If you work in advertising or digital marketing, you’re probably more than familiar with Facebook Ads: the paid advertising platform that you can place on this social network. Therefore, you’ve probably come across a new term more than once, the Facebook Pixel, even if you’re not sure what it is.
At the time of its appearance, those who had already been working in digital marketing for some time had to face a new challenge and understand how it works, since Facebook Pixel promised to be a tool designed to help get the most out of the budget dedicated to advertising campaigns on social networks.
To prevent you from having to go through this process as well, in this article we review what Facebook Pixel is and how it is used.
What is Facebook Pixel?
Facebook Pixel, also known as Meta Pixel, is a JavaScript code that provides you with information about lead conversions into real customers. In short, it is a tool that exhaustively tracks different situations, called events, such as how many visitors your website has had, the number of people who have purchased a product or requested a service, the number of registrations, or how many people added a product to the shopping cart or basket.
Thanks to this type of information, marketers can measure the results of ads and check how effective they are. They will also have fundamental information to segment audiences and design personalized campaigns. Likewise, they will be able to measure and analyze the conversion funnels of the website.
More specifically, Facebook Pixel collects this data:
- The HTTP headers: such as the IP address and the person using the website, the type of browser, where the website is located, the specific document, and its reference.
- The specific information from Pixel: the tool also provides its own information, such as its identifier, on the one hand, and Facebook cookies, on the other.
- The click data: on all the buttons on the website, which pages have been visited, and which labels have been clicked with the mouse.
- The additional information: the owner of the ad or the developer has the option of sending optional custom values.
- The names of the form fields: such as the first name, email address, quantity purchased, etc.
Why should You Configure Facebook Pixel Today?
This tool provided by Meta can become a valuable ally in creating and publishing ads on Facebook – which you can manage from platforms like Business Suite – but it is also very practical for tracking them more effectively. But this is not the only reason why you should start using it from now on.
All the data and information provided by Pixel will help you to make Facebook ads reach the right users, that is, those who are more likely to perform the action that interests you, such as visiting a blog, buying a product, requesting a service, or leaving their data for future communications.
In this way, you can control and optimize the conversion rate of Facebook Ads and improve your ROI (Return on Investment).
Therefore, we can summarize the benefits of using Facebook Pixel as follows:
- It can meticulously track conversions.
- It directs promotions to users who have already shown interest in your website.
- It segments the audience according to tastes, interests, or demographics.
- It allows you to improve Facebook ads.
- Advertising is shown to those who are more likely to buy or request your services.
How Does Facebook Pixel Work?
Now that you know the reasons why you should install Facebook Pixel, we show you how you can create one and install it. You don’t have to worry, in each step of the process you will receive very simple instructions so you will not have any problem.
1. Create a Pixel
The first step to start using Facebook Pixel is to create it. It is very easy, you only have to go to the Facebook page “”Ad Creation, then select “Ads Manager” or “Power Editor” and, finally, within the “Assets” category you will find “Pixels”.
By clicking on the “Pixel” button, a window will appear specifying the steps to follow for its creation. This is when you must name your pixel and enter the URL address of your online site. When you have completed both fields, you just have to press “Create” and you’re done! The Pixel has been created and only needs to be configured and installed.
Keep in mind that it is only possible to create one Pixel code per advertising account, so we always recommend assigning a name that represents or is related to your company or brand. It is better to avoid nomenclatures that are only associated with a specific advertising campaign.
2. Install the Created Pixel
The next step is to install the Facebook Pixel code on your website, so that it can start collecting information. To do this, you will have to install a few lines of code, which you can do in different ways, depending on the type of platform your website is on.
- If your website is hosted on an e-commerce platform, such as Shopify, SquareSpace or PrestaShop, or you use a tag manager such as Google Tag Manager, Segment or Stackpile, the Pixel installation does not require you to personally edit your website’s code. Just follow the instructions of the third-party tools.
- Otherwise, you will have to count on the help of a developer or edit the code yourself. In the event that you leave it in the hands of an expert, by simply selecting the option “Send instructions by email to a developer”, you will send them everything they need to get to work.
- If you are going to do it yourself, read the following steps carefully:
- Click with the mouse on the option “Manually install code”.
- Copy the base code and paste it after the “<head>” tag in the header of each of the pages of your website.
- Select (or not) “Activate automatic advanced matching”. This option combines the encrypted information about users from your website to the profiles of the social network.
- Check that the installation has been successful by clicking on “Send Test Traffic”.
- If the code is tracking well, press “Continue”.
3. Configure the Pixel
Now that the Facebook pixel is installed, it’s time to select which event to track. You have to choose between the 17 standard events at your disposal and, for each of them, you will have to choose between two alternatives:
- Register an event when loading the page: option by which all activity related to going to a new page is followed.
- Register an event when performing an action: alternative that tracks actions within the same page.
The standard events of the Facebook Pixel that you can follow are purchases, lead generation, complete registrations, adding payment information, putting things in the cart, adding products to the wish list, starting the payment, reviewing the content, times they contact you, if they choose a personalized product, donations, search for the physical location, request an appointment, take a test, make a request or subscribe. In short, and as with other advertising platforms such as TikTok ads, Twitter ads or Pinterest ads, it allows you to have more control and data about its performance.
In this same step, you can also mark specific parameters on certain events by going to the Facebook Events Manager and selecting “Custom Conversions” and then “Create custom conversion”. Follow the instructions and you can define the custom event to be followed by Facebook Pixel.
4. Check the Operation and Notify of its Installation
To finish with the installation of the Facebook Pixel, although you have already done a traffic test previously, it is advisable to do it again to confirm that both the installation and the configuration have been done correctly.
You can do this check with the Facebook Pixel Assistant, an extension for the Google Chrome browser. After adding this extension, visit the website where you have installed the Pixel:
- If the icon turns blue, another window will open indicating the number of pixels found and if they are working properly.
- If it is not working properly, the extension will show you that there is an error and will provide you with data so that you can correct it.
If everything has gone well, your Pixel will be installed and working. To finish, you only have to notify on your website of its use to comply with the conditions and terms of Facebook and Data Protection. In this notice, you must also include the way users have to refuse to have their data collected.
As we have seen, using a Pixel code brings great advantages and helps to collect valuable information and data that will help you create your first ads on Facebook.
At 2btube and as a marketing agency on Facebook, we help you create a solid content and advertising strategy on the platform to achieve your conversion goals and grow your audience.
Contact us and we will offer you advice without obligation!