What to Expect: Facebook Ads and iOS 14 Update
In June 2020 Apple announced an iOS 14 policy update that will reduce the ability for advertisers to target and report on apps and website conversion events. Coming in early 2021, Apple will be releasing this update that will limit advertising data and visibility across iOS apps like Facebook, Instagram, Google, etc. Apple has yet to make public the specific release date, however, there are steps you can take now to prepare. In this blog, we will cover what this update means for Facebook Ads, forecasted impacts, and the actions you should be taking now within your Ads Manager account to prepare for these changes.
WHAT THE UPDATE MEANS
If you're running ads for your business on Facebook, you've likely seen the below notification regarding the iOS 14 update within the Facebook Ads Manager platform:
Starting in early 2021 Apple will be showing Facebook and Instagram App users a pop-up message allowing them to opt-out of data tracking “across Apps and Websites owned by other companies.” Data tracking will still work on Android and Desktop and for people who DON’T opt-out.
The biggest effects of this change will be with Pixel and Insight tracking. This means:
Tracking Pixel Actions from Facebook ads. Any tracking such as Leads, Add to Cart, Purchases, custom conversions, etc. with the Pixel will now be under-reported due to people opting out of tracking.
Optimizing your Ads for these actions. Because the pixel isn’t learning as well, the ads possibly won’t be optimized as well to people who are taking the actions.
Retargeting ads. When creating a Retargeting audience, it is likely that anyone who visited your website from an opted-out iOS 14 device won’t see your retargeted ad.
App Installs. Facebook won’t be able to optimize around App Installs or other App-related conversions for iOS devices for an App your business is advertising.
Additionally, to meet Apple's new policy requirements, Facebook has updated the default attribution window. Default attribution windows are moving from 7-day click-through and 1-day view-through to 7-day click-through only for all conversions and catalog sales objective campaigns. Advertisers should expect delivery to be less efficient compared to historical performance. This means you can expect a decrease in reported conversions in comparison to previous performance.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
The following are action items the Avenue team recommends taking to ensure your Facebook advertising is best prepared for these updates.
Set up domain verification within Facebook. Verifying your business domain will ensure no immediate or future disruption to your ability to configure and measure conversion events. Domain verification can be found here.
Prepare to operate with a maximum of 8 conversion events per domain and configure your Facebook ad accounts 8 tracking events - you can configure your top 8 conversion events within a new event configuration tool in Events Manager.
Anticipate changes to attribution windows. Advertisers using 28-day attribution will want to use the Comparing Windows feature to see how conversions attributed to their ads compare across different attribution windows. This will allow advertisers to better anticipate any changes in reported conversions as a result of moving to a 7-day window.
Start understanding how many conversions are coming from iOS devices. Follow these steps to track the devices on which your conversions are coming from to give your team a better understanding of the potential impact of the iOS update on your reporting.
Please note that Avenue has no affiliation with any products, services, or websites referenced in this blog post. Avenue is a digital marketing agency in Portland using business as a force for good. Our proprietary suite of paid advertising, search engine optimization (SEO) and social media services help brands and businesses of all sizes grow sustainably and successfully. For more information, we invite you to visit our services page.