to actions like form submissions or purchases (where users provide this information) will contain all these parameters.Meta uses these quality scores to suggest improvements, but they do not impact campaign performance. Instead, these are just recommendations for optimization that you can implement based on feasibility.
Updated on: 22/11/2024
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