Facebook ads have become an essential part of digital marketing strategies for businesses of all sizes. With over 2.9 billion monthly active users, Facebook provides access to a massive audience. But with so many businesses advertising on Facebook, standing out can be a challenge.
One factor that impacts how well your Facebook ads perform is their quality ranking. But what exactly does quality ranking measure and how important is it? Let’s take a closer look.
What is Facebook ad quality ranking?
Facebook assigns each ad a quality ranking on a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest. This ranking is based on several factors, including:
- Relevance – How closely the ad matches the interests of the audience it’s shown to.
- Creative quality – The quality of the imagery, copy, and overall design.
- Landing page experience – The quality of the page people land on after clicking the ad.
Ads with higher quality scores are shown more prominently in the Facebook news feed and have lower costs per click and conversion. Poor quality ads may be shown less or restricted entirely.
Why does quality ranking matter?
Your ad’s quality ranking matters for a few key reasons:
Lower costs
High-ranking ads have lower bid prices and costs per result. With a quality ranking of 7 or above, you can get preferred pricing and pay less per click or conversion. Lower costs mean you can get more for your advertising dollars.
Increased reach
Quality ads are shown to more people as Facebook’s algorithms favor them. High-quality scores lead to more impressions and reach for your ads. Poorly performing ads may not get any impressions at all.
Better conversion rates
Since quality ads are more relevant and compelling, they convert better. Facebook data shows the higher an ad’s quality rating, the higher its conversion rate. Improving quality can lift conversion rates by up to 30%.
Faster optimization
Quality ranking offers insights to quickly optimize campaigns. Knowing your quality scores makes it easy to identify issues and focus your improvement efforts for faster results.
How is quality ranking calculated?
Facebook uses machine learning algorithms to assess millions of ads and assign quality rankings. Some key inputs in the ranking include:
Ad relevance
How closely the ad matches the interests of the audience based on the ad’s creative, copy, landing page, and targeted demographic. More relevant ads rank higher.
Creative quality
Factors like visual appeal, copy clarity, layout, and formatting impact creative quality scores.
Landing page experience
The ease of navigation, relevance, load speed, and design of the landing page all contribute to ranking.
Ad history
Past performance data on an ad’s ability to generate clicks, conversions, and engagement at low costs.
Account history
The historical quality of ads from the overall Facebook ad account.
How to improve your quality ranking
Here are 5 proven tactics to improve the quality ranking of your Facebook ads:
1. Create more relevant ads
Ensure your ads closely match the interests of your target audience. Use detailed targeting options and tailored ad copy.
2. Design high-quality creatives
Use eye-catching images, clear messaging, an strong calls-to-action in your ads. Adhere to Facebook’s design policies.
3. Improve your landing pages
Landing pages should load quickly, match ad messaging, and make your desired conversion easy.
4. Continuously test and optimize
Try different ad variations and creative to find what resonates best. Refine based on performance data.
5. Monitor quality over time
Check quality ranking frequently and quickly address any downward trends.
What is a good Facebook ad quality ranking?
According to Facebook, a quality ranking between 7 and 10 is considered good or “above average”. Specifically:
- 10 – Excellent
- 9 – Very Good
- 8 – Good
- 7 – Average
Aim for an average quality score of at least 8 across your ads. Individual ads scoring below 7 should be reviewed and optimized to improve quality.
Should you pause low-quality ads?
If an ad has a persistently low-quality score, pausing it from running may be smart. Poorly performing ads waste budget and depress your overall ad account quality. However, you don’t necessarily need to pause every low-quality ad.
If an ad is new or hasn’t received many impressions yet, give Facebook’s algorithms more time to gauge quality. Refine and test low-quality ads to improve them before pausing. But ads that consistently underperform are better off paused.
Conclusion
Quality ranking has a significant influence on Facebook ad performance in terms of cost, reach, conversions, and optimization pace. Invest time upfront in creating high-quality, relevant ads. Continuously monitor and refine quality to tap into Facebook’s full advertising potential.
While quality ranking isn’t the only factor that matters, maintaining higher scores can give your ads a competitive advantage. Using Facebook’s free quality diagnostics tools provides the insights needed to build effective ads that deliver results.