These are foundational best practices for campaign setup, targeting, and bidding, along with proven strategies for scaling. Use these as a starting point for testing and optimizing based on your specific goals.
Creative Best Practices & Specs
Image Best Practices
- Test both 9x16 and 16x9 images in separate ad sets
- Run native-style images that elicit curiosity and engagement
- Test different creative angles: science, medical, product showcase, customer testimonial, official announcements
Video Best Practices
- Test both 9x16 and 16x9 videos in separate ad sets
- 9x16 UGC videos receive high engagement
- 15-30 second videos perform well; if you want to run longer videos, consider VSLs
Creative Specs
- Image: 9x16 and 16x9 (GIFs supported)
- Video: 9x16 and 16x9 (max file size 500MB)
- Carousel: 1080x1080, max file IMB, 1:1 ratio
To see immediate results, prioritize these high-impact 'quick wins':
Campaign Set Up
💡 Tip: Before setting up campaigns, confirm that conversion tracking is correctly configured in Event Management.
- Use separate ad accounts for each offer/vertical for better optimization
- Begin with broad targeting (unlimited)
- Set up 2-3 ad sets to start, running both tCPA and Max Conversions
- Run 3-5 creatives in one ad set. If the daily budget is small, run 2-3 creatives per ad set
- Refrain from making edits while in learning phase, which typically occurs around 20-30 conversions
Targeting & Bidding
Max Conversions
- Goal is to spend your daily budget in full while optimizing for as many conversions as possible
- When first launching Max Conversions, the goal is to capture conversion data to pass learning phase
- Start with a daily budget 5-10x CPA goal
- After the learning phase, if CPA becomes higher than goal, switch to tCPA with daily budget at least 10x tCPA bid rate
Target CPA
- Start the bid with 20-30% higher than your CPA goal
- Set daily budget at least 10x your tCPA bid
- A higher daily budget helps the ad set scale after the learning phase and reach its CPA goal
- Monitor weekly CPA performance and adjust bid and budget as needed
- For high CPA offers, track as many events as possible — start with upper funnel events (add to cart, initiate checkout, etc.) and a lower tCPA bid
How to Scale
- Increase daily budget in existing performing ad sets, recommend doing this early morning or later in the day
- Find a blend of tCPA and Max Conversion ad sets that offer both scale and performance
- Alternate between the two bidding strategies as needed — switching to a new bid strategy will not reset an ad set to the learning phase
- In a Max Conversion ad set: if CPA meets your goal, gradually increase the daily budget every 2-3 days by no more than 50% each time
- In a tCPA ad set: if your CPA goal is met but lacks scale, consider switching to Max Conversions and lowering the daily budget if it was high
Next step: Create Your First Ad