Run this on your Meta ad account in under 12 minutes. Each check has
clear pass/fail criteria and the specific fix if you fail it. No fluff,
no upsell — just the audit I run on every new client account before
I touch a single ad.
Open Ads Manager. For every active campaign, the objective should match what you are actually trying to do. Service businesses should be on Leads or Conversions — not Engagement, Reach, or Traffic. Engagement objectives are the #1 cause of "lots of clicks, no customers." If anything is on the wrong objective, that single fix often drops CPL by 30–50%.
Pass
All active campaigns use Leads, Sales, or Conversions objective.
Fail
Any active campaign uses Engagement, Reach, or Traffic for actual lead-gen.
02
Account hygiene
Is your pixel + conversion tracking firing?
Install Meta Pixel Helper Chrome extension. Visit your site and check that the Pixel + Lead/Purchase event fires correctly. If conversions are not tracked, Meta is optimising blind — every dollar after the first 50 conversions is wasted.
Pass
Pixel fires on every page; Lead/Purchase event fires on the right action.
Fail
No pixel, broken pixel, or conversion event fires on the wrong action.
03
Audience
Are your audiences too narrow?
Open any ad set. Look at "Audience size." If it is below 500K for cold campaigns, you are starving the algorithm. Meta needs room to find buyers. Stack interests instead of layering them, and consider broad audiences (just country + age + gender) — they often outperform interest targeting in 2026.
Pass
Cold ad sets reach 500K+ people; broad/Advantage+ tested against interest targeting.
Fail
Most ad sets are under 500K; no broad audience tested in the last 60 days.
04
Audience
Are you running retargeting separately?
Cold and warm audiences should be in different campaigns. Mixing them is the most common attribution mess. Build a retargeting campaign that targets video-viewers (75%+), website visitors (30 days), and engaged Instagram/Facebook followers. Retargeting CPL is usually 50–70% lower than cold — but only if the algorithm can see the difference.
Pass
Separate retargeting campaign exists, with audience size tracked separately.
Fail
All audiences mixed in one campaign, or no retargeting at all.
05
Creative
How old is your top-performing creative?
Pull your account-level Frequency metric. If the winning creative is over 14 days old AND frequency is over 3, you are in ad fatigue territory. Refresh schedule: 2 new creatives every 14 days, even when things are working. The winners tire fastest because they show most.
Pass
New creatives shipped within last 14 days; frequency under 3 on top ad sets.
Fail
Same creatives running 30+ days; frequency above 4 anywhere.
06
Creative
Do you have variety in formats?
Static, carousel, reel, and UGC video should all be tested in any active campaign. The algorithm picks winners — but only from what you give it. If your account is 100% static images, you are leaving 30–40% performance on the table. UGC reels are usually the highest performers in 2026.
Pass
At least 3 formats tested; UGC video included in the rotation.
Fail
Single format only (usually static); no video creative in 90 days.
07
Copy
Does your ad copy hook in the first 125 characters?
Read the first sentence of every active ad. If it sounds like a press release ("We are pleased to announce...") or a generic question ("Looking for the best X?"), it is dead on arrival. Hooks should be specific, surprising, or conversational. The hook decides whether anyone reads the rest.
Pass
Every ad opens with a specific, conversational hook in the first 125 chars.
Fail
Generic openers, sales-y intros, or features dumped at the top.
08
Funnel
Does your landing page match the ad?
Click your own ad. Does the landing page have the same headline, the same offer, the same imagery? If the ad says "AC servicing for ৳1,200" and the landing page is your generic homepage, you have a 50% conversion penalty before anyone scrolls. Build dedicated landing pages per campaign.
Pass
Each campaign has a dedicated landing page mirroring the ad copy.
Fail
Ads point to homepage or a generic services page.
09
Funnel
How fast does your landing page load on mobile?
Run pagespeed.web.dev on your landing page using Mobile + 4G simulation. LCP target: under 2.5s. If you are at 4s+, you are losing roughly a third of every paid click before they see your offer. Compress hero images to under 200KB WebP, lazy-load below-fold, and remove unused tracking scripts.
Pass
LCP under 2.5s on mobile; bounce rate under 50%.
Fail
LCP over 3.5s or bounce rate above 65%.
10
Reporting
Are you measuring CPL or vanity metrics?
Pull your ads dashboard. If the columns you check first are CPM, CTR, or "engagement rate," you are optimising for the wrong things. The only metrics that pay your bills are CPL (or CPA), Conversion Rate on the landing page, and ROAS for e-commerce. Reorder your columns so the right number is the first thing you see every morning.
Pass
Custom report layout shows CPL/CPA/ROAS as the primary metric.
Fail
Default report layout; engagement and CTR checked before conversions.