The BEST Facebook Ads Campaign Structure for 2024

After considerable thought and extensive testing, I've revised my recommended Facebook ad campaign structure. In this article, I'll walk you through the new structure and explain the rationale, focusing on optimizing ad sets, campaign setup, and ad creatives.

Consolidating Ad Sets: The New Approach

Meta has long been concerned about audience fragmentation, recommending the consolidation of ad sets into just one per campaign. I ignored this advice for a long time, but with the rise of open targeting and hybrid options like Advantage Plus Audience, having separate data from different targeting options has become less crucial. Here's why:

Data Consolidation: By putting all your budget into one ad set, the ad learns faster. For example, $ 100/day split between four ad sets (i.e., $ 25 per ad set) isn't as effective as spending the full $ 100 on one ad set. Faster learning leads to better campaign results.
Reduced Overlap: Multiple ad sets targeting different options (like interests, look-alikes, and open targeting) often have significant audience overlap. Consolidating into one ad set eliminates this overlap.
Avoiding Auction Overlap: Multiple ad sets from the same advertiser competing in the same auction can lead to higher CPMs or wasted budget. A single ad set avoids this confusion and optimizes delivery.

Recommended Campaign Structure

For most advertisers, the new recommendation is to have one ad set per campaign. However, there are situations where multiple ad sets are necessary:

Direct Offer Campaigns: Typically, one cold audience campaign and one warm audience campaign, each with a single ad set, are sufficient. The cold audience can use open or hybrid targeting.
Omnipresent Content Strategy: This strategy involves showing multiple ads over time to build rapport with the audience. Such campaigns might require 8-12 ad sets. Meta might warn against this, but the structure is tailored for a specific long-term goal.
Product Range and Testing: Different product ranges and offers should have separate campaigns. Specific testing campaigns, especially for new ad creative, might also necessitate multiple ad sets.

The Optimal Number of Ads

Meta's updated recommendation is to use six or fewer ads per ad set. This caps at six regardless of budget size, with some nuances:

Low Budget: For smaller budgets (e.g., $ 10-$ 20/day), fewer ads (even just one) can be more efficient.
Dynamic Creative: You can use up to 10 creative variations along with multiple text and headline options in Dynamic Creative ad sets.
Advantage Plus Shopping: This recommendation doesn't apply here due to the varied product combinations.

Additional Best Practices

Text Variants: Use multiple text optimizations instead of creating separate ads for each text variation.
Dynamic Creative: Ideal for testing similar creative variations, such as different product images or background colors. For significantly different tests, create separate ads.

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Retargeting Strategy

Retargeting is crucial for maximized results. Check out this video for our exact retargeting strategy to understand how to implement it effectively.

Keywords

Facebook ad campaign
audience fragmentation
open targeting
hybrid options
Advantage Plus Audience
data consolidation
auction overlap
direct offer campaigns
omnipresent content strategy
Dynamic Creative
Advantage Plus shopping
multiple text optimization
retargeting strategy

FAQ

How many ad sets should I have in my Facebook ad campaign?

Typically, one ad set per campaign is recommended. However, specific strategies like omnipresent content or different product ranges might require multiple ad sets.

What is Dynamic Creative, and how does it fit into the new structure?

Dynamic Creative allows you to use up to 10 creative variations within a single ad. It's suitable for testing similar creative options like product images.

Why should I avoid audience fragmentation?

Audience fragmentation spreads your data too thin, slowing down machine learning and leading to less optimized campaign performance.

Should I always follow the six ads maximum rule per ad set?

Yes, but with nuances. For smaller budgets, fewer ads might be more effective. The six ads recommendation does not apply to Dynamic Creative or Advantage Plus Shopping campaigns.

What if my new creative doesn’t get budget allocation in my existing campaign?

Create a separate testing campaign for new ads to ensure adequate budget allocation and proper testing.