November 17, 2023
What is the Facebook pixel (a.k.a. Meta pixel)?
The Facebook pixel is a piece of code that you place on your website. It collects data that helps you track conversions from Facebook ads, optimize ads, build targeted audiences for future ads and remarket to people who have already taken some kind of action on your website.
How does the Facebook pixel work?
The Facebook pixel works by placing and triggering cookies to track users as they interact with your business both on and off of Facebook and Instagram. The Pixel documents when someone takes an action that you choose, like placing an order, clicking a link, or visiting a specific page.
These actions are known as Events, which are boiled down into a handful of options, including:
- Page Views: When a visitor views a specific page
- Add-to-Cart: When a visitor adds an item to their cart
- Purchase: When a visitor makes a purchase
- Scroll Depth: When a visitor scrolls down the page for a certain length of time
- Time on Page: When a visitor spends a minimum amount of time on a page
The Pixel can also track the URLs someone has visited and the devices they used to navigate your site. It uses these insights and data to group website visitors together into target audiences you can engage with ads. For example, it can segment people who have made a purchase so you can serve them ads based on them being existing customers.
Why you need Meta Pixel on your website
When installed, the Meta Pixel has a number of benefits:
- Improve ROI on your Facebook ads: Pixel data ensures your ads are seen by the people who are most likely to engage with them.
- Learn more about your visitors: Discover your most-visited pages and the actions your audience is likely to take on each page.
- Serve retargeting ads: Deliver ads to warm customer segments with retargeting campaigns.
- Create custom and lookalike audiences: Build ad audiences that look similar to your best customers or most engaged visitors. Use LeadsBridge to create quick and focused custom audiences from your Pixel data.
How to install Facebook Pixel
Ready to get started and learn how to install Facebook Pixel? Here’s a simple guide.
1. Create a Facebook Pixel
Wondering how to find Facebook Pixel ID? Before you do anything, you need to create a Facebook Pixel to add to your site.
- Go to your “Facebook Events Manager”.
- On the left side menu, click “Connect Data Sources”.
- Select “Web” and click “Get Started”.
- Select “Facebook Pixel” and click “Connect”.
- After reading how the pixel works, click “Continue”.
- Give your pixel an indicative name. Try something more creative than “My Pixel”.
- Enter your website URL to check for easy setup options.
- Click “Continue.”
2. Add the Facebook Pixel to your site
Once you’ve created a Pixel, it’s time to install it onto your website:
- Go to the Facebook Events Manager.
- Select your pixel.
- Click “Continue Pixel Setup”
At this point, you have two options: Manually add the Meta Pixel code to your website or use a partner integration.
Manually add the Meta Pixel code to your website
- Select “Install Code Manually”.
- Copy the pixel base code.
- Find your website’s header or locate the header template in your CMS or web platform.
- Paste the base code at the bottom of the header section, just above the closing head tag.
- Click “Continue”.
- At this stage, you can turn on “Automatic Advanced Matching” and verify the customer information you want to send. This is only optional and I’ll explain more about it later on.
- Click “Continue”.
- Add Events using the Events Setup Tool or by manually adding the relevant code to your website. More about Meta pixel events later.
- Click “Done”.
Use a partner integration to add the Pixel to your website
- Click “Use a Partner”.
- Select the relevant partner from the list.
- Follow the on-screen setup instructions.
Is it working? How to check Facebook Pixel
We highly recommend checking your Facebook Pixel is working once you’ve installed it otherwise you can miss out on tons of valuable data.
To do this, load a page or two on your website and do some of the actions you assigned conversions to when you set up the Pixel. It can help to use a couple of different devices here.
Once you’ve done that, go to “Ads Manager” and click the “Pixels” tab to see a list of the Pixels you’ve created. There should be a green dot, a date, and a time next to each Pixel which shows the last time the Pixel tracked any activity.
If the dot isn’t green, go back to your site and do a few more actions. Come back later to check, as it can take time for the actions to show up in Ads Manager.
If it’s still not working when you check back later, there are a couple of other ways you can do Facebook Pixel testing:
- Use the Pixel Helper Chrome extension
- Use the Test Events tool
- Run a manual code inspection (you might need the help of your dev team to do this)
How to use the Facebook retargeting Pixel with Facebook Conversions API
Changes to data collection in the iOS14.5 update have made it increasingly difficult to track user behavior across your site. We recommend using the Facebook Pixel in tandem with Facebook Conversions API to get data directly from your servers it’ll help you fill in any data your Facebook Pixel is missing.
To do this, you can use one of Facebook’s official integration partners or create some custom code yourself (again, you might need the help of your dev team for this).
The Facebook Conversions API integration makes it easy to pull leads from your email marketing platform, CRM, and spreadsheets. You can create personalized ad experiences for your existing customers without having to rely on cookies.
The Facebook Custom Audiences integration is an effective way to pull audience segments from your existing tools, such as your email marketing platform and sales software. These integrations ensure you’re using the best data and information to serve targeted ads to your audience.
Get started with the Facebook Pixel
Now you know how to install Facebook Pixel, you’ll be able to get enhanced insights into your audience and the actions they take on your site which you can use to serve highly-target ad campaigns to the right people. Make sure you install it correctly, either manually or through one of the partner integrations, and check it’s working.
Leave us a comment on your experience. we also ready to answer you where you find difficult.
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