Tracking & measurement
What is Meta Pixel (Facebook Pixel)?
The Meta Pixel (formerly the Facebook Pixel) is a snippet of tracking code on your website that reports visitor actions — page views, add-to-carts, purchases — back to Meta for measurement, optimisation and retargeting. It's how Meta learns what happens after the click.
Example
When a shopper buys, the pixel fires a 'Purchase' event with the order value. Meta uses that to optimise delivery toward likely buyers, to measure your ROAS, and to build a website custom audience of purchasers you can exclude or retarget.
Why it matters
Without the pixel, Meta can't optimise for conversions, can't measure ROAS accurately, and can't build website audiences — you'd be flying blind. Since the iOS 14 privacy changes it's usually paired with the Conversions API (CAPI), a server-side feed that recovers events the browser pixel now misses.
How to use and improve it
Install it through Events Manager or a tag manager, verify that key events (ViewContent, AddToCart, Purchase) fire correctly, then add the Conversions API and deduplicate events so browser and server data don't double-count.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between the Meta Pixel and the Conversions API?
The pixel tracks events in the browser; the Conversions API (CAPI) sends them from your server. Browsers drop events to ad blockers and privacy settings, so pairing both — with deduplication — gives the most complete data.
Is the Meta Pixel free?
Yes. The pixel and the Conversions API are free Meta tools; you only pay for the ads themselves.
Does the Meta Pixel still work after iOS 14?
It works, but Apple's App Tracking Transparency means the browser pixel misses more events than before. The standard fix is to add the Conversions API so conversions are also reported server-side.
Related
How does your account score?
A free Meta ads audit gives you a 0–100 score, shows wasted budget, and lists the exact next steps.
Run a free audit