Since February 2024, there has been a lot of talk about Facebook’s performance, particularly regarding the effectiveness of its ads for businesses. But is this talk justified? What exactly changed with Meta ads performance at the start of 2024, and what factors could be affecting their performance?
Let’s take a closer look at Facebook’s performance metrics to understand what’s really going on.
Meta Ads Performance Comparison
To begin, let’s compare Meta performance metrics from 2023 to 2024, focusing on CTR, CR, and CPM for both prospecting and retargeting campaigns.
In 2023, when trying to reach new customers, ads had an average click rate of 1.11%, with about 1.90% out of every 100 people making a purchase, and it cost about $6.63 to show the ad a thousand times.
For retargeting ads, the CTR was 0.63%, the CR was 3.95%, and the CPM was $9.50.
Now, in 2024, things improved.
For prospecting ads, the CTR went up to 1.25, and the CR to 2.25%. However, the CPM increased slightly to $7.12.
Retargeting ads also did better, with a click rate of 2.86%, a conversion rate of 4.30%, and a CPM of $7.59.
So, overall, Meta ads performed better in 2024. More people clicked on the ads, and more of those clicks turned into purchases. The only downside was that it cost a bit more for your prospecting audience.
Meta Ads CPM Changes
When we look at the daily CPM numbers, we notice sudden jumps in how much it costs to show ads to a thousand people each day.
In January, we typically expect lower CPMs because competition tends to be lower. Many advertisers spend most of their budgets during the holiday season, so at the start of the new year, they often pause their Facebook ads.
However, daily spikes in CPM could be influenced by various factors like competition, targeting, ad delivery optimization, and external factors such as economic trends or regulatory changes.
