Where can your ads appear?
Meta offers placements across four platforms. Here’s how they compare:| Placement | Typical CPM | CTR Behavior | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Facebook Feed | $8 - $18 | Highest CTR (0.8% - 1.5%). Users are in a browsing mindset and click readily. | Link clicks, conversions, lead gen. The workhorse placement for most advertisers. |
| Instagram Feed | $8 - $16 | Moderate CTR (0.5% - 1.0%). Visually driven, users engage more with strong imagery. | E-commerce, brand awareness, product discovery. |
| Instagram Stories | $4 - $10 | Lower CTR (0.3% - 0.6%) but high swipe-up engagement. Full-screen format commands attention. | App installs, flash sales, time-sensitive offers. Cheap impressions with strong visual impact. |
| Instagram Reels | $3 - $8 | Low CTR (0.2% - 0.5%) but high view-through rates. Users expect entertainment, not ads. | Top-of-funnel awareness, video views, reaching younger audiences. Lowest CPMs on Meta right now. |
| Facebook Marketplace | $5 - $12 | Moderate CTR (0.6% - 1.0%). Users are already in a shopping mindset. | E-commerce, local businesses, product-based offers. High purchase intent audience. |
| Messenger | $4 - $10 | Low CTR (0.2% - 0.5%). Inbox ads feel intrusive to some users. | Lead generation via Messenger conversations, retargeting warm audiences. |
| Audience Network | $2 - $6 | Lowest CTR (0.1% - 0.3%). Ads appear in third-party apps and websites. | Cheap reach and frequency. Useful for retargeting, not great for cold prospecting. |
| Facebook Right Column | $2 - $5 | Very low CTR (0.05% - 0.2%). Desktop only, small ad format, easily ignored. | Retargeting only. The cheapest placement but almost invisible for cold audiences. |
What are Advantage+ placements?
Advantage+ placements (formerly “Automatic placements”) is Meta’s default setting that lets the algorithm decide where to show your ads across all available placements. Instead of you picking Facebook Feed and Instagram Stories manually, Meta distributes your budget to whichever placements deliver the best results for your optimization goal. Here’s how it works:- Meta starts by testing your ad across all available placements.
- It measures performance based on your chosen objective (conversions, link clicks, etc.).
- It shifts budget toward the placements delivering the lowest cost per result.
- It continues to reallocate in real time as auction conditions change.
In most cases, use Advantage+ placements. Meta’s algorithm has data on billions of ad deliveries and can find cheap results in placements you’d never think to test. Manual placement selection only makes sense when your creative is format-specific (e.g., you only have vertical video, so Feed placements would look bad) or when you’re deliberately testing one placement against another.
Ad placements in plain English
Think of ad placements like shelf positions in a grocery store. Facebook Feed is the eye-level shelf in the main aisle. Everyone sees it, so it’s the most competitive (expensive) spot. Instagram Stories is the end cap display. People walk by quickly, but the full visual grabs attention. Audience Network is the bottom shelf in a side aisle. Few people notice it, but it’s cheap. Advantage+ placements is like telling the store manager: “Put my product wherever it sells best.” The manager has data on every shopper’s habits and rotates your product to whatever shelf drives the most sales for your budget. Most of the time, the manager does a better job than you would picking shelves yourself.Common placement mistakes
Only selecting Facebook Feed and Instagram Feed
Only selecting Facebook Feed and Instagram Feed
This is the most common mistake. Advertisers manually pick only Feed placements because those have the highest CTR. But Feed also has the highest CPM. By excluding Stories, Reels, and other placements, you’re competing in the most expensive auction and ignoring placements where your cost per conversion might be lower. Let Meta spread your budget. A 0.3% CTR on a $4 CPM placement can produce cheaper conversions than a 1.0% CTR on a $15 CPM placement.
Not adapting creative for each placement
Not adapting creative for each placement
A landscape image designed for Facebook Feed gets cropped awkwardly in Instagram Stories (which needs 9:16 vertical). A text-heavy static image disappears in Reels (where users expect motion). Use Meta’s asset customization feature to upload different creative versions for different placements. At minimum, have a square version (1:1 for Feed), a vertical version (9:16 for Stories/Reels), and ensure your primary text works without the headline (Stories and Reels often hide it).
Removing placements because they have low click volume
Removing placements because they have low click volume
Audience Network and Messenger might show very few clicks in your breakdown reports. But those placements often serve an assist role. A user might see your Audience Network ad three times before clicking your Feed ad. If you remove the cheap placements, you remove those assist touches, and your Feed CPC may rise as a result. Look at overall campaign cost per conversion, not per-placement click volume.
Ignoring Reels and Stories entirely
Ignoring Reels and Stories entirely
Reels and Stories are where Meta is pushing inventory right now. CPMs are significantly lower than Feed because ad supply is growing faster than advertiser demand. If your ad creative works in vertical video format, these placements can deliver 30-50% cheaper impressions than Feed. Not testing them means leaving cheap reach on the table.
How placement relates to other settings
| Setting | Relationship |
|---|---|
| Ad Sets | Placement selection happens at the ad set level. Each ad set can have different placement settings. |
| CPM | Each placement has a different CPM. Reels and Stories are typically cheapest. Feed and Audience Network desktop are most expensive. |
| CTR | CTR varies dramatically by placement. A “low” CTR on Stories is normal, not a sign of bad creative. Compare CTR within the same placement, not across them. |
| Ad Creative | Different placements need different creative formats. Use asset customization to tailor creative per placement. |
| CPC | CPC = CPM / (CTR x 1,000). A low-CPM placement with low CTR can still produce competitive CPCs. |
How to optimize your placements
Start with Advantage+ placements
Let Meta’s algorithm distribute your budget across all placements. This is the right default for 90% of campaigns. You’ll reach people wherever they’re cheapest to convert, not just where they’re easiest to click.
Create format-specific creative
Upload separate assets for Feed (1:1 or 4:5), Stories/Reels (9:16 vertical), and right column (1.91:1 landscape). Use Meta’s placement asset customization in the ad editor. This alone can improve performance by 20-30%.
Check placement breakdowns weekly
In Ads Manager, use the Breakdown menu and select “Placement” to see cost per result by placement. Look for placements with unusually high cost per conversion. If one placement is 3x more expensive than others for conversions, consider excluding it.
Only exclude placements with data
Don’t remove a placement because you assume it won’t work. Run it for at least 7 days and 50+ conversions at the campaign level before deciding. If Audience Network is truly wasting budget (high spend, zero conversions after sufficient data), then exclude it.
See which placements drive your results
AdAdvisor breaks down your campaign performance by placement so you can see exactly where your budget goes and which placements deliver conversions. Instead of guessing, you’ll see real CPM, CTR, and cost-per-conversion data for every placement in one view.Try AdAdvisor Free
See placement-level performance for every campaign and ad set.
ROAS Calculator
Calculate whether your placement CPMs are sustainable given your margins.