Are you running ads on Facebook or thinking of starting? Then you’ll need to unleash the power of the Facebook Pixel. In this article, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about what Facebook pixels do, how they work and how you can start using them.
What are Facebook Pixels?
A Facebook pixel is a string of code that you can embed into your webpages. They then collect data so that you can track visitor’s actions after they click on your ad.
The primary functions of Facebook Pixels are:
- Advertising Optimisation
- Retargeting to interested visitors
- Helping create more targeted audiences
If you have a website and think you might start advertising on Facebook in the future, then it’s a good idea to get a Facebook pixel on your site now. Even if you aren’t running ads, Facebook can still collect data from your site and it will be able to give you better insights when you start your first campaign.
Why should you use Facebook Pixels?
Facebook Pixels allow you to track customer data once they clicked on your ad and been directed to your site. The data can give you lots of useful information for optimising your campaigns and can even be tracked across multiple devices. In doing so, you’ll be able to find out if people viewing your site are using desktop or mobile and whether or not they move between the two when buying.
Facebook Pixels enable you to do:
- Create Lookalike Audiences
- Retarget Interested Visitors
Facebook Pixel Events
Facebook Pixels allow you to choose from up to 17 events which you can track on your webpages.
Here is Facebook’s full list with codes:
How to set up a Facebook Pixel and add it to your Website
To set up your first Facebook Pixel, open up your Facebook Ads Manager and click on the drop down menu option in the top left corner. It should look like this:
If you only see a reduced menu on the left-hand side of the screen, then go to the bottom right corner of the drop-down menu and click All tools.
Once you have the full menu, go across to the third column called Measure and Report and click on Pixels.
You should then see this page:
Click on the green button at the bottom where it says Create a Pixel and pop-up window like this will appear:
Give your pixel a name and type in the URL of the website.
Once you’ve done that, you’ll be given three options. If you’re an affiliate marketer and have your own site, then we highly recommend choosing the middle option Manually install Pixel Code Yourself.
If you chose the middle option, then you’ll be on the first step of a two step process. Step one has 4 parts:
Simply follow the instructions and copy and paste the code onto your site. If you want to stop and come back later, then go to the bottom of the pop-up page and click ‘Email Instructions’ and Facebook will send your pixel code to your email. This is a good idea if you want to keep a backup copy in case something goes wrong.
Once you’ve copied the Facebook Pixel to your site, scroll down to steps three and four:
Here you can choose several aspects from your current customers to match to future customers and enables you to get more data and increase the size of your custom audience.
Once you have chosen which pieces of provided data you wish to use, go to step 4, enter the URL of where you placed the pixel and click Send Test Traffic. This will allow you to see if you have set up your pixel correctly.
It can take a few minutes to get data back, but when it does, the red dot with ‘no activity’ should change to green and it should say Active.
Now you can click continue
This step allows you to decide how to set up events. You can either do it manually, using the codes above, or let Facebook do it for you. If you’re not into coding, then use the first option.
To start using the Event Set Up Tool, enter your URL and click Open Website.
Once you’ve done that and you have successfully set up you Facebook pixel, you’ll be taken to you Events Manager page:
To add new events, go to the menu bar above the graph and click Set Up then Set Up New Events.
Next, choose the page where you want the event you want to track will occur. For example, if you want to collect people’s emails for lead generation, then enter the URL of the page where visitors will input their email address.
Once you’ve entered the page URL, Facebook will direct you to the chosen page with a pop up box listing a few tips.
Click through them and you will come to the Facebook Event Tool.
Click on Track New Button and select the part of the page you want to track, e.g. button, form etc.
Once you’ve done that, you will be given a list of options of the things you can track.
Here is the full list of options:
- Add to Cart
- Initiate Checkout
- Lead
- Purchase
- Add Payment Info
- Add to Wishlist
- Complete Registration
- Contact
- Customize Product
- Donate
- Find Location
- Schedule
- Search
- Start Trial
- Subscribe
- View Content
You can set up multiple events on a single page, and easily add and remove events, so don’t worry if you make a mistake.
Once you have set up the events you want to track, go back to your dashboard and you should see that your events are now being tracked!
Setting up your Facebook pixels is a vital part of your funnel and, once it’s complete, you’ll be able to harvest loads of data to help you boost your conversions and start making some serious money.