What are some common mistakes in Meta ads?

The biggest Meta ads mistake? No pixel. You'd be shocked how many people launch campaigns, spend $500, never track conversions. Pixel's Meta's eyes on your website. Without it, you're blind. Meta doesn't know if someone bought, signed up, or just scrolled. Install pixel day one, verify it fires (Google Tag Manager or directly), set up conversion events (Purchase, Lead, Add to Cart). No pixel = campaign doomed.

Second mistake: mismatch between ad promise and landing page. Ad says "Get quote in 60 seconds." Landing page has five form fields taking five minutes. Visitor lands, sees friction, bounces. You paid for click, wasted it. Match promise exactly. "60-second quote" needs one-field form. Blank checks bounce immediately.

Third: single ad set testing. Spread $25 budget across one campaign, one audience, one ad. Seven days later, 50 clicks, no pattern. Need 50 events per week minimum for Meta's algorithm to optimize. One ad set starves. Run 3-5 parallel ad sets—different audiences, different creatives. Data multiplies, learning accelerates.

Creative fatigue kills performance silently. Same ad running three weeks, CTR tanks 30-40% by week three. Audience sees it, scrolls. Repetition annoys. Solution: rotate creatives weekly. Have 10 versions prepped. Kill bottom performers, test new ones. Frequency cap 2-3 per week prevents over-exposure.

Ignoring iOS tracking limits: Apple's ATT (App Tracking Transparency) lets users opt out. 20-30% iOS users disable tracking. Your pixels don't fire for them. Spend inflates—you're paying for blind conversions. Workaround: implement server-side tracking, upload CRM data, use aggregated events. Modern Meta handles it, but setup matters.

Wrong campaign objective choice. Want clicks? Choose Traffic, not Awareness. Want conversions? Choose Conversions, not Engagement. Wrong objective, algorithm optimizes wrong metric. You'll get cheap clicks that don't convert, or expensive "conversions" that bounce. Objective drives everything—choose first, build campaign after.

No negative keywords or audience exclusions. Your ad runs to everyone including competitors' customers, people who already bought, wrong demographics. Include negative keywords (exclude "free," "cheap," "scam" if those don't match your brand). Exclude competitor audiences if available.

Landing page speed kills. Slow page, users bounce before tracking fires. Pixel shows impression but no conversion recorded. Page load >3 seconds? 50% drop-off. Test page speed (Google PageSpeed Insights, GTmetrix), optimize images, compress code. Fast page = lower bounce, better conversions, happier pixel.

Copy that's too cute or vague. "Discover the secret to success" means nothing. "Learn three website speed tricks boosting sales 25%" concrete. People scroll fast. Hook in 1.5 seconds with specific benefit. "Tired of waiting months for web builds?" beats "Transform your online presence."

Weak call-to-action. "Learn more" soft. "Get free quote now" strong. "Shop now," "Download free guide," "Schedule call" specific. Vague CTAs kill intent.

Ignoring audience quality. Broad targeting (zero filters) reaches millions but quality's soup. Run 7 days, analyze breakdowns—which age, gender, interest group converts? Layer that. Start broad, refine after data arrives. Most beginners keep too-broad audiences too long.

Budget spreading thin. $25 daily across 5 campaigns = $5 each. Each starves. Concentrate: $25 on one hot campaign 7 days. Gather data, expand. Then test new angles.

Not tracking ROAS (return on ad spend). Spending $100 without knowing if you made $300 back is gambling. Track every campaign: dollars in versus dollars out. Aim 3x minimum ($100 spend = $300 revenue). Below 2x? Kill or fix.

Setting bid strategy wrong. Manual CPC too low? Ads barely show. Too high? Overpay per click. Start auto bidding, let Meta find equilibrium. Or set max CPC 50% below average for your niche. Finance paying $3 CPC average? Set max $1.50, test.

Ignoring A/B testing. Run one ad variation, can't improve. Test headlines (5 versions), images (5 versions), copy (3 versions). 2-3 day minimum per test, let Meta gather data. Winners scale, losers kill. Continuous testing separates pros from tire-kickers.

Not using retargeting. Cold traffic hard, expensive, unqualified. Website visitors already interested. Retarget them for $0.20-0.50 CPC versus $1.20 cold. Remarketing audiences are goldmines—neglecting them wastes half the opportunity.

Cramming text into images. Meta's algorithm penalizes >20% text coverage. Images stuffed with words get lower priority, higher CPM. Keep text minimal, message clear. "50% off" < "THIS SUMMER SAVE 50% ON EVERYTHING" (text-heavy, penalized).

Uploading low-res creative. Pixelated images, grainy video, bad audio. Meta's algorithm favors quality. Quality score tanks, costs rise. Invest in creation: decent camera, lighting, editing. High production value wins auction.

No patience for learning phase. Run campaign 2 days, panic because no conversions, kill it. Meta needs 4-7 days minimum per campaign gathering 50 events. Early data's noise. Let it run.

Seasonal blindness. December shopping surge, you haven't prepped inventory. January resolution crush, you're unprepared. Plan campaigns 4 weeks ahead of seasonal peaks. November ads need September prep.

Competitor spy failure. Facebook Ad Library (free) shows competitors' active ads. Don't copy, but learn what messages resonate. Your competitors' winners inform your testing. Ignore them, reinvent wheels.

2026 specific: ignoring AI-powered Advantage+ campaigns. Manual campaigns need constant tweaking. Auto campaigns let AI optimize. Test one manual, one auto with same budget, auto usually wins 15-20%.

Real example: musician friend spent $500 on music promo, zero conversions. Diagnosis: landing page was Spotify link (bounces immediately). Fixed: custom landing page with bio, player, playlist links. Reran same $500, 200 streams, 50 playlist adds, 15 sales. Same budget, different approach, massive difference.

Verdict: biggest mistakes are lazy—no pixel, no testing, no tracking, no optimization. Fix these five: pixel everything, match ad to landing, test parallel versions, track ROAS, iterate ruthlessly. That's 80% of winners versus losers. Everything else refinement.