Short explanations of the terms used on this page.
- Pixel
- Meta Pixel — a browser tracker installed on the site. Sends events (Purchase, AddToCart) browser → Meta. Since iOS 14.5+, Safari ITP and ad blockers, it loses a share of browser events.
- CAPI
- Conversions API (formerly Server-side API) — a server-side event sent from your backend directly to Meta. Doesn't depend on the browser; bypasses blockers.
- EMQ
- Event Match Quality (0–10) — Meta's score for how well event matching parameters (email, phone, IP, user_agent) are passed. Target: minimum 7/10.
- DPA
- Dynamic Product Ads — a Meta format where the ad is automatically built from a product the user viewed. Works for retargeting + needs Commerce Manager + a clean feed.
- Lookalike
- LAL, Lookalike Audiences — Meta finds people behaviorally similar to your customers. Lookalike quality depends on the size and consistency of the source audience.
- Hook Rate
- Percentage of video viewers who watch the first 3 seconds. Critical metric for Reels/Stories — low Hook Rate → Meta shows the creative less.
- Thumb-stop ratio
- Percentage of people who stopped scrolling on your video. Higher number = Meta algorithm increases reach.
- Advantage+
- An AI-optimized Meta campaign type (the analog of PMax in Google). The algorithm picks audience and creative from your variants.
- Catch-all ad set
- A broad audience absorbing most of the budget at below-average ROAS — a typical issue in Advantage+ Shopping.
- ROAS
- Return on Ad Spend. ROAS 5× means "every $1 of ads returns $5 of revenue". The core profitability metric.
- CPA
- Cost per Acquisition — the cost of a single order. CPA $10 means "each order cost $10 of ad budget".
- ACoS
- Advertising Cost of Sale — share of revenue spent on ads. ACoS 10% means: "of every $100 in revenue, $10 went to ads". Inverse of ROAS as a percentage.