How to Audit a Meta Ads Account

Log in to Meta Ads Manager → Review the campaign list. Check structure follows this hierarchy: • Ad Account — one per brand or business • Campaign — one per objective (Lead Gen, Awareness, Sales, Retargeting) • Ad Set — one per audience segment or targeting group • Ad — one per creative angle or message Red flags to document: • Multiple campaigns with the same objective and no differentiation • Ad sets with overlapping audiences (causes auction overlap and inflates CPL) • Campaigns mixing multiple objectives • Old inactive campaigns never cleaned up

Review campaign, ad set, and ad names. Good naming convention format: • Campaign: Objective_Month (e.g. LeadGen_Apr2026) • Ad Set: Audience_Location_Device (e.g. Interest_Fitness_TVM_Mobile) • Ad: CreativeType_Angle (e.g. Video_Testimonial_Kevin) If names are generic like 'Campaign 1', 'Ad Set 3', 'Test' — flag as Medium priority. It makes reporting impossible and shows the account was not managed systematically.

Open Meta Pixel Helper in Chrome. Visit these pages one by one and confirm Pixel fires on each: • Homepage • Landing page(s) linked from ads • Thank-you / confirmation page • Product or checkout page (if ecommerce) Pixel Helper results: • Green = firing correctly ✓ • Yellow = Pixel found but issues detected • Red = Pixel not found or error ✗ If Pixel is not firing on the thank-you page: conversion tracking is broken. Mark as Critical priority.

In Events Manager → Check data sources. CAPI status: Events Manager shows if server-side events are being received. If not set up → high-priority fix. Deduplication score: Should be 0% (no double-counting between Pixel and CAPI). Domain verification: Business Manager → Brand Safety → Domains. Client's domain should show 'Verified'. If not → iOS conversion data will be severely limited.

In Ads Manager → Columns: Performance → Customize Columns → Search 'URL parameters' → Add. Check every active ad's destination URL. Required UTM parameters: • utm_source=facebook • utm_medium=paid_social • utm_campaign={{campaign.name}} • utm_content={{adset.name}} If UTMs are missing: all traffic from these ads shows as 'Direct' in Google Analytics. Conversions cannot be properly attributed. Flag as High priority.

Check each active campaign: • Daily budget vs actual spend — hitting cap or underspending? • Budget allocation — concentrated on best-performing ad sets? • Bid strategy — Lowest Cost, Cost Cap, or Bid Cap? Appropriate for the objective? Red flags: • ₹500/day budget split across 5 ad sets (₹100 each — not enough for algorithm to learn) • Campaigns paused for 90+ days still cluttering the account • CBO disabled on accounts spending above ₹1,000/day

Set date range: last 30–90 days → Review by ad, then ad set. Key metrics per ad: • CTR (Link) — target: above 1% for feed, above 0.5% for stories • CPM — above ₹400 for India suggests audience too narrow • Frequency — above 3 means audience is saturated, refresh creatives • CPL or ROAS — compare against client's target Audience check: • Custom audiences (website visitors, lead form openers) for retargeting? • Lookalike audiences built from converting customers? • Audience overlap between ad sets? (Audiences section → Overlap tool)