Frustrated with Meta Ads? Here’s What They’re Not Telling You About Budget Allocation
Ineffectiveness of Meta AI Optimization
Through years of experience managing Meta advertising campaigns, we’ve noticed a recurring issue: the platform's artificial intelligence does not allocate the budget in an optimal way. Many advertisers rely on automated settings, expecting the AI system to independently identify the highest-quality traffic and achieve the desired conversions. However, actual results often fail to meet expectations. In our agency, we have systematically tested different approaches and concluded that only precisely structured campaigns enable long-term sustainable profitability.
Key Elements of a Successful Meta Ads Campaign Structure
To achieve optimal results, we implemented a system based on clearly defined campaigns with specific goals.
Prospecting Campaign – Attracting New Users on ineffective Meta
The goal of a prospecting campaign is to reach potential customers who have not yet interacted with the brand. Through testing, we found that the following guidelines yield the best results:
Broad Targeting – Instead of restricting interest selections, we allow Meta AI to find the most relevant audience within the defined parameters.
Excluding Website Visitors – To ensure this campaign targets only new users, we eliminate anyone who has already visited the website.
Regular Ad Rotation – We add 5-8 new ads each week to maintain freshness and prevent audience fatigue.
ASC Remarketing Campaign – Re-engaging Users
The remarketing campaign targets users who have already shown interest but have not yet taken the desired action. Based on the results of our campaigns, we recommend the following:
Excluding Customers Who Have Already Made a Purchase – This eliminates unnecessary budget wastage on users who have already converted.
Continuous Testing of Ad Variations – We implement 2-3 new texts and headlines weekly to optimize effectiveness.
Ad Personalization – We tailor messages based on users’ interactions with the brand (e.g., those who added a product to their cart see a different ad than those who only visited the page).
Scale Campaign – Expanding Budget on the Most Effective Ads
Once we identify ads with a high ROAS, we move them to the Scale campaign to more aggressively increase reach and drive higher revenue. Key steps we take:
Gradual Budget Increase – We start with $100-200 per day and scale by 5-10% daily or $250-500 every 3 days.
Manual Bidding Strategy – If the campaign has sufficient conversions, we use manual bid adjustments to maximize profitability.
Avoiding Audience Overlap – Optimizing Budget Distribution
Analyzing our campaign performance, we noticed that one of the biggest budget wastes occurs due to audience overlap. To prevent this, we use the following strategy:
Prospecting
ASC Remarketing
Scale
Exclusions:
Exclude all website visitors
Exclude all customers
Exclude all website visitors
This approach ensures that each campaign targets only the intended users, reducing competition within our campaigns and increasing the efficiency of budget spending.
Proper Budget Setup and Ad Management
Through our testing, we’ve found that setting budgets at the campaign level rather than the ad set level is the most cost-effective strategy. Specific recommendations include:
Prospecting Campaign – Start with a $30 daily budget, gradually increasing based on performance.
ASC Remarketing Campaign – Allocate at least 20% of the total budget to remarketing.
Scale Campaign – Start with a $100-200 daily budget, with aggressive scaling based on ad performance.
Additionally, we’ve found that it’s important not to force budget spending on underperforming ads. Meta AI allocates the budget according to performance, so it’s crucial to continuously test new creatives and allow the platform to identify winning ads on its own.
Aggressive Scaling with Manual Bidding Strategy for
When we want to significantly increase spend and drive higher revenue, we use a manual bidding strategy. Key steps include:
Launching a Manual Campaign with a Bid Cap strategy.
Setting the initial bid 5-20 USD below the average CPA (e.g., if the CPA is $35, the bid is set at $25).
Monitoring conversion volume for 24 hours – if no results, we increase the bid by $5-10 until we find the optimal value.
Scaling the budget by 5-10% daily or $250-500 every 3 days.
Note: This strategy yields the best results when the campaign already has at least 50-100 conversions. Otherwise, the results can be unpredictable.
Strategic Approach as the Key to Success with Meta Ads
Based on our experience with Meta ads, it’s clear that relying on AI optimization without precise campaign structure control is not profitable. By implementing these proven strategies, our clients see a significant improvement in ROAS and more stable campaign growth.
Key Recommendations:
Set a clear campaign structure (Prospecting, ASC Remarketing, Scale)
Prevent audience overlap to optimize budget utilization
Continuously test and rotate ads
Scale winning ads with manual bidding
This approach is not theoretical but based on real results we’ve achieved managing Meta campaigns. With proper implementation, long-term profitability and sustainable ad growth on the Meta platform are achievable.