Facebook Ad Auctions are held every day to determine which ads people will see on Facebook. Do you understand how the Facebook ad auction works?
Advertisers determine their target audience by adjusting age, gender, location, interests and behaviors, custom audiences, etc. However, there is no guarantee that anyone in that audience will see their ad. Advertisers must win auctions to display their ads. Let’s explore this topic right now.
What is Facebook Ad Auction?
Facebook Ad Auction is a process that determines which ads are shown to users on Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger. It is a bidding system that allows advertisers to compete for ad space by placing bids on their ads. The auction is designed to ensure that the ads shown to users are relevant and engaging.
The Goal of the Auction
You cannot consider Facebook ad auctions as a typical auction where a fast-talking auctioneer sells items to the highest bidder. That’s not really how it works. The goal of the auction is not necessarily to award the highest bid for an ad placement.
Placement is where your ad is displayed. Examples include Facebook’s mobile feed, Messenger, Instagram feed, Audience Network, right column, etc.
The hope is to achieve two basic things:
- Show users an ad they might be interested in and engage with
- Provide results for businesses paying for ads
If only the highest bid is important, users are less likely to see ads they care about — and advertisers are less likely to receive the actions they paid for. When done correctly, both users and advertisers benefit.
Factors That Influence the Outcome of the Facebook Ad Auction
In a Facebook ad auction, the winning ad is the one with the highest total value, which is determined by three factors: bid price, ad relevance, and estimated action rates.
Bid price
Okay, this still matters. The bid is how much the advertiser is willing to pay to get their desired action. This is sometimes set manually, but usually automatically.
Estimated Action Rates
The estimated action rate is an estimate of the probability that a specific person will interact with or convert from your ad. This can be based on what users tend to interact with and the rate at which people interact with your ad.
Ad Quality
This has less to do with the level of engagement and more to do with signals related to quality. This is derived from feedback of users who have seen it so far and automated assessments of the ad that include checks for violations like engagement bait.
How Does Facebook Ad Auction Work?
Every time there is a chance to show your ad to someone in your audience across Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger, it enters an ad auction to determine who should see it. The goal of the auction is to pair your ad with people in your audience who are most likely to be interested in it. This helps you get the most results possible for your budget while providing a positive, relevant experience for your customers.
Ads that perform their best in the auction combine five components: the right objective, targeting, a sufficient budget, enough duration, and compelling ad creative. The ad objective should support your business goal, and the targeting should be based on your audience’s traits. You can give your ad a competitive edge by setting a sufficient budget to be used over the course of at least 7 days. Doing so allows the system to learn how to better allocate your budget so it can be shown to people who are more likely to take action. The duration of your ad should be long enough to allow the system to learn and optimize your ad’s performance. Finally, your ad creative should be compelling and relevant to your audience.
How Do You Win the Auction?
Can you win an auction based primarily on having the highest bid? Well, technically. In that case, your ad may not get shown based on estimated action rates and ad quality alone. As a result, you can expect to spend more to get your ad shown. Will that be worth it?
The goal, of course, is to win these auctions in a balanced way. You want to spend the least while reaching the right people who are most likely to perform your desired action.
What’s the best way to do this? Effective creative that grabs attention and inspires engagement while playing within the rules. Ultimately, it’s a quality ad that will give you the biggest advantage with winning auctions while keeping your costs down.
Facebook Ad Auction is a powerful tool that allows advertisers to compete for ad space on Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger. By understanding how the auction works and what factors influence the outcome, you can optimize your ads for maximum results. Remember to focus on the right objective, targeting, budget, duration, and ad creative to create ads that perform well in the auction.
I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions.