TLDR: What are the top 10 Meta Ad metrics you should be using?
When it comes to Facebook and Instagram ads, success depends on tracking the right metrics. Whether you’re an agency or a brand, the key is to align metrics with your goals. ROAS, CPA, conversion rate, CTR, and MER all tell different parts of the story. Metrics like landing page view rate, video watch time, and incrementality help refine performance and validate impact. Attribution settings also matter, a lot. Ultimately, there’s no one magic number, but combining metrics across platforms gives you the clearest picture.
When it comes to running Facebook and Instagram ads, success is all about the numbers, or more specifically, the right numbers. But with so many metrics on Meta’s ad platform, it can be hard to know what to focus on.
Whether you’re an agency analyst or an eCommerce brand, Meta (formerly Facebook) ad metrics can feel like alphabet soup. ROAS, CTR, CPM. What do they all mean?
We sat down with Emanuela Escalante, our Senior Paid Social Account Manager, to unpack the real value behind the numbers and how you can use them to make smarter marketing decisions.
Start with your business objective
Not all metrics are created equal. If your goal is to drive sales (as it is for most eCommerce brands), you’ll want to zero in on performance-driven metrics. For upper-funnel goals like brand awareness, metrics like reach and frequency take centre stage.
1. ROAS -Return on ad spend
What is it?
The revenue generated for every pound (or dollar) spent on ads.
Why it matters
It’s the cornerstone of performance metrics. If you’re spending £1 and making £5, your ROAS is 5x. But beware, it’s not the whole truth. A high ROAS on one creative might be misleading if Meta has only allocated a tiny budget to it.
How we use it
We view ROAS as a starting point, not a final verdict. it’s most powerful when combined with other metrics and other attribution tools.
2. CPA / CPP -Cost per acquisition / purchase
What is it?
The average cost to acquire a customer, target an existing customer again or complete a purchase.
Why it matters
It gives you a clear view of how efficient your ad spend is. A high CPA may suggest it’s time to tweak your targeting or creative.
How we use it
We aim to bring CPA down over time through continuous optimisation, using CPA averages across campaigns for benchmarking.
3. Conversion rate
What is it?
The percentage of people who took a desired action (like purchasing) after clicking the ad.
Why it matters
A good conversion rate means your landing page and offer are doing their job. A low rate? Time to fix that funnel.
How we use it
It helps us isolate high-performing creatives and user journeys. ROAS alone doesn’t show you how efficiently traffic is converting.
4. CTR – Click-through rate
What is it?
The percentage of people who click your ad after seeing it.
Why it matters
It measures how engaging or relevant your ad is. Low CTRs can signal poor creative or misaligned targeting.
How we use it
We compare CTR across ads to assess audience engagement. But again, CTR isn’t everything, it just gets people in the door.
5. Landing page view rate
What is it?
The percentage of people who not only click but wait for the landing page to fully load.
Why it matters
It filters out accidental clicks and gives a clearer sense of true interest.
How we use it
We love this one. It’s a higher-quality traffic signal. If CTR is strong but LP view rate is weak, we might have a page speed or UX issue.
6. Video watch time metrics
What are they?
How long users stick with your video ads (3s, 6s, 25%, 50%, 75%, 100%).
Why they matter
Engagement drops sharply in the first 3–6 seconds. Knowing this helps you front-load your key message and brand. If you’re running video ads, Meta provides breakdowns by how much of the video was watched (e.g., 25%, 50%, 100%).
How we use them
We track drop-off points to refine video editing. For top-of-funnel ads, it’s critical to catch the eye immediately.
7. MER – Media efficiency ratio
What is it?
Total revenue divided by total media spend across channels.
Why it matters
MER gives you a bird’s-eye view. Unlike ROAS, it doesn’t rely solely on platform-attributed conversions. Don’t judge Meta performance in isolation. Tools like Media Efficiency Ratio (MER) help you look at your whole marketing funnel, not just Facebook. This is crucial for understanding how paid social fits into your overall strategy.
How we use it
At ASK BOSCO®, we use MER to bridge the gap between channel data and real-world sales performance. Especially useful when platforms under-attribute, Meta included.
8. CPM -Cost per 1,000 impressions
What is it?
The cost to show your ad 1,000 times.
Why it matters
It’s a baseline cost metric. Higher CPMs might be OK if targeting is super niche. But you don’t want it spiralling unchecked.
How we use it
We keep an eye on CPMs for upper-funnel campaigns and branding pushes. They’re less critical for direct sales campaigns.
9. Reach & frequency
What is it?
- Reach = how many people saw your ad.
- Frequency = how often they saw it.
Why it matters
Too little frequency and your message won’t stick. Too much and users get ad fatigue.
How we use it
We aim for 2–5 views per person per week depending on the objective. Above that, we’re watching for signs of weariness. Metrics like frequency matter more when you’re trying to build awareness. Keep an eye on them, especially to avoid ad fatigue. No one wants to see the same ad 16 times a week.
10. Incrementality lift
What is it?
A Meta-estimated figure showing how many conversions wouldn’t have happened without the ad.
Why it matters
It’s one of the few ways to understand actual causal impact, incremental attribution enables optimisation and reporting based on incremental conversions. It uses sophisticated models to predict the incrementally of conversions. This prediction determines how much to value conversions in optimisation and reporting
How we use it
More as a directional insight than gospel. It helps guide conversation, especially when platform-reported ROAS seems suspiciously high or low.
Bonus metric: Attribution settings, don’t ignore these!
Meta’s default is a 7-day click / 1-day view attribution. But you can now customise this, 1, 7, 14, or 28 days. It dramatically changes reported ROAS.
At ASK BOSCO®, we recommend brands understand how different attribution windows impact reported results and adjust expectations accordingly.
Different views for different teams
Agencies, in-house teams, and clients all use these metrics differently. Agencies might focus on platform data to optimize, while in-house teams may rely more on GA4 for big-picture reporting. The key is to know what you’re looking at and why.
What Meta metrics will agencies use?
Agencies are typically performance-driven and execution-focused. Their main goal is to optimize campaigns based on the most actionable data available from Meta’s platforms. As such, they rely heavily on platform-native metrics, such as:
- Click-Through Rate (CTR): To assess ad engagement.
- Cost Per Click (CPC) / Cost Per Result (CPR): To measure efficiency.
- Conversion Rate: For immediate performance evaluation.
- Return on Ad Spend (ROAS): Especially when pixel or API-based conversions are reliable.
- Frequency & Reach: For media planning and audience saturation control.
Agencies often use real-time dashboards and reporting tools to iterate and adjust campaigns rapidly. Their view is more granular and tactical, often centered on direct campaign performance within Meta.
What Meta metrics will brands focus on?
In-house and brand marketing teams take a more strategic and cross-channel approach. While they do look at some of the same Meta metrics, they typically integrate this data into broader analytics ecosystems, most commonly GA4, internal BI tools, or CRM systems. Key metrics they prioritize might include:
- Attribution-adjusted ROAS: Evaluating Meta’s performance in the context of all channels.
- Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): Aligned with broader business KPIs.
- Incrementality or Lift Metrics: To assess the true value of Meta media.
- Lifetime Value (LTV): Often paired with Meta’s targeting to justify spend.
- Engagement and Retention Metrics: Especially when Meta is used for full-funnel strategies.
Brands tend to be more concerned with how Meta performance aligns with larger marketing goals, budgeting, and customer journey strategies.
Final thoughts
Relying on one Meta metric is risky. Using them in harmony, and alongside GA4, Shopify, or your own source of truth is better for getting a more well rounded view for reporting.
At ASK BOSCO®, we consolidate this data into easy-to-use dashboards and reports, so you can skip the spreadsheet drama and get straight to insights. You can use our Paid Social Media reports for an all-in-one snapshot of how your content is performing and what needs changing, without the hassle Monday morning reporting and double checking the data.
Got questions? Curious about how your Meta performance stacks up? please get in contact with our team, at ASK BOSCO®, or you can email us at, team@askbosco.com.
