In the vast landscape of digital marketing, Facebook stands as a formidable platform that has transformed the way businesses connect with their target audience. 

With its staggering user base and extensive targeting capabilities, Facebook offers unparalleled opportunities for advertisers to reach and engage potential customers. 

However, simply creating an ad and setting it live does not guarantee success. It's not uncommon for advertisers to face challenges when their ads fail to deliver the desired results. 

To understand why this happens we need to get deep into the weeds on how the Facebook algorithm works. So, in this guide, we’ll break down everything you need to know about the Facebook algorithm and how to navigate in 2024. 

Unraveling reasons for non-delivery of your Facebook ads

There are several reasons why your Facebook ads might not be delivering. We’ve delved deep into the most common reasons below:

1. Ad disapproval

Facebook ads can be disapproved if they violate Facebook's advertising policies or guidelines. Reasons for ad disapproval may include:

• Violation of community standards: Ads that contain offensive, violent, or inappropriate content that goes against Facebook's community standards may be disapproved.
• Misleading or false claims: Ads that make false claims or provide misleading information about products, services, or offers may not be approved.
• Restricted content: Ads promoting certain sensitive content, such as alcohol, gambling, or adult products, may require additional review and may be disapproved if not compliant with Facebook's policies.
• Prohibited content: Ads promoting prohibited items or activities, such as illegal drugs, weapons, or discriminatory content, will likely be disapproved.

2. Ad under review

Sometimes, Facebook's review process may take longer than expected, resulting in ads being stuck in the review phase. Reasons for ads being under review include:

• Increased ad volume: During peak times or periods of high influx of ad volumes, the review process may take longer.
• Complex ad content: Ads with complex features, such as advanced targeting options or specific industries, may require additional review for compliance and accuracy.
• Manual review triggered: Certain factors, such as targeting sensitive topics or keywords, may trigger a manual review by Facebook's team.

3. Low-quality ad

Low-quality ads may not meet Facebook's standards and guidelines for ad content. Reasons for ads being considered low quality include:

• Engagement bait: Ads that use misleading tactics or engagement bait to boost interactions artificially may be deemed low quality.
• Withheld information: Ads that withhold crucial information or mislead users by not clearly stating the purpose or nature of the ad may be considered low quality.
• Sensationalist language: Ads that use exaggerated or sensational language without providing substantial value or relevant information may be categorized as low quality.

For example in the ad below, if the brand had exaggerated their offer Facebook will mark it as a low-quality ad. 

Also read: 10 Common Facebook Ad Mistakes (and How You Can Avoid Them)

4. Excessive text

Facebook has guidelines regarding the amount of text that can appear on an ad image. If an ad contains too much text, it may receive limited delivery. Reasons for excessive text in ads include:

• Text overlay limitations: Facebook limits the amount of text that can appear on an ad image to maintain a visually engaging experience.
• Image-to-text ratio: Ads with a high ratio of text to image may be perceived as less visually appealing, leading to limited delivery.

5. Spending limit reached

If the budget or spending limit set for a campaign is reached, the ads will stop delivering. Reasons for reaching the spending limit include:

• Budget allocation: The allocated budget for the campaign has been fully utilized or depleted.
• Campaign duration: The campaign has run for the specified timeframe, and the budget has been exhausted within that period.

6. Ad frequency and ad fatigue

Showing the same ad to the same audience repeatedly can lead to ad fatigue. When users see an ad too often, they may lose interest or become desensitized to it, resulting in lower engagement. 

Facebook's algorithm takes ad frequency into account and may limit the delivery of ads that are shown too frequently to the same users. 

7. Ad auction competitiveness

Facebook's ad delivery system operates on an auction-based model, where advertisers bid for ad placements. 

If your bid is not competitive enough compared to other advertisers targeting the same audience, your ads may receive limited impressions or not be shown at all.

Now that we’ve looked at the main reasons behind Facebook ads not delivering, let’s look at how we can fix it. 

Tips and tricks to navigate the Facebook algorithm 

Understanding and working with the Facebook algorithm can significantly enhance your advertising efforts. Here are some tips to help you navigate the Facebook algorithm:

1. Understand your audience

Understanding your audience is crucial for effective Facebook marketing. When you have a deep understanding of your target audience, you can create content that resonates with them, resulting in higher engagement, better ad performance, and increased reach. Here’s how you can do this:

• Conduct audience research: Use Facebook Audience Insights, Google Analytics, and other tools to gather data about your target audience demographics, interests, and behaviors.
• Create buyer personas: Develop detailed profiles of your ideal customers, including their age, gender, preferences, and pain points. This will help you tailor your content to their specific needs and interests.
• Monitor audience engagement: Analyze the performance metrics of your Facebook posts and ads to gain insights into what content resonates the most with your audience. Adjust your strategy based on these findings.

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Pro tip: 

Artwork Flow helps you identify which creative elements, messaging, or design variations generate higher engagement and conversions, enabling you to make data-driven decisions to optimize your campaigns for maximum audience appeal. 

With Artwork Flow's Creative Intelligence, you gain a deeper understanding of your audience's preferences, allowing you to tailor your creatives and messaging to effectively connect with them and drive better campaign results.

2. Create compelling content 

Compelling and relevant content is essential for capturing and retaining your audience's attention. It encourages them to engage with your posts, boosts organic reach, and increases the likelihood of your ads being shown to a broader audience. To conduct compelling content, here’s what you can do:

• Conduct content research: Stay updated on industry trends, popular topics, and what your competitors are doing. This will help you create content that is timely, relevant, and valuable to your audience.
• Use captivating visuals: Incorporate high-quality images, videos, and graphics that are visually appealing and align with your brand. Visual content tends to attract more attention and generate higher engagement.
• Craft compelling headlines and ad copy: Write clear, concise, and attention-grabbing headlines and ad copy that communicate the value and relevance of your content. Use persuasive language and address your audience's pain points.

Also read: Write Ad Copy Like a Pro: What's the Secret?

Pro Tip: Artwork Flow's creative collaboration feature revolutionizes the content creation process by promoting seamless teamwork and efficient workflows. With this tool, teams can collaborate in real-time, irrespective of their location, allowing for faster content creation and iteration cycles. 

It offers features like centralized asset management, version control, and commenting capabilities, enabling smooth communication and feedback exchange among team members.

3. Use visuals and multimedia

Visual content is highly engaging and can capture the attention of users as they scroll through their Facebook feeds. 

By incorporating visuals and multimedia elements, you can make your content more appealing and stand out from the crowd. To make visuals more interesting, follow the tips below:

• Use high-quality images and videos: Ensure that your visuals are visually appealing, clear, and well-crafted. High-resolution images and well-edited videos can enhance the overall quality of your content.
• Experiment with different formats: Explore various types of visual content, such as infographics, GIFs, and live videos, to add variety and captivate your audience.
• Add captions and subtitles: When using videos, include captions or subtitles to make your content accessible to users who prefer muted or silent browsing. This can increase engagement and reach a broader audience.

4. Utilize Facebook Audience Insights

Facebook's Audience Insights provides valuable data and insights about your target audience. By leveraging this tool, you can gain a deeper understanding of their demographics, interests, behaviors, and purchase intent. 

This information enables you to refine your targeting strategy and create more effective and personalized ad campaigns. Here are a few ways in which you can use audience insights:

• Access audience insights: Navigate to the Facebook Ads Manager, select "Audience Insights" from the "Plan" dropdown menu. Choose the appropriate audience segment to analyze.
• Analyze demographics: Review demographic information such as age, gender, location, and language to understand the composition of your audience and tailor your content accordingly.
• Explore interests and behaviors: Identify the specific interests, hobbies, and behaviors that your audience engages with. Use this information to refine your targeting and create content that aligns with their preferences.
• Identify purchase intent: Discover the types of products, brands, or industries your audience is interested in. This insight can help you tailor your messaging and promotions to align with their purchase intent.

5. Experiment and test different strategies

Facebook's algorithm is constantly evolving, and what works today may not work tomorrow. 

By experimenting and testing different strategies, you can identify what resonates best with your audience, optimize your campaigns, and stay ahead of the competition. There are different ways to test your strategies:

• A/B testing: Create multiple variations of your ads, targeting, ad copy, or visuals. Run these variations simultaneously to compare their performance and identify the most effective elements.
• Test different objectives: Explore different campaign objectives, such as brand awareness, lead generation, or conversions. Assess the performance of each objective and refine your strategy based on the results.
• Monitor analytics: Regularly analyze the performance metrics of your campaigns, such as reach, engagement, click-through rates, and conversions. Use these insights to make data-driven decisions and optimize your future campaigns.

Understanding the Facebook ad algorithm

The Facebook ad algorithm refers to the complex set of calculations and rules that determine the delivery, visibility, and engagement of ads on the Facebook platform. 

It uses a variety of signals and data points to evaluate and rank ads, aiming to show users the most relevant and engaging content based on their interests, behaviors, and preferences.

To effectively advertise on Facebook, it's crucial to understand how the Facebook ad algorithm works. Here, we will dive deeper into decoding the Facebook ad algorithm and explore key factors that influence ad delivery and performance.

1. Ad relevance

Ad relevance is a fundamental aspect of the Facebook ad algorithm. It measures how well your ad aligns with your target audience's interests and preferences. The higher the ad relevance, the more likely it is to be shown to the target audience.

For instance, if you're promoting a new line of eco-friendly skincare products, targeting environmentally conscious users, your ad's relevance score will be higher if the creative and messaging align with their values.

2.  Ad engagement 

Engagement refers to actions taken by users, such as likes, comments, shares, and clicks. And the level of engagement your ads receive also influences the Facebook ad algorithm.

When users actively engage with your ads, it signals to Facebook that the content is relevant and valuable, leading to increased ad delivery.

Suppose you are running a Facebook ad campaign to promote a new product. Your ad has a high ad relevance score due to accurate targeting and compelling ad content. However, the initial engagement on the ad is relatively low, with few likes, comments, and shares.

In this case, the Facebook algorithm may interpret the low engagement as a sign that the ad is not resonating with the target audience. 

As a result, the algorithm may reduce the ad's delivery to a smaller audience, assuming that it is not relevant or engaging enough.

On the other hand, let's imagine that the ad starts receiving higher engagement over time. Users begin liking, commenting, and sharing the ad, indicating a positive response. 

In this scenario, the increased engagement signals to the Facebook algorithm that the ad is valuable and relevant to the target audience.

As a result, the Facebook algorithm may respond by boosting the ad's delivery and expanding its reach. The ad may be shown to a larger audience, including users who have similar interests and behaviors to those who engaged with the ad.

3. Ad performance

Since Facebook aims to deliver ads that generate positive outcomes for advertisers, ads that perform well are more likely to be shown to a wider audience.

Suppose you are running two Facebook ad campaigns simultaneously, Campaign A and Campaign B, with similar targeting and ad content. However, there is a significant difference in the performance of the two campaigns.

In Campaign A, the ads have a high click-through rate (CTR), a good conversion rate, and a low cost per result. Users are actively engaging with the ads, and the campaign is generating positive outcomes, such as website visits, purchases, or sign-ups.

On the other hand, Campaign B is underperforming. The ads have a low CTR, a low conversion rate, and a high cost per result. Users are not engaging with the ads, and the campaign is not generating the desired outcomes.

In this scenario, the Facebook algorithm will show ads in Campaign A to more people than Campaign B. 

And now that we’ve understood how Facebook ad algorithms work, let’s look at why Facebook ads might not be delivering. 

Exploring the different types of Facebook ads

Facebook offers a range of ad formats to cater to diverse advertising goals and audience preferences. 

Each ad type has its unique features and functionalities, allowing advertisers to choose the most suitable format for their campaigns. 

Let's delve into the various types of Facebook ads and explore their key characteristics.

1. Photo ads

Photo ads are one of the most common and straightforward ad formats on Facebook. They consist of a single image accompanied by ad copy and a call-to-action button. 

By incorporating visuals and multimedia elements, you can make your content more appealing and stand out from the crowd. To make visuals more interesting, follow the tips below:

• Use high-quality images and videos: Ensure that your visuals are visually appealing, clear, and well-crafted. High-resolution images and well-edited videos can enhance the overall quality of your content.
• Experiment with different formats: Explore various types of visual content, such as infographics, GIFs, and live videos, to add variety and captivate your audience.
• Add captions and subtitles: When using videos, include captions or subtitles to make your content accessible to users who prefer muted or silent browsing. This can increase engagement and reach a broader audience.

Photo ads are effective in showcasing products, promoting events, or highlighting brand visuals. Advertisers can choose eye-catching images that grab the audience's attention and compel them to take action.

2. Video ads

Video ads provide a dynamic and engaging way to communicate with your audience. With the increasing popularity of video content, Facebook offers various video ad formats, including in-feed videos, stories ads, and in-stream videos. 

Video ads can effectively convey your brand message, demonstrate product features, or share customer testimonials. They allow for storytelling and capturing the audience's attention with compelling visuals and audio.

3. Carousel ads

Carousel ads enable advertisers to showcase multiple images or videos within a single ad unit. Users can swipe through the carousel cards to view different offerings, product variations, or sequential storytelling. 

This ad format is ideal for highlighting a range of products, telling a brand story in chapters, or presenting step-by-step tutorials. Carousel ads provide a visually appealing and interactive experience for users, increasing engagement and conversions.

4. Slideshow ads

Slideshow ads are a lightweight alternative to video ads, making them suitable for audiences with slower internet connections. They consist of a series of images or videos stitched together to create a slideshow-like presentation. 

5. Collection ads

Collection ads combine the power of images or videos with an immersive mobile shopping experience. This ad format allows advertisers to showcase a primary image or video along with multiple product images beneath it. 

When users tap on the ad, they are taken to a full-screen Instant Experience, where they can browse through a collection of products and make purchases seamlessly. Collection ads are particularly effective for e-commerce brands looking to drive product discovery and sales.

6. Instant experience ads

Formerly known as Canvas ads, Instant Experience ads provide a full-screen, immersive experience for mobile users. These ads allow advertisers to create interactive and multimedia-rich experiences, including images, videos, carousels, and more. 

Instant Experience ads are designed to capture users' attention and provide an engaging platform for storytelling, showcasing products, or sharing brand experiences.

7. Lead generation ads

Lead generation ads are specifically designed to capture user information and generate leads. These ads feature a lead form within Facebook, allowing users to submit their contact details directly without leaving the platform. 

Lead generation ads simplify the process of collecting user data, making them valuable for businesses aiming to expand their customer base or nurture leads for further conversion.

8. Dynamic ads

Dynamic ads are personalized and automatically generated ads that display products or services based on the user's browsing behavior or interactions on your website or app. These ads dynamically feature products or content that are most relevant to each individual user. 

Dynamic ads can be highly effective for retargeting campaigns, as they remind users of the specific products they viewed or expressed interest in, increasing the likelihood of conversion.

9. Messenger ads

Messenger ads leverage Facebook's popular messaging platform to engage with users in a more interactive and conversational manner. These ads can appear within the Messenger app's inbox and conversation threads, allowing advertisers to initiate conversations, answer customer queries, and drive engagement. 

Messenger ads can be useful for businesses looking to provide personalized customer support, promote chatbot interactions, or facilitate direct communication with their audience.

10. Sponsored messages

Sponsored messages are a type of ad that allows businesses to send targeted, personalized messages directly to users who have previously engaged with their Messenger account. 

These ads appear as a direct message in the user's Messenger inbox, enabling businesses to deliver tailored promotions, relevant content, or follow-up messages. Sponsored Messages are effective for re-engaging users and nurturing leads through personalized conversations.

Wrapping up

Understanding the reasons behind the non-delivery of Facebook ads is essential for optimizing ad performance. By addressing factors such as ad disapproval, low-quality content, budget constraints, and more, advertisers can overcome delivery challenges. 

Implementing strategies like audience understanding, compelling content creation, engagement fostering, and continuous optimization can enhance ad delivery and reach the intended audience effectively. 

Stay informed about updates and best practices to ensure ongoing success in Facebook advertising. 

By persistently refining strategies and embracing adaptability, advertisers can maximize the impact of their campaigns and achieve remarkable results.

Artwork Flow also helps with this process. Its AI-driven insights optimize your ad performance, prevent creative fatigue, and drive higher engagement and conversions.  To learn how Artwork Flow can help you navigate your Facebook ads, sign up for the demo today. 

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