{"id":45505,"date":"2024-11-11T12:34:58","date_gmt":"2024-11-11T19:34:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/act.com\/what-is-a-facebook-pixel\/"},"modified":"2026-07-03T03:12:03","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T10:12:03","slug":"what-is-a-facebook-pixel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.act.com\/en-gb\/blog\/what-is-a-facebook-pixel\/","title":{"rendered":"What is a Facebook pixel and how do you create it?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"An<\/p>\n

In a recent survey by Statista, <\/span>86 percent of respondents<\/span><\/a> reported using Facebook for marketing. That makes it the most popular <\/span>social media<\/span> platform for marketing\u2014ahead of even Instagram and TikTok.<\/span><\/p>\n

With more than <\/span>2 billion monthly active users<\/span><\/a>, Facebook continues to be the most used <\/span>social media<\/span> platform worldwide. And if you add up all the Facebook-owned platforms, your audience size surges dramatically.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But how do you optimise your <\/span>Facebook ad campaigns<\/span>? Is there a way to monitor the performance of <\/span>Facebook ads<\/span> beyond clicks and <\/span>page views<\/span>? Wouldn\u2019t it be great if there was a way to <\/span>track conversions<\/span> on your website and attribute them to <\/span>Facebook ads<\/span>?<\/span><\/p>\n

That’s exactly what the <\/span>Facebook pixel<\/span> does.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now called <\/span>Meta pixel<\/span>, it\u2019s a useful tool to <\/span>track conversions<\/span> from Facebook and Instagram ads and optimise campaign performance. We\u2019ll be using the terms interchangeably throughout this article.<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s dig deeper into what a <\/span>Facebook pixel<\/span> is and the <\/span>step-by-step<\/span> instructions to <\/span>create<\/span> it.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is a <\/b>Facebook pixel<\/b>?<\/b><\/h2>\n

The <\/span>Facebook pixel<\/span> is a <\/span>piece of code<\/span> (<\/span>JavaScript<\/span>) that lets you monitor and measure the effectiveness of your <\/span>Facebook ad campaigns<\/span>. Once you install the <\/span>Facebook pixel<\/span> (add the <\/span>website code<\/span> or pixel to your website\u2019s source code), it tracks the online activity of Facebook users who visit your website after clicking on an ad.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That, in turn, helps you <\/span>track conversions<\/span> from these ads and <\/span>create<\/span> custom audiences<\/span> for future campaigns. You can even implement <\/span>retargeting<\/span> ads to<\/span> engage visitors<\/span><\/a> who perform specific actions on your website, such as checking out a product or adding it to the cart.<\/span><\/p>\n

How does a <\/b>Facebook pixel<\/b> work?<\/b><\/h3>\n

After you set up a <\/span>Facebook pixel<\/span> for your website or landing page, it gets triggered when a Facebook user clicks on your ad and reaches your web page.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Then, the pixel <\/span>creates<\/span> a cookie and stores it in the user\u2019s browser, which helps monitor their online behaviour. It also comes in handy for <\/span>retargeting<\/span> ads.<\/span><\/p>\n

The <\/span>best<\/span> part? The more <\/span>conversions<\/span> that happen on your website, the better Facebook gets at delivering your ads to the right people.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is a <\/b>Facebook pixel<\/b> used for?<\/b><\/h2>\n

This code is used to collect data for <\/span>tracking conversions<\/span> from <\/span>Facebook ads<\/span>, optimizing ads to improve their performance, building targeted audiences for future ads, and <\/span>remarketing<\/span> to people who have already taken action on your website. More specifically, you can <\/span>use Facebook pixel data<\/span> for any of the following:<\/span><\/p>\n

Conversion<\/b> tracking<\/b><\/h3>\n

Learn more about your <\/span>customers\u2019 journeys<\/span><\/a> and see what types of actions they take when visiting your website after clicking through on your <\/span>Facebook ad<\/span>. It also allows you to track what types of devices they use when visiting your site or see if they switch devices after clicking through. This information helps you fine-tune your advertising strategy and calculate your return on investment.<\/span><\/p>\n

Retargeting<\/b>\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n

Show dynamic and targeted ads to people after they\u2019ve visited your site. This may include ads for products they viewed, put in their <\/span>shopping cart<\/span>, or added to their wishlist without completing a purchase.<\/span><\/p>\n

Creating<\/b> lookalike audiences<\/b>\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n

Use the targeting data gathered by <\/span>Facebook pixels<\/span> to attract more potential customers based on the likes, interests, and demographics of people who have already interacted with your website.<\/span><\/p>\n

Optimizing <\/b>Facebook ads<\/b> for specific actions\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n

Dial in ads based on Facebook <\/span>tracking pixel data<\/span> for specific <\/span>conversion<\/span> events on your website. Without this data, you\u2019d only be able to optimise for link clicks, but <\/span>pixel data<\/span> enables you to optimise for <\/span>conversion<\/span> events more closely tied to your business goals, such as purchases and sign-ups.<\/span><\/p>\n

Targeting <\/b>Facebook ads<\/b> based on previous spend\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n

Facebook tracks who buys from your site and how much they spend. This makes it possible for you to automatically show your ads to those most likely to make specific value-range purchases.<\/span><\/p>\n

Leveraging additional <\/b>Facebook advertising<\/b> tools and <\/b>metrics<\/b><\/h3>\n

Installing the <\/span>Facebook pixel<\/span> on your site is the only way to advertise to <\/span>custom audiences<\/span> of site visitors and initiate web <\/span>conversion<\/span> campaigns or dynamic ads. Cost per lead or cost per <\/span>conversion<\/span> are among the additional <\/span>metrics<\/span> you can track with the pixel.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

What can you track with a <\/b>Facebook pixel<\/b>?<\/b><\/h2>\n

Another <\/span>advantage<\/span> is the <\/span>Facebook pixel<\/span> enables you to gather data relating to 17 predefined events plus custom events you set up yourself. The standard <\/span>Facebook pixel events<\/span> (actions taken by your <\/span>website visitors<\/span>) include:<\/span><\/p>\n