After auditing hundreds of Meta ad accounts, we’ve noticed the same performance-sinking mistakes showing repeatedly. Worse yet, all of these issues can be avoided with some precautionary steps.
Here are the top five mistakes we see sabotaging campaign performance and steps you can take to fix them.
1. Overspending on Remarketing
This one’s sneaky because remarketing audiences often show significant numbers on the surface. High conversion rates, low cost-per acquisition (CPA)…what’s not to love? The problem arises when remarketing becomes your entire strategy, whether intentionally or not.
We regularly audit accounts where clients think they’re running prospecting campaigns, but due to poorly set up exclusions, they’re actually just hitting the same warm audiences over and over. Meta’s algorithm is designed to find the easiest conversions, so if your “prospecting” campaigns can access your website visitors, email lists, or past purchasers, guess where most of your budget is going?
The other version of this mistake is intentionally over-allocating budget to remarketing because the short-term numbers look good. Sure, you might see great performance this month, but you’re essentially draining the well. Without consistent investment in prospecting, your remarketing pool shrinks, and those CPAs start to climb.
Even if you’re driving top-of-funnel traffic through other channels, Meta’s prospecting capabilities are too powerful to ignore. Don’t leave that opportunity on the table.
2. Skipping Dynamic Product Ads (DPAs)
This one is important for eCommerce brands in particular, as DPAs are Meta’s solution to show users the most relevant products from your catalog based on a users interests and behavior. In a lot of cases, DPAs will drive the highest volume and deliver exactly what people want to see.
Nevertheless, we regularly audit accounts with complex manual product campaigns while DPAs are neglected. The setup can be intimidating, but the performance gains are worth it. In this scenario, your catalog becomes a dynamic, responsive sales tool instead of just a static product showcase.
3. Putting All Your Creative Eggs in One Basket
Creative diversity is essential for a well rounded campaign that is more likely to succeed. We see too many accounts that rely on one winning ad format and bleed it dry, often at their own demise.
The strongest-performing accounts we manage typically run a healthy mix of asset types: static images, videos, carousel ads, and DPAs. But it’s not just about asset diversity, you need content variety too. Product-focused content, user-generated content, testimonials, educational posts, lifestyle shots to introduce your brand to users that are most likely to engage.
Here’s a step-by-step guide to help businesses generate organic content, which is fertile ground for paid campaign assets.
4. Fighting the Algorithm Instead of Working With It
Handing over control to an algorithm feels uncomfortable, especially when you’ve been burned by automated features before. But in 2025, fighting Meta’s targeting automation is often counterproductive.
We regularly see accounts with restrictive manual targeting such as narrow age ranges, specific gender targeting, and hyper-focused interests. While this approach makes sense on paper, you are essentially handcuffing the algorithm. In many cases, opening these constraints leads to better efficiency and significantly more scale.
The algorithm can access thousands of signals we can’t see or manually optimize for. When you trust it with broader targeting parameters, it often finds profitable audiences you never would have considered. Start with your core demographic assumptions, then let the algorithm explore with your creative assets to influence the message you aim to portray.
5. Accidentally Leaving Advantage+ Enhancements Enabled
This might be the most overlooked setting in Meta Ads Manager, but it can completely change how your ads appear to users. Advantage+ Enhancements can automatically modify your creative with text overlays, filters, animations, and other “improvements.”
The problem? These changes often don’t align with your brand voice, visual identity, or campaign goals. We’ve seen static product ads turned into animations that completely misrepresent the brand’s aesthetic. Even worse, these modifications can hurt performance, especially if they create a disconnect between the ad and the landing page experience.
Always double-check this setting. If you’re going to use these enhancements, do it intentionally as part of your strategy — not by accident.
The Bottom Line
Most of the mistakes above stem from the same root cause: not staying on top of how Meta’s platform evolves. Features get updated, defaults change, and best practices shift. What worked two years ago might be actively hurting your performance today.
Our team has managed thousands of campaigns and can identify what separates winners from money pits. See how our Paid Social strategies can work for you.
The accounts that consistently perform well are the ones that regularly audit their setup, test new approaches, and adapt their strategy based on current platform capabilities rather than past assumptions.
The good news? These issues are fixable…and if you need a second opinion, reach out to our team for a complimentary campaign review.
