- Run enhanced app campaigns.
- Import all your ad campaigns (app and web).
- Enable Appstack to audit Meta’s reporting capabilities.
- Allow Appstack to send in-app events, postbacks (signals) back to Meta.
To successfully connect Meta Ads, you must:
- Have Full/Admin control access to the right ad business portfolio (including Business Manager and Meta for Developers). Partial access is not enough to make the integration work.
- Ensure the app used in Appstack (it must be created in Meta for Developers) is connected to the correct ad account.
Available metrics and definitions
Available metrics and definitions
| Metrics | Definition |
|---|---|
| Ad spend | Money paid to run ads |
| Installs | New or old users who installed the app |
| Cost per install (CPI) | Cost per install from your ad campaigns. Formula: Ad spend / Installs |
| Installs per mille (IPM) | Installs per 1,000 impressions. Formula: (Installs / Impressions) x 1,000 |
| Impressions | Number of times an ad was shown |
| Cost per mille (CPM) | Cost per 1,000 impressions. Formula: (Ad spend / Impressions) x 1,000 |
| Clicks | Number of times an ad was clicked |
| Cost per click (CPC) | Cost per click. Formula Ad spend / Clicks |
| Click-through rate (CTR) | How often an impression becomes a click. Formula: Clicks / Impressions |
| Click to install rate | Share of clicks that became installs. Formula: Installs / Clicks |
| Return on ad spend (ROAS) | Return on ad spend. Formula: Ads revenue / Ad spend |
| Revenue | Total money earned from attributed users. |
Available in-app events and definitions
Available in-app events and definitions
| In-app events | Definition |
|---|---|
| Achieve level | User reaches a level/milestone |
| Add payment info | User enters or saves payment details |
| Add to cart | User adds an item to the shopping cart |
| Complete registration | User finishes sign-up (account creation) |
| Initiate checkout | User starts the checkout flow |
| Session | App open, resulting in a user session |
| View content | User views a key screen/content item |
| Start trial | User begins a free trial for a subscription |
| Subscription | First paid subscription period begins (with or without prior trial) |
| Purchase | One-time in-app purchase (consumable or non-consumable) |
Connect to Meta Ads
The first step is to connect your Meta Ads account with Appstack. Follow these steps:- In Appstack, from the side menu, select Integrations > Meta Ads
- Click on Connect to Meta Ads
- In Meta’s access integration flow, select the correct business portfolio that contains the proper ad accounts and apps
- Ensure that you click on Select all ad accounts
- Accept the requested permissions and click on Save
- Click on Got it and then you will get redirected to Appstack’s integration page
Configure the Conversion API
Configuring the Conversion API with Appstack will allow you to run enhanced app campaigns using the assigned ads link.Configure the dataset and Conversion API access token
The dataset receives all app events, not only Appstack-attributed ones. Choosing the wrong dataset will cause your app’s events to be sent to the wrong destination.
Information
- Click here to learn how to create a new dataset in Meta Events Manager
- For additional information on how to get the Conversion API access token, follow the official instructions: Get access token
- Once the connection shows as Active, select the correct dataset ID from the dropdown in Appstack.
- To generate the Conversion API access token, follow these steps:
- Go to your Meta Events Manager.
- Select the correct dataset from the drop-down.
- Click on Settings in the right sidebar.
- Scroll down to the Conversions API section.
- Click Generate Access Token.
- Copy the generated token.
- Paste the access token in the Conversion API access token field.
- Click on Save to confirm the dataset ID and access token enable the integration.
Sending events
To successfully send in-app events to Meta Ads, select the in-app events from the dropdown button under the ‘Appstack SDK events’ column.Appstack will automatically generate a new custom event called ‘appstack_[eventName]’. It will be sent to Meta Ads (to the selected dataset), and this event will be used as the optimization goal when setting up the ad campaign.
Information
- To complete this step successfully, you first need to receive an install event from the Appstack SDK.
- Once the in-app events are selected, they will take between 30 and 90 minutes to appear in your dataset in the Meta Events Manager.
- Appstack sends all events to Meta Events Manager, not only the attributed ones.
- All events sent by Appstack are set as custom events, not standard; therefore, they won’t affect your current setup.
Accept the custom events and verify the Appstack domain
Follow these instructions to accept the custom events in Meta Events Manager:
- After you select the in-app events you want to send to Meta Ads, go to ‘Meta Events Manager,’ and inside the proper dataset, you will see a warning that says: ‘Confirm custom event(s) that belong to you and click on Review events.
- Click on I acknowledge to continue.
- Select all the in-app events that start with the name ‘appstack_’ and click on Next.
- Select the Confirm the custom event option, then click Confirm.
- Now it’s time to verify the Appstack domain. Inside the same dataset, go to Settings and scroll down to the Traffic Permissions - Websites section.
- Click on Create an allow list.
- Look for the domain appstack.tech and click Add to allow list.
- Click on Confirm.
You must wait for the in-app events to arrive before doing this step.
Create your first enhanced app campaign
- Copy the ad link from the Appstack’s integration page (located at the bottom of the page).
- Inside Meta Ads Manager, click on + Create to start the campaign creation flow.
- Select Sales (recommended) as the campaign objective.
- At the ad set level, under the ‘Conversion’ section, select Website only as the ‘Conversion location’, select the correct dataset (same as in Appstack), and for the ‘Conversion event’ select the event you want the campaign to optimize for.
- At the ad set level, under the ‘Placements’ section, click on ‘Show more settings’ and select only Mobile and the correct operating system depending on the advertised app.
- At the ad level, paste the ad link into the ‘Website URL’ box. Don’t paste the URL parameters in the ‘Tracking’ section, copied in the first step.
Information
- App installs (appstack_install) are available as a metric in Ads Manager only if they were selected as an optimization goal. You can still see them inside the Appstack dashboard.
- To unlock the appstack_installs metric, you need to launch a campaign that optimizes for this event. Once you do it, you will be able to unlock this metric for all future campaigns.
- Remember to always select mobile-only and the correct operating system in the ‘Placements’ section at the ad set level.
Troubleshooting
General tips
- Check your permissions: Ensure you have the required access levels for each platform.
- Verify app connections: Ensure your app is correctly connected to the ad accounts.
- Missing dataset: Click on Refresh datasets below the dataset dropdown to update the token.
- Update tokens: Generate fresh API keys and access tokens by reconnecting.
- Contact support: If issues persist, reach out to our support team with specific error messages at support@appstack.tech.
Error messages
| Error | How to fix |
|---|---|
| Authentication failed | 1. Go to your Meta Business Manager 2. Check that your user account has the correct permissions 3. Try to connect again in Appstack |
| Application not found | 1. Verify your app ID is correct in Meta Business Manager 2. Ensure your user account has access to the correct ad account 3. Check that the app is connected to the right ad account |