How to Set Up Meta (Facebook) Tracking Pixel

We discuss its purpose of Meta’s tracking pixel, how it works, and the potential limitations in its accuracy.

💡 Important note: Facebook is now known as Meta. This rebranding was part of the company’s shift in focus towards developing the metaverse. While the company’s name changed, the popular social media platform, Facebook, remains the same. You’ll see it referred to as both Meta and Facebook throughout this article.

If you’re using Meta ads to reach your target audience, then you know that tracking your ads is essential. 

Without knowing how your ads are performing, you can’t make informed decisions about how to improve them. That’s why measuring your Meta ads is a non-negotiable step if you want to grow your business.

If you’re not sure how to set up the Meta Tracking Pixel, or if you have any questions about it, this guide will help. We’ll explain what it is, how it works, and how to get started using it.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

• What is the Meta tracking pixel
• How to set up the Meta tracking pixel
• Enhance Meta’s pixel with CAPI
• Caveats of Meta’s tracking pixel

💡 Pro Tip

Meta really felt the impact of Apple’s ATT update, making it tough for marketers to track leads and sales on Facebook and Instagram. But with a tool like Ruler, you can sidestep those iOS challenges and get a clear picture of your ROI and ROAS.

First, Ruler’s attribution tracks every touchpoint in a customer’s journey, giving you one reliable source for your campaign data. Meanwhile, its MMM approach uses smart stats and machine learning to measure how all your channels—including hard-to-measure-channels like Meta and TikTok—are driving revenue.

Book a demo to learn more

What is the Facebook (Meta) tracking pixel?

The Facebook Pixel (now known as the Meta Pixel) is essentially a little piece of code that you add to your website to track user behaviour.

It allows you to monitor key actions people take on your site, such as viewing pages, adding items to their cart, or making purchases. But it doesn’t just stop there—this tracking opens up powerful opportunities for more effective advertising.

When someone visits your site, the Pixel places cookies in their browser. This lets Meta track their activity and show them relevant ads on their platform later.

Here’s a few things you can do with Meta’s pixel: 

• Create custom audiences. The Pixel allows you to build highly targeted audience segments based on user behaviour on your website. These Custom Audiences can be used to reach people who are most likely to take a desired action, such as making a purchase or signing up for a newsletter.

• Retarget previous visitors. Retargeting involves showing ads to users who have previously visited your website but didn’t take the desired action. By using the Pixel, you can effectively re-engage these users and encourage them to complete their purchase or sign up for your newsletter.

• Measure ad performance. If you’re not measuring, you’re guessing. With the pixel, you can track key metrics such as click-through rates, conversions, and ROI to help optimise campaigns and allocate your budget more efficiently.

How to setup the Meta tracking pixel

Now that you know what you can track with the Meta tracking pixel and why it’s important, let’s dive into the steps to set it up. 

If you have access to your website’s code, you can easily add the Meta pixel yourself—it’s just a matter of embedding some code into your site. But before we get into those steps, let’s quickly go over the standard events you’ll be able to track.

Meta’s tracking pixel allows you to monitor key interactions like:

• Add payment info
• Add to cart
• Add to wishlist
• Add to basket
• Complete registration
• Initiate checkout
• Lead
• Purchase
• Find more here

These standard events give you insight into how users are interacting with your site. 

Plus, you can get even more specific by using extra bits of code, called parameters, to add more details to the events. 

For example, when a visitor from Meta completes a purchase, you can track details like the currency used, the total value of the purchase, the product name, product ID, and the number of items they bought. 

One important thing to keep in mind is the impact of iOS 14.5. 

Due to Apple’s opt-out option for tracking, advertisers can only set up a maximum of eight standard events or custom conversions for users on iOS devices via the tracking pixel. 

We’ll dive deeper into the Meta pixel and iOS 14.5 changes later. For now, let’s focus on the steps to get your pixel up and running.

Step 1: Create a Meta pixel

1. Navigate to Events Manager in your Meta account.
2. In the left-side menu, click Connect data sources.
3. Choose Web and click Connect.
4. Give your Pixel a descriptive name and click Create pixel.
5. Enter your website URL to check for setup options, then click Check.

Step 2: Install the pixel on your website

After creating your Pixel, you’ll need to install it on your site through the Meta Events Manager.

1. Select your Pixel and click Continue Pixel Set Up.

2. You can now choose one of two options:

• Manual Installation (requires adding the code yourself)
• Partner Integration (uses a platform like WordPress or SquareSpace)

Option 1: Manually add the Meta Pixel code to your website

1. Choose Install Code Manually.
2. Copy the Pixel’s base code.
3. Locate the header section of your website, or find the header template in your CMS.
4. Paste the Pixel base code right before the closing </head> tag in the header.
5. Click Continue.
6. You’ll have the option to enable Automatic Advanced Matching to verify and send customer data.
7. Click Continue.
8. Set up events either through the Events Setup Tool or by manually adding the relevant event code to your site.
9. Review your Pixel setup in the Pixel Overview section. If everything is working, click Done.

Option 2: Use partner integration

1. Click Check for Partner.
2. Select your website platform (e.g., WordPress, SquareSpace).
3. Follow Meta’s step-by-step instructions to connect the Pixel to your site without needing to code.

Step 3: Verify your Meta pixel

1. Install the Meta Pixel Helper extension on Google Chrome.
2. Visit the page where the Pixel was installed.
3. The extension will display a popup showing how many Pixels were found and if they’re functioning correctly.
4. If any errors are detected, the extension will provide details to help you resolve them.

Step 4: Ensure compliance

You must inform your website visitors that you’re using a Meta Pixel to collect their data. This notice should explain:

• That data may be collected via cookies or other tracking methods.
• How users can opt-out of data collection.

Meta’s Conversion API: A solution to iOS14.5 data loss

You’ve probably heard about iOS 14.5 and its updates that made it more difficult for websites to track user data through cookies.

This was a big deal for advertisers, especially those relying on Meta’s tracking pixel to track conversions. 

To adapt to these changes, Meta introduced the Conversions API as a way to keep the party going, even without cookies.

Unlike the tracking pixel, the Conversions API collects information directly from your servers. 

This server-to-server approach allows you to send customer data to Meta without relying on browser-based tracking mechanisms. By sending HTTP requests to Meta’s API endpoint, you can provide detailed information about user behaviour on your website.

Meta’s CAPI aims to:

• eliminate reliance on browser-based tracking, reducing the likelihood of data loss due to cookie blocking or other privacy-related factors.
• minimise the collection and transmission of personally identifiable information.
• allow for the creation of an unlimited number of events, providing businesses with greater flexibility.

If you’re looking to prioritise data accuracy and overcome the limitations imposed by browser-based tracking—which it should be— implementing the Conversions API is strongly recommended. 

For a more in-depth guide on implementing the Conversions API, check out our guide on Facebook conversion tracking. 

Caveats of Meta’s tracking pixel

When it comes to tracking conversions, Meta’s pixel is a handy jumping off point. It helps you connect the dots between your ads and the actions people take on your website. But, it has its limitations.

1. Limited attribution options

• The pixel primarily focuses on clicks. If someone sees your ad but doesn’t click on it, Facebook often misses the conversion. 

• And while Meta does have a 7-day window for clicks, it’s still too short, especially for businesses in B2B. These narrow windows create a blind spot, often undervaluing the crucial role display advertising plays in building brand awareness and demand generation.

• Meta does try to account for conversions that occur from ad views by using a 1-day attribution window. But let’s be real, most buying decisions don’t happen overnight.

2. Data and privacy restrictions

• Apple’s iOS 14.5 update dealt a significant blow to the Meta Pixel’s tracking capabilities. The update introduced a feature allowing users to opt out of data tracking across apps, including the Meta owned platforms. Without user consent, the Pixel can’t collect data on iOS devices, impacting Meta’s ability to track online conversions and user behaviour.

• People are becoming increasingly aware of online tracking and the implications for their privacy. As a result, they are taking proactive steps to protect themselves. This includes using ad blockers, opting out of first-party cookie tracking, and browsing in incognito mode. These actions collectively limit Meta’s ability to track user behaviour and collect valuable data.

3. Meta is out to make money

• While the Meta pixel tracks all your traffic, its primary concern is how its own platforms have contributed to clicks, visits, and conversions. It neglects to consider traffic and data from other channels, which can significantly impact the customer journey. Meta frequently plays just one part of a much longer decision-making process.

• Meta has a vested interest in driving advertisers to spend more within its network. With a shorter attribution window, Meta is incentivised to present its platform as the primary catalyst for conversions. It’ll often take credit for conversions that were influenced by other channels, leading to duplicate conversions and inaccurate attribution.

What can you do about the limitations of Meta tracking?

With each passing day, tracking user data becomes more complicated. 

Apple, Google, and Meta are constantly rolling out new updates and features aimed at protecting user privacy, making it harder to track and measure the success of marketing efforts, especially Meta ads. 

For marketers, this means that evaluating the true impact of campaigns has become more challenging, with limited attribution options and Meta’s own biases further complicating things.

To navigate these obstacles, it’s worth considering a platform-agnostic reporting tool—one that can fairly allocate credit across all channels, rather than leaning on platform metrics.

Take Ruler, for example. 

Ruler, a marketing measurement tool designed to track and prove the impact of your marketing efforts on revenue. 

Ruler’s marketing attribution operates much like a tracking pixel by placing cookies on the user’s browser. 

But unlike Meta’s tracking system, Ruler doesn’t just follow individual user journeys—it takes into account the combined impact of various channels on your desired outcomes.

By using cookies and unique user identifiers, Ruler is able to track the entire click path of each user. 

Related: How to view full customer journeys with Ruler

It can identify the exact sequence of channels, ads, campaigns, and pages that lead to key events like a form fill. 

Even better, it integrates directly with your CRM and other tools, giving you a full picture of how far your leads make it down the sales pipeline. 

This way, you can easily determine which ads are driving real revenue and which campaigns might need a rethink.

Related: How Ruler attributes revenue to marketing

When cookie and tracking restrictions crop up, Ruler turns to machine learning impression attribution.

Using a Bayesian statistics model, Ruler matches impressions to conversions and eventual revenue, giving you more insight into your marketing performance.

It integrates with advanced models like marketing mix modeling (MMM) to properly weigh channel contributions.

In the absence of MMM data, it taps into click-through rates, impression volumes, and other user signals. Once Ruler has the data it needs, it applies Shapley Regression to accurately assign value across all your marketing efforts.

This allows marketers to: 

• gain an unbiased view of what’s working and what’s not
• see the real value of top-of-the-funnel brand awareness efforts
• shift conversions away from bottom-of-the-funnel channels like direct and organic search
• focus budget on the channels that are driving the best returns
• show the real impact your marketing is having on revenue
• make a solid case for more budget or continued investment

Need help tracking your Meta ads?

The Meta Pixel and Conversions API are great tools for capturing detailed conversion data and optimising your ad strategy. 

But with data regulations constantly evolving and ad platforms sometimes overclaiming their role in conversions, relying solely on platform reporting can be risky.

With a tool like Ruler, you’ll get a clearer, more comprehensive view of your marketing efforts. 

You can see how your Meta ads fit into the bigger picture alongside other channels, without worrying about limited attribution windows or cookie and device restrictions hindering your data collection.

To learn more about Ruler, book a demo and we’ll show you how it can elevate your marketing measurement to the next level.