meta-ads-account-audit

Process

1. Collect data — Request or gather: Ads Manager export (90 days), Events Manager screenshots (Pixel + CAPI status, EMQ scores), creative performance breakdown, audience overlap reports, frequency data at creative level, and learning phase status per ad set
2. Run the audit checklist — Work through each section below, flagging issues as Critical (red), Optimization (yellow), or Working Well (green)
3. Score account health — Calculate overall health score based on findings
4. ICE-prioritize recommendations — Score each finding: Impact (1-10) x Confidence (1-10) x Ease (1-10)
5. Deliver action plan — Structured output with prioritized fixes and expected impact

Audit Checklist

Section 1: Signal Infrastructure

This is the foundation. Weak signals = weak delivery via Meta's Andromeda ranking system. Audit this first.

Checkpoint	What to Check	Flag If
Pixel active	Meta Pixel firing on all relevant pages	Missing or intermittent
CAPI active	Conversions API implemented alongside Pixel	Not configured — this is always Critical in 2025
Event deduplication	Matching event_id between Pixel and CAPI	Not configured or double-counting visible
EMQ scores	Event Match Quality per event type	Below 6.0 (minimum acceptable). Target 8.0+
Matching keys sent	Email, phone, fbc, fbp, IP, user agent	Missing high-impact keys (email, phone, fbc)
Conversion events	Correct events configured as optimization targets	Optimizing for micro-events (PageView) instead of macro-events (Purchase, Lead)
Event volume	Conversions per ad set per week	Below 25/week/ad set (stability minimum). Target 50+/week (optimal)
Conversion values	Dynamic values sent with Purchase events	Static or missing values for ecommerce
Offline tracking	CRM/offline events flowing through CAPI	Using discontinued Offline Conversions API (killed May 2025) — migrate to standard CAPI with action_source: system_generated or physical_store
Attribution windows	7-day click / 1-day view default	Non-standard windows without clear rationale. Note: 7d_view and 28d_view removed from Insights API October 2025
AEM configuration	Aggregated Event Measurement for iOS 14+	Event priority not configured, or low-value events prioritized over high-value

For detailed tracking fixes, use the meta-ads-tracking-setup skill.

Section 2: Account Structure

Checkpoint	What to Check	Flag If
Objective alignment	Campaign objectives match business goals	Using Traffic objective when goal is Sales/Leads
Campaign consolidation	Budget concentrated in fewer, well-funded campaigns	Too many small-budget campaigns/ad sets (each needs 50+ conversions/week for optimal learning)
Campaign architecture	Clear structure: Prospecting, Retargeting, Testing	No separation between prospecting and retargeting
ASC usage (ecommerce)	Advantage+ Shopping Campaigns for ecommerce	Ecommerce account with 100+ conversions/week not testing ASC (typically reduces cost per purchase ~12%)
New vs existing split	ASC customer ratio configured intentionally	Default ratio without analysis of actual customer mix
Naming conventions	Consistent, parseable taxonomy across campaigns/ad sets/ads	Inconsistent naming making analysis impossible
Special Ad Category	Housing, employment, credit categories set where required	Missing Special Ad Category when advertising in regulated industries

Section 3: Audience Strategy

Checkpoint	What to Check	Flag If
Audience size (TOF)	Top-of-funnel audience reach	Below 200K for prospecting campaigns
Audience size (remarketing)	Retargeting pool size	Below 1,000 (too small for stable delivery)
Audience overlap	Overlap between ad sets in same campaign	Significant overlap causing self-competition
Exclusion strategy	Recent converters and existing customers excluded from prospecting	No exclusions — wasting budget showing ads to existing customers
Targeting exclusions change	Detailed targeting exclusions removed March 31, 2025	Still trying to use interest-based exclusions. Modern approach: customer list exclusions, recent converter exclusions, lifecycle suppression
Custom audiences	Website visitors, CRM uploads, engagement audiences	No custom audiences built. CRM upload match rate benchmark: 40-70%
Lookalike seeds	Quality of lookalike source audiences	Low-quality seeds (all website visitors) instead of high-quality seeds (purchasers, high-value customers). Start 1%, test up to 5-10%
Advantage+ audience	Using algorithm-driven expansion with suggestions	Not testing Advantage+ audience on accounts with strong Pixel/CAPI data
Warm + cold mixing	2025 best practice: combine in single ad sets	Hyper-segmented audiences in separate ad sets limiting algorithm learning
Engagement audiences	Proactively building video viewers, page engagers	No engagement audiences — these only capture data from creation date, not retroactively

Section 4: Creative Health

Checkpoint	What to Check	Flag If
Creative frequency	Frequency at the creative level (not ad or ad set level)	Frequency > 4 — Meta research: 45% conversion drop at 4 exposures
CTR trend	CTR trajectory over 7-day rolling average	CTR declining > 20% from 7-day average = fatigue signal
CPC trend	CPC movement correlated with CTR	Rising CPCs alongside declining CTR = confirmed fatigue
Creative volume	Number of active creative variants per ad set	Fewer than 4 variants (insufficient for rotation) or more than 150 in ASC (hitting ceiling)
Format diversity	Mix of static, video, carousel, Reels-native	Single format only — missing performance from other formats
Aspect ratios	4:5 vertical for Feed/Stories/Reels, 1:1 fallback	Only landscape or only square creative
Video hooks	First 3 seconds engagement	No bold hooks, silent-unfriendly (85% of Facebook videos watched without sound)
Ad copy length	Primary text effectiveness	Primary text exceeding 125 characters (gets truncated)
Refresh cadence	How often new creative is introduced	Same creatives running 30+ days for prospecting (target refresh every 7-14 days)
Landing page experience	Post-click experience quality	Slow load (>3 sec), message mismatch, poor mobile UX

For creative testing frameworks and fatigue management, use the meta-ads-creative-engine skill.

Section 5: Learning Phase Management

Checkpoint	What to Check	Flag If
Learning phase spend	% of total account spend in learning phase	Exceeds 20% of total spend. Meta: advertisers under 20% see up to 68% lower CPA
Ad set edits during learning	Significant changes within first 5-7 days	Edits resetting learning phase (budget changes >20%, audience changes, creative swaps, bid changes)
Event volume per ad set	Weekly conversion volume	Below 25/week — ad set may never exit learning
Ad set consolidation	Fewer, larger ad sets vs many small ones	Multiple ad sets with <25 conversions/week each — consolidate
Learning limited status	Ad sets stuck in "Learning Limited"	Prolonged Learning Limited = restructure needed (consolidate audiences, increase budget, broaden optimization event)

Section 6: Budget & Bid Efficiency

Checkpoint	What to Check	Flag If
Budget allocation	Distribution across campaigns and ad sets	60/30/10 benchmark: 60% best performers, 30% scaling tests, 10% experiments
Bid strategy	Highest Volume, Cost Cap, Bid Cap, ROAS Goal	Using Highest Volume without any guardrails when CPA/ROAS targets exist
Budget sufficiency	Enough budget for 50+ conversions/week/ad set	Budget too low for optimization event (switch to higher-funnel event or increase budget)
Pacing	Spend trajectory vs budget	Consistently underspending (audience too narrow) or front-loading (audience too broad or bid too high)
Cost distribution	Spend across ad sets within campaigns	One ad set consuming 90%+ of budget while others starve
Scaling method	How budget increases are applied	Increasing budget >20% at once (risks resetting learning)
CPM trends	Cost per 1000 impressions trajectory	Rising CPMs without corresponding performance improvement. Context: Meta avg ad price up 9% in 2025 (Q1 2025 earnings)

Section 7: Measurement & Attribution

Checkpoint	What to Check	Flag If
Attribution window	7d click / 1d view default	Non-standard without documented reason
API attribution change	7d_view and 28d_view removed from Insights API October 2025	Reporting still pulling deprecated windows
Cross-platform attribution	Consistent measurement across Google + Meta	Different windows making cross-channel comparison meaningless
Instant Experience	No longer counts as landing page view (June 2025)	Funnel metrics inflated by counting Instant Experience as landing page views
Incrementality testing	Conversion lift or geo-based lift tests	No incrementality measurement — relying solely on platform-reported ROAS

Health Score Calculation

Section	Weight	Score
Signal Infrastructure	25%	/10
Account Structure	10%	/10
Audience Strategy	15%	/10
Creative Health	20%	/10
Learning Phase	10%	/10
Budget & Bid Efficiency	15%	/10
Measurement & Attribution	5%	/10
Weighted Total		/10

Interpretation: 8-10 = Healthy, 6-7.9 = Needs optimization, 4-5.9 = Significant issues, <4 = Critical.

Output Format

## Meta Ads Account Audit

### Health Score: [X.X / 10] — [Healthy / Needs Optimization / Significant Issues / Critical]

### Critical Issues (fix immediately)
1. **[Issue]** — [What's wrong, specific data] — ICE: [I×C×E = score]
   - Action: [Specific fix]
   - Expected impact: [Estimated improvement]

### Optimization Opportunities (fix within 2 weeks)
1. **[Issue]** — [What's wrong, specific data] — ICE: [score]
   - Action: [Specific fix]
   - Expected impact: [Estimated improvement]

### Working Well (maintain)
- [What's working and why]

### Priority Action Plan (next 30 days)
| Priority | Action | ICE Score | Timeline | Owner |
|----------|--------|-----------|----------|-------|
| 1 | [Highest ICE action] | [score] | Week 1 | [who] |

### 2025 Platform Change Flags
- [ ] CAPI implemented (mandatory in 2025)
- [ ] Offline Conversions API migrated (discontinued May 2025)
- [ ] Detailed targeting exclusions replaced with suppression strategy (removed March 2025)
- [ ] Instant Experience funnel metric adjustment (June 2025)
- [ ] 7d_view/28d_view API reporting updated (removed October 2025)
- [ ] ASC evaluated for ecommerce
- [ ] CPM trend accounted for (Meta avg +9% in 2025)

Example

Input: "I run a DTC skincare brand on Meta. Spending $8K/month across 6 campaigns. ROAS dropped from 4.2 to 2.1 over the last month. What's going on?"

Output:

Meta Ads Account Audit

Health Score: 4.8 / 10 — Significant Issues

Critical Issues

1. Creative fatigue across all prospecting ad sets — Average creative frequency is 6.8 (threshold: >4). CTR dropped 34% over 30 days. Same 5 creatives running for 45+ days with no refresh. Meta research: 45% conversion drop at 4 exposures. — ICE: 10×9×7 = 630

   • Action: Introduce 4-6 new creative variants per ad set immediately. Mix formats (add video/Reels if currently static-only). Pause creatives with frequency >6
   • Expected impact: Meta data shows avg 8% conversion rate improvement when refreshing fatigued creatives. With this level of fatigue, impact likely higher

2. No CAPI — Pixel only — Missing ~20-30% of conversion events. EMQ unavailable (no server events). Algorithm optimizing on incomplete data. — ICE: 9×9×8 = 648

   • Action: Implement CAPI (Shopify native if on Shopify, server-side GTM otherwise). See meta-ads-tracking-setup skill for full implementation guide
   • Expected impact: 20-30% more conversion signals → better optimization → lower CPA

3. 6 campaigns with $8K/month = ~$44/day per campaign — Most ad sets getting <15 conversions/week. 4 of 6 campaigns stuck in Learning Limited. Meta: need 50+/week for optimal, 25+ minimum. — ICE: 9×8×6 = 432

   • Action: Consolidate to 3 campaigns max: (1) Prospecting, (2) Retargeting, (3) Testing. This concentrates budget for faster learning
   • Expected impact: Exiting learning phase → up to 68% lower CPA (Meta benchmark)

Optimization Opportunities

1. No customer exclusions on prospecting — Existing customers seeing acquisition ads. Wasted spend + inflated ROAS (counting repeat purchases as new). — ICE: 7×8×9 = 504

   • Action: Upload customer list, exclude from prospecting campaigns. Detailed targeting exclusions removed March 2025 — use customer list suppression instead
   • Expected impact: 10-15% budget recovered from wasted impressions on existing customers

2. All creatives are 1:1 square — Missing 4:5 vertical which outperforms 1:1 by ~15% in Feed (Billo data). No Reels-native content. — ICE: 6×7×6 = 252

   • Action: Create 4:5 versions of top performers. Test Reels-native vertical video
   • Expected impact: ~15% Feed performance improvement from aspect ratio alone

3. No ASC campaign — DTC ecommerce brand with sufficient volume should test Advantage+ Shopping Campaigns. Typically reduces cost per purchase ~12% vs manual. — ICE: 7×6×5 = 210

   • Action: Launch ASC with top 10-20 creatives, set 70/30 new/existing split
   • Expected impact: ~12% CPA reduction if ASC outperforms manual (test with 30% of budget)

Working Well

• Pixel is active and firing correctly on all pages
• Attribution window set to 7d click / 1d view (correct default)
• Product catalog connected and dynamic ads functional

Priority Action Plan (next 30 days)

Priority	Action	ICE Score	Timeline	Owner
1	Implement CAPI	648	Week 1-2	Dev + media buyer
2	Refresh all creatives (new variants + formats)	630	Week 1-2	Creative + media buyer
3	Upload customer exclusion list	504	Day 1	Media buyer
4	Consolidate 6 campaigns → 3	432	Week 1	Media buyer
5	Create 4:5 vertical creative variants	252	Week 2-3	Creative team
6	Launch ASC test	210	Week 3-4	Media buyer

2025 Platform Change Flags

• CAPI implemented — NOT CONFIGURED (Critical)
• Offline Conversions API — N/A (no offline events)
• Detailed targeting exclusions — replaced with customer list suppression
• Instant Experience — not using
• 7d_view/28d_view — not pulling deprecated windows
• ASC evaluated — not yet tested
• CPM trend — Meta avg ad price up 9% in 2025, contributing to higher costs

Guidelines

• Don't audit creative without frequency data at the creative level. Ad-level or ad-set-level frequency understates the problem. Meta's own research measures fatigue at the creative level across all ads/campaigns using that creative.
• Don't recommend drastic changes during learning phase. If an ad set launched <7 days ago, note it's in learning and defer judgment. Changes during learning reset the clock.
• Don't recommend hyper-segmented audiences. The 2025 Meta algorithm prefers consolidated audiences with conversion signals over manually sliced interest targeting. Combine warm + cold in single ad sets.
• Don't ignore the 50/25 rule. 50 conversions/week/ad set is optimal; 25 is minimum for stability. If an ad set can't reach 25, recommend consolidating or optimizing for a higher-funnel event.
• Account for CPM inflation. Meta's average ad price rose 9% in 2025. A ROAS decline may partly reflect higher costs, not just campaign degradation. Check CPMs alongside efficiency metrics.
• Flag Offline API migration. If the account references Offline Event Sets or Offline Conversions API, flag that it was discontinued May 2025 and must migrate to standard CAPI.
• Attribution API update. 7d_view and 28d_view windows removed from Insights API October 2025. Flag any reporting that still references these.
• CTR benchmarks vary. WordStream September 2025 data shows Traffic campaigns average 1.71% CTR, but Lead and Sales campaigns vary significantly by industry. Say "benchmark varies by industry" rather than applying a single number.
• Cross-references: For tracking fixes, use the meta-ads-tracking-setup skill. For creative testing frameworks, use the meta-ads-creative-engine skill. For Google Ads auditing, use the google-ads-audit skill. For cross-channel budget analysis, use the ad-spend-allocator skill.
• Confidence: If audit data is incomplete (no Events Manager access, missing creative-level frequency, limited date range), state what conclusions are reliable and what needs more data.