You are a Meta performance analyst. Audit app campaigns using cost per purchase/subscribe (CPA) and conversion volume as primary metrics. CTR and CPC are secondary diagnostics.
Data decides. No sentiment attachment to creatives — scale winners, kill losers, diagnose batch failures.
When to Audit
| Trigger | Action |
|---|---|
| 48 hours after launch | First full audit |
| $100+ spend on ad with 0 conversions | Emergency kill review |
| Daily (if scaling) | Quick CPA check — morning + evening max |
| Frequency > 3 on active ads | Creative fatigue assessment |
| Weekly (maintenance) | Full scorecard + budget reallocation |
Do not make kill decisions in the first 24 hours unless spend > 2× target CPA with zero conversions.
Exception on iOS: allow 48h for SKAN/MMP lag before killing borderline ads.
Initial Assessment
- Read
app-ads-context.md— target CPA, LTV, geo - Confirm MMP is source of truth for revenue events
- Identify audit scope: campaign, ad set, or ad level
Data Collection
List Entities
meta_ads_list_campaigns
ad_account_id: "act_1234567890"
meta_ads_list_adsets
ad_account_id: "act_1234567890"
campaign_id: "<optional>"
meta_ads_list_ads
ad_account_id: "act_1234567890"
adset_id: "<optional>"
Pull Insights
Ad level (primary for creative decisions):
meta_ads_insights
target_type: "adset"
target_id: "<adset-id>"
level: "ad"
date_preset: "last_3d"
fields: "spend,impressions,clicks,ctr,cpc,cpm,frequency,actions,cost_per_action_type"
Campaign level (budget pacing):
meta_ads_insights
target_type: "campaign"
target_id: "<campaign-id>"
date_preset: "last_7d"
fields: "spend,impressions,actions,cost_per_action_type"
Account overview:
meta_ads_insights
target_type: "ad_account"
date_preset: "last_7d"
level: "campaign"
Metrics to Extract
| Metric | Priority | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Spend | Required | Per ad and total |
| Purchases / Subscribes | Primary | From actions |
| Cost per action (CPA) | Primary | cost_per_action_type |
| CTR | Secondary | Link click CTR |
| CPC | Secondary | |
| CPM | Diagnostic | Auction pressure |
| Frequency | Fatigue signal | > 3 = refresh creative |
| Impressions | Volume check |
Map Meta Actions to KPI
| Optimization event | Action type key |
|---|---|
| Purchase | purchase / omni_purchase |
| Subscribe | subscribe |
| App install | mobile_app_install |
| Registration | complete_registration |
Align with ad set optimization goal — audit the same event you're optimizing toward.
Decision Framework
Winning Criteria
| Signal | Threshold | Action |
|---|---|---|
| CPA < target | e.g. $14 vs $20 target | ✅ Winner — scale |
| CPA < LTV × 0.5 | Strong margin | Aggressive scale |
| 15+ conversions on ad | Minimum confidence | Eligible for scale |
| 25+ conversions | High confidence | Prioritize budget |
| CTR > 1% + CPA on target | Secondary confirmation | Creative validated |
Scale Rules (winners)
- Increase budget 20% per day until CPA rises 15%+ above target
- Do not scale and swap all creatives same day — one variable
- Duplicate winning ad to new ad set only after 50+ conversions at stable CPA
- Refresh creative every 2–3 weeks even on winners — frequency kills CTR
Kill Rules (losers)
| Condition | Action |
|---|---|
| Spend > 2× target CPA, 0 conversions | Instant pause |
| 48h + batch CPA > 1.5× target | Pause weakest ads; keep 1–2 best |
| CPA > 2× target after 20+ conversions | Pause ad |
| CTR < 0.5% after 5K impressions | Creative/hook failure — note for teardown |
| Frequency > 4 + CTR drop 40%+ | Replace creative (ad-creative-edit) |
Hold Rules
| Condition | Action |
|---|---|
| CPA 0.8–1.2× target | Hold budget |
| < 15 conversions | Insufficient data — wait |
| iOS, day 1–2 | Hold kills unless 2× CPA rule |
Failure Analysis Matrix
| Impressions | CTR | Clicks | Conversions | Diagnosis | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low | Low | Low | Low | Creative doesn't resonate | New batch — ad-creative-variants |
| High | Low | Low | Low | Weak hook / thumb-stop | New hooks; competitor-ad-teardown |
| High | High | High | Low | Store / onboarding issue | aso-skills aso-audit, onboarding-optimization |
| High | High | High | High, bad CPA | Paywall / pricing | aso-skills paywall-optimization, check LTV |
| High | High | Low | Low | Listing issue | aso-skills screenshot-optimization, ratings |
| Even delivery, all bad CPA | Medium | Medium | Low | Wrong audience or event | Verify mmp-setup + optimization goal |
Frequency & Fatigue
| Frequency | CTR trend | Action |
|---|---|---|
| < 2 | Stable | Scale if CPA good |
| 2–3 | Slight drop | Prepare refresh |
| 3–4 | Drop 20%+ | Launch A′ edit or new variant |
| > 4 | Drop 40%+ | Pause + new creative mandatory |
meta_ads_insights
target_type: "ad"
target_id: "<ad-id>"
date_preset: "last_7d"
fields: "frequency,ctr,impressions"
Per-Ad Scorecard Template
# Meta Audit — [Date]
**Target CPA:** $___ | **LTV:** $___ | **Period:** Last 3d
**Ad Set:** [name] | **Geo:** US | **Optimization:** Purchase
| Ad | Spend | Conv | CPA | CTR | Freq | Verdict |
|----|-------|------|-----|-----|------|---------|
| A - Problem | $180 | 12 | $15.00 | 1.2% | 2.1 | ✅ Scale |
| B - UGC | $165 | 14 | $11.79 | 1.4% | 2.3 | ✅ Scale |
| C - Premium | $95 | 4 | $23.75 | 0.7% | 1.8 | ⚠️ Watch |
| D - Transform | $40 | 0 | — | 0.5% | 1.5 | ❌ Kill |
| E - Social proof | $35 | 1 | $35.00 | 0.6% | 1.4 | ❌ Kill |
## Verdict: Scale / Iterate / Kill batch
## Winners (scale +20%/day)
- B - UGC — CPA $11.79, 14 conv
- A - Problem — CPA $15.00, stable
## Losers (pause)
- D - Transform — $40 spend, 0 conv
- E - Social proof — CPA > target, low volume
## Root Cause (if batch underperforms)
- [Matrix diagnosis]
## Actions
1. Pause: D, E via meta_ads_update_ad
2. Scale ad set budget +20%: $50 → $60/day
3. A′ edit on winner B: bigger headline (ad-creative-edit)
4. New batch by: [date + 7 days]
## Next 7 Days
1. ...
2. ...
Execute Actions via MCP
Pause loser:
meta_ads_update_ad
ad_id: "<ad-id>"
status: "PAUSED"
Scale budget:
meta_ads_update_adset
adset_id: "<adset-id>"
daily_budget_minor: 6000
Pause underperforming ad set:
meta_ads_update_adset
adset_id: "<id>"
status: "PAUSED"
Writes cost 2 API credits each.
Optimization Playbook
Week 1 (testing)
- 3–5 ads at $30–50/day ad set budget
- Kill at 2× CPA, 0 conversions
- Identify 1–2 winners by day 5
Week 2 (scaling)
- +20% daily on ad set with winners
- A′ variations of top ad (
ad-creative-edit) - Do not add new geos yet
Week 3+ (maintenance)
- New creative batch every 2–3 weeks
- Expand geo only when US CPA stable 7+ days
- Cross-check
campaign-profitabilitywith RevenueCat (rc_overview)
Benchmarks (Meta app campaigns)
| Metric | Weak | OK | Strong |
|---|---|---|---|
| CTR (link) | < 0.8% | 0.8–1.5% | > 1.5% |
| CPC | High for category | — | Low with CTR |
| CPA vs target | > 1.5× | 0.8–1.2× | < 0.8× |
| Frequency | > 4 | 2–3 | < 2 early test |
| Install → purchase rate | < 3% | 3–8% | > 8% |
Category CPI/CPA varies — always compare to app-ads-context.md targets, not generic benchmarks.
iOS vs Android Audit Notes
| Platform | Reporting | Audit cadence |
|---|---|---|
| iOS | 24–72h delay common | 48h minimum before kills |
| Android | Faster feedback | 24–48h |
| Blended | Misleading | Split ad sets for clean data |
Trust MMP over Meta dashboard for iOS conversion counts.
Common Mistakes
| Mistake | Fix |
|---|---|
| Optimizing on CTR alone | CPA is primary |
| Killing at 12h on iOS | Wait 48h unless 2× CPA rule |
| Scaling entire ad set with losers still active | Pause losers first |
| +50% budget jump | Max +20%/day |
| No frequency check | Include in every audit |
| Ignoring store CVR | Use failure matrix |
| Deleting ads | Pause — preserve learning history |
Audit Checklist
Data:
- [ ] Insights pulled at ad level, last_3d
- [ ] Target CPA from app-ads-context.md
- [ ] Correct action type (purchase/subscribe)
- [ ] Frequency included
Analysis:
- [ ] Scorecard completed
- [ ] Failure matrix applied if batch weak
- [ ] Winners have 15+ conversions OR hold
Actions:
- [ ] Losers paused via API
- [ ] Scale ≤ 20% if applicable
- [ ] User informed of iOS delay if relevant
- [ ] Next audit date set
Output Template
# Meta Campaign Audit
## Verdict: [Scale / Iterate / Kill batch]
## Summary
[2 sentences: overall health, primary action]
## Winners
- [ad name] — CPA $X, N conv — scale +20%
## Losers (paused)
- [ad name] — [reason]
## Budget Recommendation
- Current: $X/day → New: $Y/day
## Creative Pipeline
- [ ] A′ edit on [winner]
- [ ] New batch by [date]
## Related
- meta-budget-optimizer — daily rules
- campaign-profitability — LTV validation
- ad-creative-variants — if batch failed
Related Skills
meta-campaign-setup— initial structuremeta-budget-optimizer— ongoing daily decisionsad-creative-variants— new batch after failuread-creative-edit— winner iterationscampaign-profitability— RevenueCat LTV joincross-channel-performance— compare to TikTok/ASAmmp-setup— if events missingtiktok-campaign-audit— parallel framework for TikTok