Relying solely on conversion reports from social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, also known as Meta ads, may not provide you with the most accurate data. In this article, we will explore why these reports can be untrustworthy and how Meta uses view-through sales attribution to inflate results. Here are the top 3 reasons you should be alert:
1. Last-touch default attribution
Meta ads conversion reports are often considered unreliable because they use, by default, a model that assigns conversions to the last ad the user clicked before converting. However, this model assumes that the last ad the user interacted with is the sole reason for the conversion. In reality, there may have been several touchpoints along the customer journey that contributed to the conversion.
2. Cookie-based tracking
Even though Meta ads uses machine learning to adjust their data, its conversion reports are based on cookies, which can be unreliable due to ad-blocking software or users clearing their cookies regularly. Additionally, third-party cookies are being phased out, making this tracking method less reliable in the future.
3. View-Through Sales Attribution
Meta uses view-through sales attribution, which is a method that attributes a sale to an ad impression even if the user did not click on the ad. This method assumes that the user saw the ad and was influenced by it, even if they did not interact with it directly. While this may seem like a useful way to measure the impact of your ads, it can be problematic.
The problem with view-through sales attribution is that it overestimates the impact of your ads. It assumes that every impression leads to a sale, which is not true in reality. Additionally, it does not account for other touchpoints along the customer journey that may have contributed to the sale.
A Better Solution: Geo-located AB Testing
One way to implement multi-touch attribution is through geo-located AB testing. Geo-located AB testing involves dividing your target audience into different groups based on their location and testing different versions of your ad on each group. By doing so, you can track the incremental lift in sales that each version of the ad generated.
Geo-located AB testing provides a more accurate picture of the effectiveness of your ads because it accounts for the impact of different touchpoints along the customer journey. It allows you to test different versions of your ad on different groups, giving you a more accurate understanding of which touchpoints are most effective in driving conversions.
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