Understanding and Verifying Facebook/Instagram Ads Campaign Data for E-Commerce Shops

Introduction

Launching a successful advertising campaign on Meta platforms such as Facebook and Instagram can significantly boost your eCommerce store’s visibility and sales. However, especially for those new to Meta’s advertising ecosystem, interpreting campaign data accurately is crucial. Recent experience from a mid-sized eCommerce business highlights the importance of validating reported metrics like purchase conversions. In this article, we will explore the common challenges faced when analyzing Meta Ads data and outline best practices to verify the authenticity of reported sales.

Scenario Overview

The Business Context

• Industry: E-commerce store specializing in camping equipment.
• Campaign Initiation: First-ever sales-focused campaign using Meta Ads Manager.
• Technical Setup: Meta Pixel installed (not configured manually), with limited experience on the team regarding tracking and analytics.
• Campaign Details: Promoted clothing items, with reports indicating approximately 200 purchases within the first week.
• Background Data: The overall store processes between 6,000 and 8,000 sales daily across various product categories, making attribution complex.

The Discrepancy

• Inconsistent Data: Shop sales data shows no notable increase in clothing orders during the campaign period.
• Reporting Anomalies: Ads Manager reports a remarkably high Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) of approximately 160, which seems overly optimistic.
• Attribution Concerns: Uncertainty whether all reported conversions are legitimate or if there’s misattribution or duplication.

Key Challenges and Questions

1. Attribution Accuracy: Is Meta’s pixel correctly attributing only the promoted clothing product sales to the campaign? Could it be tracking other purchases?

2. Verification of Conversions: How can we confirm that the 200 reported purchases are genuine orders originating from the campaign rather than false or duplicated events?

3. Product-Level Insights: Is there a way within Ads Manager or Events Manager to identify the specific products purchased through the campaign?

4. Data Reconciliation: What are effective methods for aligning Meta’s reporting with our internal shop data, especially given the scale of daily transactions?

5. Tracking Reliability: With an exceptionally high ROAS, should we suspect issues in configuration or tracking setup?

Best Practices for Verifying Meta Campaign Data

1. Audit the Pixel Configuration

2. Ensure that the Meta Pixel is properly installed on all relevant pages, particularly the purchase confirmation page.

3. Use Meta’s Pixel Helper tool for Chrome to verify events are firing correctly.
4. Confirm