How To Analyse Facebook Ad Performance: Link Clicks Vs Landing Page Views

When you are spending money on lead generation through Facebook (FB) ads, you want to know how well those paid ads are performing as accurately as possible. Through data analysis, you can determine not only if you are making a good investment, but you can also monitor the impact of tweaks and changes to your targeting parameters and campaign content.

There are plenty of available metrics you can tap into to get a read on how well your FB ad campaign is doing, but with so many, all offering different types of information about your ad performance, it can be confusing to know what data you are supposed to be analysing.

Here’s the definitive answer on what works best between Link Clicks and Landing Page Views: Landing Page Views win, hands down.

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Link Clicks vs Landing Page Views

Landing Page Views offer more information than Link Clicks, making them a superior metric to monitor the ongoing success of your ads.

In this post, we will not only explain how to use ad performance measuring tools to your advantage, but we’ll also uncover some of the reasons your FB ad might be underperforming and give you some tips for how to increase your numbers (the best numbers) so you can see more leads converted and make the money you spend on Facebook ads really worthwhile.

Is there a difference between Link Clicks and Landing Page Views?

Yes. There is a difference between Link Clicks and Landing Page Views. Both measure clicks on an ad link, but Link Clicks only measures that a link was clicked, while Landing Page Views measures how many people actually landed on your destination URL, and allowed it to fully load.

Basically what Landing Page Views tells you is how many people actually saw your ad in its entirety, versus just the number of people who clicked your link.

Landing Page Views is more accurate in terms of knowing how well your Facebook ad is performing because it rules out accidental clicks and non-committed leads. This is the data that counts for building your business and winning new customers, knowing how many people stuck around long enough to see what you have to offer on your destination URL page.

If you are paying for ads to drive traffic to your pages, make sure you are using Landing Page Views for Facebook, as it’s the most powerful metric available for determining the success of this goal.

That doesn’t mean that Lick Clicks aren’t useful, they can be, but make sure you are using all the data available, and that you understand how the data is collected so you know what the metrics mean for your ad campaign.

In order for Landing Page Views to work, you’ll need to install Facebook Pixel at your destination, this might be your website or third-party landing pages.

Do Link Clicks only measure clicks internal to Facebook?

No. Link Clicks measure any click your Facebook-placed advert received, no matter where the destination leads to. If the link you provided goes to a landing page with your website URL, or an internal Facebook video, the clicks are measured equally.

Is there a difference between unique link clicks and link clicks?

Yes. Link Clicks shows you how much interest your ad received, Unique Link Clicks will show you how many potential leads you have.

For example, if Sally, a Facebook user, saw your ad and clicked it on three separate occasions, Link Clicks would show three clicks, while Unique Link Clicks would show one. 

Sally is one prospect who clicked three times. What data would you prefer to use?

Link Clicks measure all clicks, even if the same person clicked multiple times. Unique Link Clicks shows you the number of people who clicked, which might be different to the number of clicks you received.

It’s good to look at both your Link Clicks and Unique Link Clicks to uncover more data about how well your Facebook ad is performing.

There are three different types of click metrics available on Facebook. All are related but show different data. Here’s a quick breakdown of what’s on offer.

The three different click metrics on Facebook Ads

You’ll find three Facebook metrics on offer:

1. Link Clicks: The number of times your ad link was clicked.
2. All Clicks: This measures the Link Clicks (as above) but also gives you feedback on any engagement and interactions your ad received (i.e. likes, shares and comments)
3. Outbound Clicks: This metric is the one most similar to Landing Page Views in that it captures how many people moved away from their FB page to visit your site. However, unlike Landing Page Views, it isn’t able to tell if the person waited for the page to load in full.

The different metrics on offer from Facebook can be confusing and none of them really offer the quality data you are looking for. That’s why in 2017 Facebook introduced Landing Page Views into the mix. Business owners needed to know if their ad was successful in driving genuine traffic to their landing page, not simply getting high clicks with zero return. Having this data is powerful and helps you know if the money you are spending on an ad campaign is worthwhile.

What you want to see is good numbers in your Landing Page Views. That’s the data that best correlates to your growing brand awareness, you want to look to see how many people were patient enough to wait it out and get their eyes on your offering.

You can use data from your Landing Page Views together with your Link Clicks and Unique Clicks to determine your ad bounce rate and how committed prospects are to following through.

That doesn’t mean you have to rely exclusively on Facebook for your data. The one thing the internet gives us is plenty of choices and online research tools are no exception. We recommended using an accurate data source for your website research and development. Platforms like Ahrefs get you access to bigger resources.

Tools like Ahrefs allow you to research keywords, run SEO analytics and get website traffic data on your own site as well as those of your competitors, which can help you craft the creative for your paid ads.

If you expect that every person who clicks on your ad will convert, you’re not alone. The expectations on paid ad performance are actually very high. There is a feeling among business owners that ads on successful social media platforms, especially a high traffic site like Facebook, will be a sure thing. The truth is that it takes time, it takes research, it takes trial and error. 

Use the available data to see where you have room for improvement then hone in and build your ad campaigns to see results over time.

What do you do if you find your Facebook ad Link Clicks are low?

Low Link Click numbers are an indication that your ad quality needs improvement. As well as the wording of your ad, look at your demographics. It might be that you are targeting the wrong age group or you are showing your ads to people who don’t have similar interests.

While you do want your link clicks to be high, this should never be at the expense of Landing Page Views. You should never gear a campaign to get a lot of clicks that don’t convert, you will never see a good return on investment there.

What do you do if you find your Link Clicks are high but your Landing Page Views are low?

High Link Clicks indicate you have an appealing ad, shown to the right audience. If you are finding a high drop-off rate, it’s probably to do with your landing page load times.

People hate waiting for any length of time, this is the internet, after all, the expectation is that everything online is instant.

That gives you a narrow window of fewer than three seconds to get your information loaded in full.

You only have three seconds to load your landing page URL in full. After this, people lose interest and drop out.

If your page loads in four seconds, you can expect that 50% of your Link Clinks will bail out there and then. For every second of loading time it takes after this, you will lose more and more valuable leads.

If your landing page loading time isn’t the issue then:

• Check to make sure your landing page content matches the ad. If people don’t get what they were expecting they’ll opt out early.
• Make sure your landing page is appealing with a clear message and is quick to read
• Provide a clear action step (call to action)
• Research if ad blockers, VPNs and other barriers are preventing your landing page from being shown

How to increase your Link Clicks and Landing Page Views

In order to see great returns from your paid ads the top two things to do are:

• Optimise your Facebook ad campaign for Traffic Objective
• Decrease your landing page load time

1. Optimise your Facebook ad campaign for Traffic Objective

When you launch an ad campaign with Facebook you get a huge range of options with the Traffic Objectives. Take these very seriously. There is no point in showing your ad to people who are not likely to have an interest. Research who your base audience is and target them in a specific campaign.

The traffic objective gives instructions to Facebook on which users to show your ads to, giving you a high-quality audience. The fact that Facebook can tap into so much personal data really gives advertisers an amazing edge and incredible control.

2. Decrease your landing page load time

So many business owners put a lot of time and effort into the sales copy and layout of their landing page, but fail to look at how long the page takes to load. 

A page full of hi-res images and videos, if not published correctly, can be slow.

And a slow page means a high bounce rate, as people close the window, tired of waiting. 

Take a moment to check your landing page load speed and get it fixed if the scores are poor. 

In Summary

When it comes to determining the effectiveness of your Facebook ad campaigns, Landing Page Views will be your go-to metrics. They give you the data that matters; how many people are being enticed to your website with eyes on your brand.

Generating genuine brand awareness is worth the expense of running paid ads so if you are new to Facebook Ads and are looking for ways to analyse your initial numbers, it’s a safe bet to install the Facebook Pixel and optimise your ad reach for landing page views.
If you need any assistance with decreasing your landing page loading time, website metrics analysis, or would like your ads done for you, contact the team at Chillybin today.