Improving Meta Ads Relevance Diagnostics: Fixing 'Below Average' Quality (2024)

Google has "Quality Score." Meta has Ad Relevance Diagnostics. If your ads are rated "Below Average (Bottom 35%)", Meta is penalizing you. Your CPMs will be 2x higher than your competitors.

You can find these metrics at the Ad Level columns.

Metric 1: Quality Ranking

"Do people like the look of this ad?"

• What it measures: Negative feedback (Hides, Reports) vs Positive feedback (Stops scroll).
• Cause of Low Score:
  • Clickbait ("You won't believe...").
  • Low resolution images.
  • Sensitive topics (Weight loss, Politics).
• The Fix: Change the Visual. Make it more native, less "spammy."

Metric 2: Engagement Rate Ranking

"Do people interact with this ad?"

• What it measures: Clicks, Likes, Shares, Comments, Video Views.
• Cause of Low Score: Boring content. No hook.
• The Fix: Add a "hook" in the first 3 seconds. Ask a question in the copy to provoke comments.
• Warning: Don't use "Engagement Bait" ("Like this if you agree") - that triggers a penalty.

Metric 3: Conversion Rate Ranking

"Do clickers actually buy?"

• What it measures: The expected conversion rate compared to competitors.
• Cause of Low Score: Disconnection.
  • Ad says "50% Off". Landing Page says "Full Price".
  • Ad says "Red Shoes". Landing Page shows "Blue Hat".
• The Fix: Improve Landing Page speed and congruency.

The "Chart of Doom"

Scenario: Low Quality / Low Engagement / Low Conversion

• Verdict: Trash. Kill it immediately.

Scenario: Low Quality / High Conversion

• Verdict: The "Ugly Ad" paradox. People hate looking at it, but they buy.
• Action: Keep running it, but watch out for ad fatigue. Meta will eventually throttle it.

Summary

These metrics are the "Check Engine Light" of your account. Don't obsess over them if ROAS is good. But if ROAS is bad, this tells you where it is broken.

• Fix Quality = New Creative.
• Fix Conversion = New Landing Page.