How the Meta Ad Auction Works

Adding a new ad is supposed to restart the learning phase, but Jon discovered it doesn't always happen. This revelation has him rethinking everything about what the learning phase actually means and why advertisers fear it unnecessarily.

Social media is full of advertisers blaming Meta when their results tank, creating what Jon calls the "bottomless pit of despair." They try every tactic and strategy except examining the things that actually matter. Jon explains how to escape this pit and what you should focus on instead.

Remarketing used to be 90% of Jon's budget, but it's mostly unnecessary now. However, there's one very specific business model where remarketing still makes perfect sense. Jon explains this exception and exactly how to set it up without falling into the usual remarketing traps.

Meta says performance drops 45% when frequency hits 4, but advertisers obsess over this metric without understanding the context. Jon explains why frequency isn't the villain you think it is and when a high frequency might actually help your campaigns.

The Meta ad auction isn't just about who bids the most. It's a complex system weighing three critical elements that determine which ads get shown and at what cost. Jon breaks down how the auction really works and why obsessing over bids is missing the point entirely.

Meta now offers two types of attribution: standard and incremental. With machine learning models predicting which conversions were actually caused by your ads, this sounds great in theory. Jon explains what incremental attribution really means and whether you should actually use it for optimization.

Meta keeps talking about "creative diversification" as the new key to advertising success, replacing the old focus on targeting. Jon breaks down what this actually means with Andromeda's launch and why you need to abandon the 6-ad limit mindset for something much bigger.

When ads aren't working, most advertisers blame Meta or obsess over targeting and placements. But there's one fundamental question they never ask. Jon explains why this single question changes everything and where you should actually focus your energy.

Following someone's advice step-by-step without understanding why is dangerous for your advertising. Jon explains why copying strategies word-for-word leads to trouble and what you should do instead to build your own best practices based on knowledge, not gospel.

A $5 cost per lead means nothing without knowing what happens after the form submission. Jon breaks down why value per lead is what actually matters and explains the critical questions you should be asking when your leads aren't converting into sales.