Want your Facebook ads to get more attention? Quality ranking is key!
Like a big star standing out from the crowd, top-ranked ads on Facebook get seen the most. In this guide, we’ll explain what “quality ranking” means, how it’s measured, and how improving it can make a big difference in your ad success.
What Is Quality Ranking for Facebook Ads?
Facebook’s Quality Ranking scores your ad against others targeting the same audience. It considers your ad’s design, content, and engagement to assess overall quality. A higher ranking means your ad captures attention effectively and encourages action.Specifically, Quality Ranking examines:
- Visuals: Do the images and videos attract your audience or confuse them? Are text, logos, products, etc. clearly highlighted?
- Copy: Is your headline compelling? Does the ad copy clearly explain why users should click and take action? Too much copy can reduce quality.
- Formatting: Do fonts, colors, and layout optimize readability and draw attention to key elements? Clutter and distractions hurt quality.
- Post-click experience: Does the landing page deliver on what your ad promises? A disjointed or frustrating experience beyond the initial click damages long-term quality.
There are five quality tiers an ad might fall into:
- Above Average - Top 15% of comparable ads
- Average - Middle 50% of all ads
- Below Average (bottom 35%)
- Below Average (bottom 20%)
- Below Average (bottom 10%) - Lowest quality
The specific tier depends on user engagement metrics like clicks and hides, as well as expert review checks for issues like sensational language.
Higher quality equals lower advertising costs and better ad delivery by Facebook. You can improve quality by refining images, copy, layouts, calls-to-action, value propositions, and the post-click experience. Comparing Quality Ranking with Engagement Rate and Conversion Rate rankings gives a complete view of opportunities.
How can you improve the quality ranking of Facebook ads?
So how can you improve the quality ranking of your Facebook ads and scale Facebook Ads effectively? Here’s how.
1. Create High-Quality Ad Creatives
When creating Facebook ads, killer pictures and videos are so important for getting people's attention. Think about when you're flipping through Instagram or Facebook - what makes you stop scrolling for a sec? Probably a funny meme, cute puppy, or cool-looking product ad.
To make your Facebook ads stand out:
- 📸 Use sharp, high-quality photos and videos that look good small on phones. Blurry or fuzzy pictures make people keep scrolling.
- 🎥 Show people enjoying your product! Smiling faces and "I want that!" moments create good vibes.
- 🖌️ Make sure your colors, fonts, vibe match your brand. Seeing your look makes people recognize and trust you.
- 💭 Before the words, visuals create first feelings. Choose images that make people curious or excited to know more.
Testing different looks is key. Make your ads eye-catching so people want to read and click. Your goal is to get reactions of "Whoa, that's awesome!" That's how you hook interest!
2. Craft Meaningful, Relevant Copy
Killer copy gets your ad noticed! When writing text for Facebook ads, think about what would make YOU stop scrolling.
- 🚀 Tell a short, interesting story about how your product helps people. Start with a common problem like messy rooms or boredom. Then explain how your product fixes it!
- 🎯 Use words that your target audience cares about. For example, ad copy for a new soccer ball could talk about finally being able to curve shots just like pro players.
- 🗣️ Avoid complicated wording. Write conversationally, like you're explaining something simply to a friend.
- 🤩 Focus on how your product makes people happy or solves frustrating issues. Don't just list product features. Explain real life benefits!
Testing different copy is important. Find an emotional hook or compelling story that grabs attention fast. The goal is to get reactions of "Ooo I want that!" That's when you know your Facebook ad text hits the mark!
3. Check Your Ad Frequency
When you use Facebook to show ads, you want people to see them just enough times to get interested, but not so often that they get bored. It's kind of like listening to your favorite song - you love it at first, but if your sibling plays it nonstop, eventually you don't want to hear it anymore!
To keep your ad engaging and improve ROI, mix up the visuals and wording periodically. Use Facebook's Ad Manager tool to keep tabs on how often each person sees your ad. If that frequency number starts getting big, refresh your creative so it feels new again. You can make simple tweaks like changing the photo filter or fonts. Or write new ad copy that makes the same point in a fresh way.
4. Audience Alignment and Ad Placement
When creating Facebook ads, it's important to tailor your message correctly based on where your audience is in their buyer's journey. You should create different versions of your ad to target groups in each of the main stages:
Awareness Stage
- Target people who may not know about your product yet
- Focus on introducing your brand and explaining how your product solves a common problem they face
- Create 2-3 ad variations explaining the key benefits in different ways
- Example: "Tired of staining your clothes while cooking? The Amazing Apron protects your outfits while baking, grilling, etc."
Consideration Stage
- Target people familiar with your product but still deciding whether to purchase
- Create 2-3 ads focused on product details like features, quality, value, and positive reviews
- Include testimonials, product demo videos, or instructions to help convince this audience
- Example: "The Amazing Apron withstands heat up to 400°F. Waterproof and extra durable fabric means no more ruined outfits!"
Decision Stage
- Target people ready to purchase - your ads should urge them to take action
- Create 2-3 ads with strong calls-to-action like "Add to Cart" or "Buy Now"
- Incentivize immediate purchase with discounts, free shipping, guarantee messaging
- Example: "For today only, buy The Amazing Apron and save 20% + free shipping!"
Use Facebook's split testing capabilities to determine which ad content and messaging works best on each audience. Fine-tuning your segmentation this way will improve ad relevance and quality ranking over time.
5. Avoid Engagement Bait and Sensational Language
Facebook does not like ads that try to trick people into engaging. For example, saying "Like this if you agree!" or using shocking words just to get attention. These kinds of ads often end up rated low quality.
Instead, make your ad easy to understand and talk about something that matters to your audience. Tell a story or show how your product helps people. This makes it more likely people will naturally want to like, share or comment because your ad reaches them emotionally. When real people choose to engage with your ad, Facebook sees your ad as higher quality.
For example, an ad for soccer cleats could show kids scoring goals in a big game. The ad would focus on how the cleats help the athletes play better rather than begging for likes. This makes the ad honest and appealing to its audience.
6. Improve Your Landing Page Experience
If your ad sends people to a slow or confusing website, they will get frustrated and leave. This can make Facebook think your ad is low quality.
Make sure that your landing page aligns with your ad content and offers a seamless experience:
- Page Load Speed: Check that your website loads in under 2 seconds on mobile devices. Slow load times will lower your Facebook ad quality score.
- Mobile Optimization: Most Facebook users view ads on phones. So test that your website looks good and is easy to click on a phone screen.
- Content Relevance: If your ad offers a coupon code or video, show that code or video clearly on your landing page. Your website should match what you advertised.
For example, if your sports ad promises coupons, the landing page should show a big coupon code right away. That way people get what they expected to see. This keeps them happy so they purchase or sign up instead of clicking away.
7. Test and Analyze Using Ad Relevance Diagnostics
Facebook has a tool called Ad Relevance Diagnostics that's like a doctor checkup for your ads. It looks at three important things - how good your ad looks, how much people click and like it, and how often they buy stuff after seeing it.
If your ad isn't getting a lot of likes or buys, checking these three things can help you find ways to make it better.
Here's what each ad "health check" means:
- Quality: Does your ad look good and interesting to people who see it? If quality score is low, try using different pictures or words that fit what people want to see.
- Engagement: Are people liking, commenting, and clicking your ad a lot? If engagement is low, make your ad more fun and exciting!
- Conversion After clicking your ad, do people actually buy anything or sign up? If you're not getting conversions, send people to a better page after they click, or target people more likely to buy.
You usually want all three scores to be at least average. If one score is way lower than others, focus on improving that area first.
Getting super high scores takes hard work and isn't always needed - just concentrate on any low scores. It's like on a test - improving a fail to a C helps more than an A to an A+!
8. Run Experiments and Learn Continuously
Improving your ad's quality score takes some mad scientist-style experimenting! The tiniest of details can make a big difference.
Try changing little things in your ad, like:
- The font color or style
- The background picture
- The main headline
- The descriptive words
- The button they clicked on
Facebook has awesome tools to run "experiments" too:
- A/B Testing: Try making two different versions of the same ad, then show them to some people. For example, use different headlines or photos and see which one gets more clicks or sales. This helps you learn what works to improve your ad quality score.
- Analytics: Check out the data Facebook gives you about how your ads are doing. For example, you can see the "click-through rate" - how often people click your ad after seeing it. If that number goes up after you change something, it's a clue that the new version is higher quality.
With continuous testing and optimization analysis, it requires knowledge and experience takes work, but improving your quality is science fun!
9. Avoid Low-Quality Attributes
Facebook wants people to have a good experience with ads. Ads that are misleading or ask for too many likes and comments can make people feel tricked. So Facebook will show these types of ads to less people.
Here's what to avoid in your Facebook ads:
- Using exaggerated headlines that don't match the content of your ad. For example, "You Won't Believe What Happens Next!" can mislead potential customers and lead to high bounce rates, which affects your ad's effectiveness.
- Omitting key details to create curiosity and get clicks can backfire. Be transparent about what your ad offers so viewers know exactly what they're engaging with and avoid feeling misled.
- Overasking for likes, comments, or shares can feel pushy and make people uncomfortable. While engagement is important, focusing on quality interactions rather than quantity is more beneficial to your brand’s reputation.
- Overhyping your product or service can lead to disappointment and distrust. Be honest about your offering to set proper expectations and build long-term customer relationships.
If Facebook catches an ad of yours doing one of these things, it will be shown to less people. And if you have multiple low-quality ads, all of your ads might be shown less.
The types of ads most often having these issues are ones about entertainment, politics, or big news events. But any advertiser could be impacted.
So be clear, honest, and straightforward in your Facebook ads. That's the best way to make sure they reach more of the people you want to reach.
Conclusion
Improving the quality ranking of your Facebook requires persistent effort and continuous effort. However, in the volatile world of advertising, there is no perfect formula. Each campaign requires creativity and flexibility from the implementers. Connect with us to rent a Facebook agency account to help your ads spend more. Wish you always be full of enthusiasm, overcome all challenges and shine in your career to conquer the peak of advertising!
Mohamed Fouad is a full-stack web developer and an entrepreneur who's really into advertising. He is the CEO of Rent Ads Agency, a company that helps businesses reach more customers through advertising. He graduated from Stanford University in 2018 and has over 4 years of experience in the tech industry.
