Using multiple Facebook pixels is a strategy that some companies implement to track different events or audiences on their website. There are pros and cons to using multiple pixels that companies should consider before deciding if this is the right approach for them.
What is a Facebook pixel?
A Facebook pixel is a small piece of code that you place on your website to track visits and interactions. It allows you to connect your website activity to your Facebook analytics and ad accounts. With a Facebook pixel, you can:
- Track website conversions from your Facebook ads
- Build targeted audiences for future ads
- Remarket to people who have already visited your site
- Analyze website traffic and activity
When someone lands on a page with a Facebook pixel installed, data about their visit gets sent back to Facebook. This allows Facebook to track conversions, build custom audiences, and deliver ads to those who have already shown interest by visiting your site.
Why would you use multiple Facebook pixels?
There are a few reasons a company may want to use more than one Facebook pixel on their website:
- To track different types of conversions or events
- To attribute conversions to multiple ad accounts
- To track traffic and activity across multiple domains or subdomains
- To track visitors across different website funnels
Track different conversions or events
One of the main reasons for using multiple pixels is to track different types of conversions and events. For example:
- A lead generation pixel to track when someone submits a contact form
- An ecommerce pixel to track when someone makes a purchase
- An engagement pixel to track social actions like sharing content or clicking links
With separate pixels, you can trigger customized audiences and ads for each conversion type. So people who sign up for your newsletter can be sent targeted messaging, while people who purchase can be sent promotions or re-engagement ads.
Attribute conversions to multiple ad accounts
If you run paid advertising campaigns across multiple Facebook ad accounts, you may want to use multiple pixels to properly attribute conversions.
For example, you could have one ad account focused on lead generation and another focused on sales. By placing a unique pixel on pages relevant to each objective, you can get accurate conversion data for each ad account.
Track traffic across domains or subdomains
Using multiple pixels allows you to track visitor activity across different websites, domains, or subdomains. This gives you a more complete view of how people interact with your brand online.
For example, you may use one pixel for your main website and another for your blog or ecommerce store subdomain. Or if you have international sites with different domains, a pixel on each domain would give you data for every region.
Track visitors across website funnels
Using multiple pixels enables you to analyze how visitors navigate through your sales or sign-up funnels. You can place separate pixels at the top, middle, and bottom of your funnel to see how many users continue to progress towards a conversion goal versus dropping off.
This information can help you identify weak points in your funnel that you can optimize to improve overall conversion rates.
What are the challenges with using multiple pixels?
While using multiple Facebook pixels can provide more granular data, there are some potential downsides and implementation challenges to be aware of.
Difficult to implement across websites
Installing and managing multiple pixels requires getting the tracking code on many pages across one or more websites. This can be time-consuming for your webmaster or developer.
Data can be fragmented across pixels
Looking at conversion and traffic data that is spread across many different pixels makes it harder to understand your website analytics at a high level. You may miss out on the bigger picture of all activity taking place.
Redundant audiences and ads
With multiple pixels, the same user will be picked up by several pixels as they browse your site. This can result in duplicated efforts where you create overlapping audiences and serve them repetitive ads.
Difficult to measure true ROI
When you attribute conversions across multiple pixels, it becomes tricky to determine the true ROI for your marketing efforts. You can’t get a completely accurate picture of how much revenue each campaign or tactic drove.
Facebook pixel limits
Facebook only allows one standard conversion pixel per ad account. So if you want to use multiple pixels, you need to create new ad accounts for each additional pixel. This can make optimization and reporting more complex.
Best practices for using multiple Facebook pixels
If you decide the benefits outweigh the challenges, here are some tips for successfully implementing multiple pixels:
- Document your pixel strategy – Be clear on why you need multiple pixels and what events each will track.
- Limit the number of pixels – Use the minimum required to achieve your goals.
- Implement pixels consistently – Place all pixels on the same key pages.
- Name pixels clearly – Such as LeadPixel, EcomPixel, etc.
- Assign pixels to relevant ad accounts – Be sure to connect data to the right campaigns.
- Use pixel management tools – Platforms like Google Tag Manager can help deploy and manage multiple pixels.
- Consolidate data and reporting – Regularly analyze data across pixels to understand performance holistically.
- Watch for redundant audiences – Actively remove overlapping audiences being created.
Conclusion
Using multiple Facebook pixels provides the benefit of more granular conversion and traffic data but comes with added implementation and analysis complexity.
The key considerations are whether you truly require multiple pixels to achieve your marketing goals, and whether you have the resources to deploy and manage them effectively.
As best practice, use the minimum number of pixels needed and be diligent about consolidating data to maintain a unified view of your website analytics and advertising performance. With a thoughtful approach, multiple pixels can provide valuable insights without significantly increasing management overhead.