Facebook Pixel for Beginners: A Complete Guide for 2021

The Facebook Pixel is a piece of code you can install on your website. It helps to measure the effectiveness of your Facebook ad campaigns by ... Skiptocontent Startyour dropshipping businesswithOberlo Starta dropshipping business → Signupnow Home / Blog / FacebookPixelforBeginners:ACompleteGuidefor2021 Article by DavidVranicar 25Aug,2021 Skiptoarticlecontent Postcontents 1 WhatIstheFacebookPixel? 2 HowDoestheFacebookPixelWork? 3 AndNowforthePixelTrackingMagic 4 HowtoInstallFacebookPixel  1.CreateaFacebookPixel 2.AddtheFacebookPixeltoYourWebsite 5 HowDoYouTargetPeopleWiththeFacebookPixel? 6 FacebookPixel’sAdditionalTargetingOptions LookalikeAudiences StandardandCustomEvents CustomConversions 7 FacebookPixelIsOneofManyAdvertisingTools 8 TechnicalDetails 9 iOS14’sEffectonFacebookPixel 10 Conclusion 11 FacebookPixel:FrequentlyAskedQuestions WhatdoestheFacebookPixelcollect? HowdoIgetaFacebookPixel? HowmanyFacebookPixelsdoIneed? 12 WanttoLearnMore? Tuckedawayinsidewebsitesacrosstheinternet,theFacebookPixelcalmlywatcheswhatwedoonline.Whetherwe’rereadinguponpoliticsoraddingitemstoashoppingcart,itkeepstabsforfuturereference. Andby“futurereference,”wemean“futureadvertising.” ThispostwillhelpyouunderstandwhattheFacebookPixelis,howtoinstallapixel,anddifferentwaystouseapixeltoimprovetheROIofyourads.  Don’twaitforsomeoneelsetodoit.Hireyourselfandstartcallingtheshots. GetStartedFree WhatIstheFacebookPixel? TheFacebookPixelisapieceofcodeyoucaninstallonyourwebsite.IthelpstomeasuretheeffectivenessofyourFacebookadcampaignsbymonitoringtheactionspeopletakebothonyoursite.  YoucanusetheFacebookPixelcodetotrackeventson: Pageviews Timeonpage Scrolldepth Addtocart Purchase Andmore Additionally,itcanbeusedtocreateretargetingcampaignsandremarkettopeoplewhohavetakenadesiredactionorvisitedaspecificpageonyourwebsite. Inshort,theFacebookPixel: Livesonyourwebsite Tracksvisitorsastheyinteractwithyourwebpages Givesyoutheabilitytobuildcustomaudiencesforretargeting AndenablesyoutotracktheROIofyourFacebookandInstagramcampaigns HowDoestheFacebookPixelWork? We’regoingtogettechnicalforaminutehere.Itwon’tbepainful–therewillbelotsofpicturesandnotalotofjargon.ButifyouwanttoskipaheadtoHowtoInstallFacebookPixelorHowDoYouTargetPeopleWiththeFacebookPixel,nohardfeelings. Stillhere?Great.Now,let’sdosomeshopping! We’regoingtovisittwostorestoday.ThefirstisEsprit.TheotherisNike.Thereisnothingunusualaboutthesestores;theyaresimplybeingusedtorepresentecommerceingeneral.Tobesure,neitherEspritnorNikearedoinganythingunusualorsinisterwiththeirtrackingandadvertising.They’rejustclothingstoresgoingabouttheirbusinessandusingFacebookpixeltrackingtoreachfrequentvisitors. Let’sfindsomethingonEsprit.Oh,yeah–thiswhiteandbluesweaterisnice: AndhereisalltheFacebook-relatedcodespinninginthebackground: TheFacebookPixelwillknowwhenweaddthesweatertoourcart: Ofcourse,we’llneversqueezeintothatslim-fitsweaterifwedon’tstayinshape.Solet’sheadovertoNikeforsomenewrunninggear,includingtheserunningpants: LikeEsprit(andeveryotherecommercestore),NikehasplentyofFacebookcodekeepingtrackofourvisit: Butthatwon’tstopusfromaddingtheitemtoourcart: AndNowforthePixelTrackingMagic Let’ssaythatweleavethesesiteswithoutbuyinganything.Abandonedcarts areanightmareforeveryecommerceshop,eventhebigboys. LookatwhathappensthenexttimewegotoFacebook: Amomentlater,justtomakesureweremember: Anothermoment,andthingsgetabitlesssubtle: Nike’shastheirownFacebookPixelID,andtheirownads: Indeed,bothcompanies’FacebookPixelsseemtobeworkingjustfine: It’simpossibleforustoknowthesortoftargetingrulesthatEspritandNikecreatedforshopperslikeus.Forexample,wouldwehaveseensomanyadsifwehadn’taddedtheseitemstoourcarts?Andmaybegeographyplaysarole,too:Wouldtheseadshaveappearedwiththesamefrequencyifweshoppedfrom,say,SouthKoreainsteadofGermany? Theparametersofthesecompanies’Facebookcampaigns–therules,thetargetgroups,thebids,thetimeperiod,andsoon–areentirelyunknown. Evenso,youcanseehowtheFacebookPixelworks: Addthepixel–Theprocessbeginsafteryouaddasnippetoftrackingcodetoyourwebsite. Gatherinsights–YourFacebookPixelgathersinsightsaboutvisitors,suchaswheretheycomefrom,whatdevicethey’reusing,andotherrelevantinformation. Analyzebehaviors–Learnhowpeopleinteractwithyourwebsite,whethertheyaddaproductintheircartorcheckoutaspecificproductpage. Createaudiences–UsethedatagatheredfromPixeleventstobuildlookalikeaudiences,customaudiences,andmore. Assessevents–EvaluateconversioneventstocomeupwiththebestFacebookadcampaignsforyourbusiness.  HowtoInstallFacebookPixel  Nowthatyouknowitsfunction,it’stoinstalltheFacebookPixelonyourwebsite.Youcandothatbytakingthefollowingstepssteps: 1.CreateaFacebookPixel First,you’llneedtocreateyourpixel.HeadovertoyourFacebookEventsManager,thenclickConnectaDataSource>Web.NowselectFacebookPixelandclickConnecttocontinue.  ThenaddPixeldetails. 2.AddtheFacebookPixeltoYourWebsite TherearethreewaystointegratetheFacebookPixel: Manualinstallation Usinganintegrationortagmanager Emailinginstructionstoadeveloper Let’slookateachoptioninmoredetail: 1.AddtheFacebookPixeltoyourwebsitemanually TheFacebookpixelworksbestwhenit’sdisplayedoneverypageofawebsite.However,youdon’tneedtoputitoneverypage;justputthepixelcodeintheglobalheader,i.e.,

ofyourwebsite.PastetheFBpixelcodeinthemiddleoftheheadercode,beforeandafter,andclickSaveChanges. 2.UseanintegrationtoinstalltheFacebookPixelinShopify IfyouownaShopifystore,followthesestepstosetupyourFacebookPixel: OpenyourShopifyadmin,thenselectFacebookfromtheSaleschannelstab. ClickSettings>Datasharingsettings. ScrolldownuntilyouseetheCustomerdata-sharingsection.NowclickEnabledatasharing.  InthesectionChoosethedata-sharinglevel,chooseStandard,Enhanced,orMaximum. Chooseyourpixelfromthelist,orfollowtheon-screeninstructionstocreateone. ClickConfirm,andyou’redone! Protip:AfteryouaddaFacebookPixeltoyouronlinestore,waitforcustomeractivitytohappenbeforecheckingoutyourFacebookAdsManagertoseethedata.  3.AskadevelopertoaddtheFacebookPixelcodetoyourwebsite Ifawebdevelopermaintainsourwebsite,youcanalsoemailtheminstructionsandcodetoaddtheFacebookPixel.SelectEmailInstructionstoaDeveloper,andputintheiremailaddress.  Afterthecodeisadded,usetheFacebookPixelHelpertoseeifit’sworkingproperly. FacebookPixelHelperalsoinformsyouabouterrors–enablingyoutoredotheinstallationstepstoensurethatit’sworkingcorrectly. IfthePixelHelperdisplaysnoerrors,youcanstartviewingreal-timeeventandconversiondatainyourFacebookmarketingcampaigns.  ItmakessensethatinstallingtheFacebookPixelisasstraightforwardascopyingandpasting.Afterall,havingthePixelonyoursiteincentivizesyoutoadvertisewithFacebook,aswellasFacebook-ownedInstagram.ThatmakesFacebookhappy. FacebookisalsohappyforyoutousethePixelbecause–whetheryouadvertisewiththemornot–youarehelpingFacebookbuildricherprofilesofitsusers.HavingitstrackingpixelscatteredallovertheinternetletsFacebookknowwhatitsusersaredoingoutsideoftheplatform. NotthatanybodywouldeveraccuseFacebookofbeingsneakywithdata,butitisquitethecoincidencethatIsawthisadidasadonInstagramthesamedayIwasshoppingatNike. Atanyrate,incentivesarealignedwithwhenitcomestoinstallingthecodeinyourstore:Yougetbetteradvertising,Facebookgetsbetterdata. HowDoYouTargetPeopleWiththeFacebookPixel? Ifwe’rebeingtechnicalaboutit,thecodedoesn’tactuallydoanytargeting.Instead,itisthefoundationfortargeting. It’suptoyoutotellFacebookhowtotarget. InsideofyourFacebookBusinessManager,youcancreate“CustomAudiences”withrulesrangingfrombasictosupercomplex.Forexample,let’ssayyousellfashionaccessories,includingsunglasses.TheFacebookPixelwillknowalltheFacebookuserswhobrowsedyoursunglasses,andwhentheydidit.SoyoucouldhaveaCustomAudienceofpeoplewhovisited“sunglasses”pagesonyourwebsiteinthelast,say,30days. YoucanalsotargetFacebookadstopeoplewhohavealreadyconverted.Forinstance,maybeyouwanttotreatbuyerswithadiscountcodefortheirnextpurchase.YoucoulddothatbysettingaURLruleforapost-conversionpage– like,say,aThankYoupage. Youcouldflipthataroundandcreateagroupofpeoplewhohavebeentoyourstorebutdidn’tgettotheThankYoupage. Onemore:YoucancreateCustomAudiencesbasedontheamountofmoneypeoplehave35-year-oldspentatyourstore.A“Bigspenders”segmentcouldcontainpeopleyouwanttotargetwithyourmoreexpensiveitems.(Andyou’llknowwhothebigspendersarethankstothepixel.) FacebookPixel’sAdditionalTargetingOptions LookalikeAudiences OneofthegreatthingsaboutFacebookadvertisingis“LookalikeAudiences.”YoucandesignLookalikeAudiencestoreflectthecharacteristicsofyourbestcustomers. Thecodeknowswhodidwhatonyourwebsite,andtheFacebookplatformcanusethatdatatoidentifypeoplewhosharesimilartraitsasyourvisitors.Soifyour“Bigspenders”segmentisfullof25-35yearoldfemaleswholiveinurbanareas,FacebookcancreateaLookalikeAudienceofother25-35yearoldfemaleswholiveinurbanareasandwhoFacebookthinksmightbeinterestedinyourproducts. StandardandCustomEvents Youcanalsouseittocreatewhatarecalled“customevents,”whicharethemoreevolvedrelativeof“standardevents.”StandardeventsareactionsthattheFacebookPixeltracksautomatically,like“addtocart”and“purchase”(thereareninetotal).Customevents,ontheotherhand,areeventsthatyoudesignyourself,allowingyou,inFacebook’swords,“todefinemoregranulardataaroundevents.”Thiscouldbeallsortsofdifferentstuff–scrolldepth,buttonclicks,andvideotracking,tonamejustafew. CustomConversions AnotherfascinatingthingaboutFacebookPixelistheabilitytocreateCustomConversions.Thisisbuiltbychoosingacompletionpage,suchasaThankYoupage,andgivinganametotheconversion.Forexample,youcanusesomethinglike“thankyouforsubscribing,here’syour20%discount”astheconversionname.Andbecausethetrackingpixelisalreadyrunningonyourwebsite,itcantrackwhensomeonearrivesonacompletionpage. Youcanalsoselectaconversioncategoryandenteramonetaryvalueforthecustomconversion.Forinstance,ifyoucreateonethattrackspeopletoaproductpage,youcanincludethecostoftheproduct.Thiscanhelpyoudeterminewhetheryou’reearningaprofitfromyourcampaignsorneedtomakesometweaks.Iftheproductispricedat$50,butyou’respending$60foreveryconversionthatcomesviaFacebookads,it’sprobablytimetore-evaluateyourcampaignsetup. IfyouwanttooptimizeadgroupsforCustomConversion,select“WebsiteConversion”asyourFacebookadvertisingobjective,typeinyoursite’sURL,andthenchoosetheconversionyouwanttotrackandimproveupon.Thecurrentmaximumnumberofcustomconversionsanadaccountcanhaveis100,butFacebookgivesyouthefreedomtodeletetheonesyou’renotusinganddevelopnewones. CreatingFacebooksegmentsandadsisascienceallitsown.Sofornow,let’sleaveitthere. Thetakeawayisthatwhetheryou’reusingout-of-the-boxeventsorcustomizemoreadvancedevents,theCustomAudiencesyoucreateareunderpinnedbyFacebookPixeldata.Itcantellyouwholookedatthesunglasses.Italsoknowswhodidanddidn’tgettoyourThankYoupage,andhowmuchtheyspent. FacebookPixelIsOneofManyAdvertisingTools Facebookisn’ttheonlyadvertisingtechfloatingaroundthecodeofsiteslikeNikeandEsprit.Andthat’swhyweseethesamesortofadspoppingupallovertheplace–notjustatFacebook. Here,forexample,iswhatavisittoTheNewYorkTimeslookslikeadayaftershoppingaroundonthesetwoonlinestores: HowdoesTheNewYorkTimesalsoknowthatwewereatEsprit?Well,theydon’t.ButtoolslikeCriteo,whichspecializesinretargeting,suredo.Criteoisoneofthe30orsoadvertisingtoolshookedupwithEsprit’swebsite.JustastheFacebookPixelhelpsFacebookfillitsadspacewithrelevantads,theCriteo’softheworldhelpTheNewYorkTimesfillitsadspacewithrelevantads. Thereare,however,afewthingsthatmakeFacebookuniqueinthisecosystem.Firstoff,Facebookishuge.Ithastwobillion-plusdailyactiveusers,andatleastsomeofthemaregoingtobepartofyourtargetaudience. Second,Facebook’sadplatformisn’tperfect,butforscrappyecommercestoreowners,it’sprettygreat.Designingadsisrelativelysimple,creatingtargetgroupsismanageable,andofcourse,theFacebookPixelIDisabreezetoinstall. Soevenifyouhaveambitiousretargetingplans,theFacebookPixelshouldbeoneofthefirsttoolsyouuse. TechnicalDetails Ifyouwanttogetabetterideaofthemechanicsbehindalltheadvertisingthatecommercestoresareusing,youcanusetheGhosterybrowserextension.Everytimeyouvisitanewwebsite,Ghosterywillgiveyoualistoftheadvertising,analytics,andengagementtoolslivingonthesite. YoucanpeerfurtherunderneaththehoodwithGoogleChrome’s“DeveloperTools,”whichisstandardintheChromebrowser.That’sthetoolweusedearliertolookatallofthecodefiringduringourshoppingtripsatEspritandNike. Makenomistake:Youcanrunretargetingcampaignswithoutknowingaboutthisstuff.Noproblem.Justaheadsupthattherearesometoolsavailableifyouwanttodigaround. iOS14’sEffectonFacebookPixel Duetoupdatedrulesforthird-partytrackinginiOS14.5,updatedAppledeviceswilllacksomeFacebookpixelfunctionality.Doesthatmeanwe’redoomed?No,becauseonly14.7%ofFacebookmobileusersaccessthesiteviaiOSdevices. OneimportantiOS14.5requirementisthatyouneedtokeepthenumberofcustomconversionsandstandardeventstoeight.Thisisthemaximumlimit.Plus,youcanonlyhaveonedomainforconversiontrackingsinceiOS14.5removestheabilitytotrackacrossmultipledomains. Conclusion WithFacebookadvertising,youhaveseveralopportunitiestoengageandconvertvisitorsevenafteryou’veshownthemafront-endoffer.ThekindofdatapresentedbytheFacebookPixelhelpsyouretargetyouradstopotentialcustomersinthefuture. Theanalyticstoolprovidesexcellentinsightsintoyouraudience,deliversadstoaudienceswho’veshowninterestinyourbusiness,andenhancestheoverallefficiencyofyouradcampaigns.  Seriously,doyourbusinessafavorandtapintothatpixelgoodness! FacebookPixel:FrequentlyAskedQuestions WhatdoestheFacebookPixelcollect? ItcollectsdatathatmakesitpossibletotrackconversionsfromFacebookads,includingvisitorbehaviorandcross-deviceactivity.Asaresult,you’reabletogenerateamoretargetedaudienceforfutureads,retargetvisitorswhohavetakenspecificactionsonyourwebsite,andoptimizeexistingcampaignstoimproveFacebookadsROI. HowdoIgetaFacebookPixel? HerearethesixstepsforcreatingFacebookPixel: OpenEventsManagerfromourFacebookAdsManagerdashboard.  ClickConnecttoDataSourcesandchooseWeb. SelecttheFacebookPixelandclickConnect. Addanameforyourpixel.  EnteryourwebsiteURLandclickContinue.   HowmanyFacebookPixelsdoIneed? Facebookallowsyoutocreateupto100pixelsinyouraccount.However,youdon’tneedthatmanypixelsunlessyouhavehundredsofwebsiteswithdifferentaudiences.OneFacebookPixelwithsufficientdataisenoughtoimproveadtargetingandcreatemoreeffectiveFacebookads.  WanttoLearnMore? Facebookcanbehugeforyourstore’sadvertisingandreach.HerearesomemoreFacebookgoodies. ISpent$191,480.74onFacebookAds.Here’sWhatILearned. 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