Martech: Martech is Marketing Logo
  • Topics
    • Customer & Digital Experience
    • Digital Transformation
    • Data
    • Marketing Management
    • Marketing Operations
    • Performance Marketing
    • Special Reports
    • All Topics
  • Conference
  • Webinars
  • Intelligence Reports
  • White Papers
  • What is MarTech

Processing...Please wait.

MarTech » Performance Marketing » Facebook is removing 20 outdated, redundant ad metrics; adding methodology labels

Facebook is removing 20 outdated, redundant ad metrics; adding methodology labels

The changes are part of an effort to improve transparency and clarity of ad measurement on the social network.

Ginny Marvin on February 22, 2018 at 4:52 pm | Reading time: 3 minutes

Facebook has made several changes to how and what advertising metrics it reports in an effort to improve transparency and clear up advertiser confusion.

The changes come after the company admitted a series of measurement problems in a span of nearly two years and has heard from advertisers that they want more clarity around how its metrics are calculated.

Removing reporting metrics

Among the announcements made Thursday is the removal of roughly 20 reporting metrics that the social networks says were either redundant, outdated, not actionable or rarely used.

Facebook has provided a full list of these metrics along with reason for removal and suggested metrics to look at instead.

For example, the Button Clicks metric is on the chopping block. Facebook explains:

The Button Clicks metric shows the number of times people clicked the call-to-action button on your ad. Button Clicks is redundant because these clicks are also either reflected in the Link Clicks metric or other distinct metrics like the Event Responses metric and the Offers Saved metric. We recommend using Link Clicks, Event Responses or Offers Saved instead of Button Clicks.

The metric clean up will occur at some point in July.

Metric labels

To add more clarity about how metrics are calculated, some metrics will be explicitly labeled “estimated” and/or “in development”.

Metrics labeled as “estimated” are calculated using data modeling or sampling. While that’s not a new concept for marketers, not having the metrics clearly labeled as being estimates has caused confusion, Facebook found.

From the blog post:

These types of metrics are helpful because they can provide insights for outcomes that may be hard to precisely measure, such as the estimated ad recall lift or the number of unique people your campaign reached. These metrics are meant to provide directional insights into the value of your marketing results and can factor into your businesses’ strategic planning.

Metrics labeled as “in development” are being tested or rolling, which means their results may change as Facebook adjusts the methodologies used in these metrics.

New metrics are often developed for new ad features. Facebook says that new metrics are typically in development for 60 days, though sometimes longer.

Advertisers won’t get any notifications if Facebook fixes errors, bugs or makes changes to metrics labeled as “in development”.

Measurement training

Facebook is launching a program called “Measure What Matters” in March to help marketers learn more about measurement principles. One track will offer programming for branding oriented campaigns and another will focus on measurement for direct response campaigns.

The programming will be offered on the Facebook Business website and on Facebook Live and in-person events.


Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily MarTech. Staff authors are listed here.


New on MarTech

    Why martech integration needs more than technical skills
    An incredibly brief guide to shifting marketing offshore
    The latest jobs in martech
    Google favors helpful content over search engine-first in new update
    PGA TOUR transforms fan experience, analytics and customer feedback

About The Author

Ginny Marvin
Ginny Marvin was formerly Third Door Media’s Editor-in-Chief, running the day-to-day editorial operations across all publications and overseeing paid media coverage. Ginny Marvin wrote about paid digital advertising and analytics news and trends for Search Engine Land, Marketing Land and MarTech Today. With more than 15 years of marketing experience, Ginny has held both in-house and agency management positions. She can be found on Twitter as @ginnymarvin.

Related Topics

Performance Marketing

Get the daily newsletter digital marketers rely on.

Processing...Please wait.

See terms.

ATTEND OUR EVENTS The MarTech Conference logo.

September 28-29, 2022: Fall

Start Training Now: Master Classes

Start Discovering Now: Spring



The SMX Conference logo.

Start Training Now:: SMX Advanced

November 14-15, 2022: SMX Next

March 8-9, 2022: Master Classes

Webinars

Tracking Growth From Organic Search

Beyond the Buzzword: Transform Digitally to Drive Organic & SEO Growth

Leap or Linger: Determining Which Ad Platforms to Test for Your B2B Brand

See More Webinars
Intelligence Reports

Enterprise Marketing Performance Management Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

Enterprise Customer Journey Orchestration Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

Enterprise Account-Based Marketing Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

See More Intelligence Reports
Featured White Paper

The CMO’s Formula To 3x Your Digital Marketing Campaign Results

See More Whitepapers
Search Our Site

Receive daily marketing news & analysis.

Processing...Please wait.

Topics

  • Transformation
  • Operations
  • Data
  • Experience
  • Performance
  • Management
  • All Topics
  • Home

Our Events

  • MarTech
  • Search Marketing Expo - SMX

About

  • What is MarTech
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Marketing Opportunities
  • Staff

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Newsletters
  • RSS

© 2022 Third Door Media, Inc. All rights reserved.