Back in February, Facebook introduced a new metric to their ad reporting dashboard, the Relevance Score.
This metric makes it easier for Facebook advertisers to understand why Facebook shows certain ads and not others.
[Tweet “What is Facebook Ads “Relevance Score”, and how can it make your ad campaign more effective?”]It enables advertisers to act on the information given and increase the effectiveness of their Facebook advertising campaigns.
What is the Relevance Score?
Facebook’s Relevance Score was designed with the following principle in mind: to show the right content to the right people.
The score is calculated based on positive and negative feedback from the target audience, both actual feedback and expected feedback. This last one is based on previous performance.
Ads receive a rating between 1 and 10, 10 being the best. To get a Relevance Score advertisers need a minimum of 500 views, also called daily impressions.
The score is dynamic and updated in real time. The more positive feedback an ad receives, the higher the score of the ad.
The more negative feedback, the lower the score. The score is a great way of determining whether your Facebook Ad targeting is relevant. The higher the score, the less you are likely to pay to reach your audience.
But how can advertisers use the score to their advantage?
How to Benefit from the Relevance Score
Target and Test Your Ads
You can use the score to see how content performs with your target audience in an A/B test. This enables you to optimise ads based on the initial results.
The Relevance Score can’t tell what it was your audience responded to, but when you try different combinations of text, image or video on different target groups, you will soon get a picture of what works and what doesn’t.
In this way, the Relevance Score can give you real insight into what makes your audience tick and how to best approach different target groups.
Examples of different ads for the same thing, and how targeting and copy can affect relevancy
Optimise Your Ads in Real Time
The score is updated in real time, allowing you to monitor and fine-tune your ad campaigns.
When you see your score starting to drop, you should take this as a sign that your ad needs attention.
You may have to change the text or add a new image. Or maybe your ad is fine, and you need to tweak the target group you presented it to.
Cut Down on Costs
The higher the score, the more people in your target audience will see the ad. An ad with a high Relevance Score is more likely to be shown than an ad with a low score, if both ads are aiming at the same audience.
This means you may end up paying less for more exposure. But be careful, bidding continues to have a great influence as well, so don’t put your bid too low, or you may still lose out to ads with higher bids.
However, you can use the Relevance Score to improve your chances of exposure without having to up your bid.
Know when it’s time for a fresh approach
Ad myopia is a common problem for marketers. An advert that may have been engaging at one time, may eventually wear a bit thin on audiences.
If your relevancy score started out good, but gradually slips, it’s probably time to consider creating a new advert for that campaign or goal.
Related: Explaining Facebook’s 20% text on ads rule
A Warning from Facebook
Facebook warns advertisers not to get too obsessed with increasing the Relevance Score of individual ads.
Sometimes an ad campaign works just fine for meeting business objectives, even when the ads have relatively low scores.
How important the Relevance Score is to a business depends on how well your Facebook ad campaigns are meeting your current objectives.
If you are achieving your aims in terms of conversion or sending customers to your online shop, for example, you don’t need to make any changes. Never lose sight of your core goal for using PPC ads in the first place!
Related: Beginners guide to Facebook
Conclusion
Relevance Score can help you to get the best out of your Facebook advertising campaigns. Use it to test and fine-tune your ads and target groups, so you will get more exposure at a lower cost.
Your Say!
Have you considered Relevancy Score when crafting your Facebook Ads? Have you noticed a positive change in your CTRs? Let us know in the comments section.