Meta Ad Placements: Mistakes You May Be Making & How to Fix Them

eVolveCommerce Academy

Not All Placements Are Created Equal

When it comes to Facebook ad placements, the biggest mistakes often fall into two categories: doing too little or overthinking and micromanaging every detail. Unfortunately, both approaches can derail your ad performance.

Meta’s Advantage+ Placements is now the default and recommended setting, giving you the option to let the algorithm distribute your ads across multiple placements for maximum efficiency. However, understanding when to trust the algorithm and when to tweak placements can save you time and money.

Let’s break down common placement mistakes and strategies you can use to optimize your ad performance.


Mistake 1: Removing Placements When Optimizing for Conversions

A lot of advertisers still habitually remove certain placements, like the sidebar or Audience Network, based on outdated perceptions. While this might have worked a decade ago, today’s ad landscape has changed significantly.

Why This Strategy No Longer Works:

  • The Algorithm is Smarter Now: Meta’s ad delivery system is designed to optimize your budget for the best possible results. If a placement isn’t driving conversions, the algorithm automatically reduces spend there.

  • Higher Costs Require Smarter Optimization: With the increasing cost of reaching your audience, manually removing placements can lead to inefficient spend. Years ago, advertisers could afford to micromanage placements and still get results. Now, doing so can limit your ad’s potential reach and increase your cost per conversion.

For example, while Audience Network has a reputation for low-quality traffic (accidental clicks and bots), this typically affects traffic campaigns, not conversion-focused ones. If you’re optimizing for purchases or leads, low-quality clicks won’t result in conversions — and the algorithm knows that. It will naturally steer your budget away from placements that don’t perform.

What to Do Instead:

Trust Advantage+ Placements for conversion campaigns. The algorithm’s goal is aligned with yours: to get as many conversions as possible within your budget. Removing placements can eliminate opportunities that might actually deliver results.


Mistake 2: Using Advantage+ Placements for Top-of-Funnel Campaigns

Now, here’s where things flip. While Advantage+ Placements are great for conversion campaigns, they can be problematic when your goal is top-of-funnel actions like link clicks or video views.

Why This Strategy Backfires:

  • The Algorithm Prioritizes Quantity Over Quality: If your goal is link clicks or landing page views, the algorithm will deliver your ads to people most likely to click — regardless of whether they’re quality prospects. This often means targeting “serial clickers,” bots, or users who click without real intent.

  • Audience Network Complications: Placements like Audience Network can flood your campaign with cheap, low-quality clicks. For instance, when optimizing for video views (ThruPlays), you might see impressive numbers — until you realize people are watching your videos in exchange for virtual currency or rewards, not genuine interest.

What to Do Instead:

When running traffic or engagement campaigns, consider removing low-quality placements like Audience Network. This helps ensure your clicks and views come from people genuinely interested in your content.


By understanding how Facebook’s ad placements work and the role of the algorithm, you can avoid common mistakes that drain your budget.

In the long run, Meta may improve the system to better filter for quality in traffic campaigns. Until then, a strategic approach to placements will help you get the most out of your ad spend.

If you are looking to amplify your online advertising sales across the most powerful paid media and digital channels, then join our platform and commmunity specifically tailored for eCommerce sellers for free today @ eVolveCommerce Academy
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