Why You Should Not Turn Off Ads

Do not micromanage your ads. Let me explain why with an example that most advertisers understand…

The Ad Funnel

Let’s assume that you created three ads for a single ad set that all have a different purpose:

1. The first ad focuses on a common problem and the solution found in your product.

2. The second ad highlights a customer testimonial.

3. The third ad offers a 50% off discount.

Your results are very likely to show that the third ad gets the most conversions. So should you turn off the other two?

The Problem

Many of the people who acted on the discount did so partially because they saw one or both of the first two ads. If you take those ads away, they may be way less likely to act on the discount. Those ads generated interest, and the discount closed the sale.

Just because an ad isn’t getting credit for conversions doesn’t mean it didn’t contribute. The problem is that this type of contribution is rarely possible to see. We don’t know if an ad was regularly viewed before clicking on another, thereby being a potentially important part of the journey.

How to Approach Low-Performing Ads

So, what should you do? If you’re getting good results in aggregate, don’t stop the ads that are running. If Meta is dedicating budget to it, there’s probably a reason.

Only turn off ads if your overall results aren’t good. But at that point, turning these ads off is unlikely to help. If results are bad in aggregate, it usually means that you need to start over with your ads creative and messaging.