Meta Ads Manager: how to set up and use Facebook Ads Manager

How to open Meta Ads Manager

1. Log in to Facebook on a computer.
2. Go to adsmanager.facebook.com, or open the menu and choose Ads Manager. On a phone, use the Meta Ads Manager app or Meta Business Suite.
3. If you have more than one ad account, pick the right one from the drop-down at the top left.

Beware of look-alike sites and messages offering "Ads Manager access" or "account verification". Meta's tools live on facebook.com and business.facebook.com. Do not enter your password anywhere else.

Set up a business portfolio first

A business portfolio, previously called Business Manager, is the container that owns your business assets. Create one at business.facebook.com:

1. Click Create a business portfolio and enter the business name, your name and your work email.
2. Add your Facebook page and Instagram account.
3. Create an ad account inside the portfolio, with your time zone and currency. These cannot be changed later.
4. Add a payment method in Billing.
5. Add people under Users > People, and give each the least access they need.
6. Complete business verification in Security Centre when asked. It unlocks higher limits and some features, such as WhatsApp Business API.

How to add someone to your Ads Manager

In business settings, open Users > People, click Add, enter their email and choose the access level. Then assign them to the ad account with "Manage campaigns" or "View performance". For an agency, add the agency's business portfolio as a partner instead of adding individual staff.

Install the Meta pixel and Conversions API

Open Events Manager, create a dataset (pixel) and install it on your website, directly or through Google Tag Manager. Add events for leads, purchases, WhatsApp clicks and calls. Add the Conversions API so events still reach Meta when browsers block cookies. Without this, Meta cannot learn who converts and your cost per result goes up.

Campaign, ad set and ad

Every campaign in Ads Manager has three levels:

• Campaign: the objective. Awareness, Traffic, Engagement, Leads, App promotion or Sales.
• Ad set: budget, schedule, audience, placements and the conversion event.
• Ad: the creative, text, link or WhatsApp button.

For most businesses, start with Leads (instant forms, calls or WhatsApp messages) or Sales (website purchases). Advantage+ settings let Meta choose audiences and placements, which works well once the pixel has data.

How much to spend

Start with a daily budget you can sustain for at least two weeks, because Meta needs about 50 results per ad set per week to finish learning. If that is not affordable, combine ad sets or optimise for an earlier action. Read Google Ads cost for a comparison with search ads.

Reading the results

Customise columns to show results, cost per result, link clicks, CTR, frequency and, for stores, purchase value and ROAS. Judge ads on cost per lead or sale over a week, not on likes or reach in a day.

Common mistakes

• Boosting posts from the page instead of building campaigns in Ads Manager.
• Running ads from a personal ad account that the business does not own.
• No pixel or wrong events, so Meta optimises for clicks rather than customers.
• Changing budgets and audiences every day, which restarts learning.
• Ten small ad sets with tiny budgets instead of one or two with enough data.
• Ignoring frequency: the same people seeing the same ad ten times.

Ads Manager not working or account restricted?

Check Account Quality in Meta Business Suite for rejected ads or restrictions, and request a review there. Disabled accounts are usually caused by payment failures, policy breaches or a compromised login. Turn on two-factor authentication for everyone with access.

If you would rather hand this over, we run Meta Ads management from ₹6,999$139 a month and Meta Business Suite setup as a one-time job.