Setup
How to Run Meta Ads for E-commerce
E-commerce is the most data-rich Meta advertising environment and the most competitive. Getting the foundation right determines whether the rest scales.
What is actually happening
E-commerce Meta advertising requires four elements to work correctly: clean pixel with Purchase events firing accurately (the most valuable signal Meta has), product catalogue connected to Meta Commerce Manager (enables Dynamic Product Ads -- the highest-ROI retargeting format for e-commerce), CAPI installed server-side (recovers the 15-40% of purchase events lost to iOS and ad blockers), and creative testing infrastructure. Without clean purchase signal, Meta optimises toward wrong people. Without catalogue, you cannot run DPA retargeting. Without CAPI, signal quality degrades over time. Meta's own data: e-commerce advertisers on Advantage+ Shopping Campaigns (ASC) see 17% lower cost per purchase compared to manual campaigns when they have sufficient conversion history (100+ purchases in the last 30 days). Below that history, manual campaigns with broad targeting outperform.
⚑ Most common wrong move
Starting with catalogue ads and retargeting before the prospecting foundation works. DPA retargeting amplifies an existing customer flow. It cannot create one. Build prospecting first, confirm unit economics, then add retargeting.
What to do
1Verify pixel is firing Purchase events correctly on the order confirmation page. Check Events Manager -- the Purchase event should show consistent daily volume matching your actual order volume.
2Connect product catalogue. Commerce Manager → Catalogues → Create Catalogue. Connect your product feed (Shopify exports this automatically). This unlocks DPA (Dynamic Product Ads) for retargeting.
3Install CAPI. For Shopify: Settings → Customer Events → Meta Pixel (native CAPI included). For WooCommerce: Meta for WooCommerce plugin.
4Start with ASC if you have 100+ purchases in the last 30 days. Under 100, use manual campaign with broad targeting and Purchase conversion event.
5Add DPA retargeting campaign once prospecting is profitable. Target: website visitors last 30 days + Add to Cart last 14 days + Initiate Checkout last 7 days. Exclude purchasers.
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◈ Setup
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Setup module detects e-commerce and configures ASC vs manual recommendation
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