How To Fix “Low Quality Ads” On Facebook Ads

• “This ad contains a low-quality attribute.”
• “This ad was marked as low quality, so it will be shown to fewer people than would typically see it for its current budget.”

Previously known as "Poor Ad Experience". Whenever this "Low Quality" notification pops up in the "Ads" tab of Facebook Ad Manager, people panic thinking it's game over for their scaling campaigns.

• "I've remade the following ad several times and continue to get flagged as 'Low-Quality'."
• "It's during its learning phase too. Should I edit it immediately or leave it be?"

While there may not be immediate effect on your ad performance, it's just a matter of time before your ROAS drops below 1.

P/S: I once had a campaign running at 2-3 ROAS, but a few days after my ad flagged as Low Quality Ad, my ROAS plummeted to 0. Yes you read it right, ZERO!

It's usually caused by some common mistakes whereby even experienced media buyers will fall into -  being too “creative”. I'll list out 5 main causes behind Low Quality Ads, as well as the steps to resolve each of them below:

1. Irrelevant / Disruptive Content (or Low Quality Ranking in Facebook Ad Relevance Diagnostics)

Low ad quality doesn't necessarily mean that your ad is bad, it means that your audience finds it boring, spammy, or not relevant. You can usually spot this by the 😡 emoji or negative comments under your ad post. Always make sure your ad copy is relevant to the product you're selling, but not a load of “!” and CTAs. A proper ad text would be:

This pair of sunglasses is the perfect companion for every summer vacation. Enjoy our exclusive summer sales at 90% off today.

2. Engagement Bait

"I’ve had some flagged as low quality when asking people to follow, repost, tag people, etc..."

To make our ads interesting, we often try to make our ads more personalized to viewers by putting words like "You", and "Your" so that they feel relatable. Some might even capitalize words like "FREE" and ask viewers to "Click" on something. Remember, being "Too Personal" is against Facebook's Advertising Policy, your ad might even be rejected right away. A good example to work around is:

Don't let hearing get in the way of making the most of Christmas and other family occasions. Sign up now for Free Hearing Consultation in the month of December.

3. Low Quality Thumbnails & Excessive Use Of Emoji

A good thumbnail can double or triple your CTR, but you shouldn't be using an image that's pixelized or unclear. And yes, you can use emoji in your ad text, headline and image - but don't get out of control. It would be best if the thumbnail be replaced with a clear, humorous image of a smart guy squeezing the pores (refer to the image below).

4. Capitalizing on Pandemics or Coronavius (Covid-19)

Facebook doesn't like the word “Pandemic”.

Ever since Covid-19 swept across the globe, some unethical advertisers have been using the term to promote poor-quality PPE, making false claims or making up stories of people's suffering. Even if you're not meant to spread something negative, it is important to NOT use the word in ad text and your landing page claims, as Facebook wishes to remove the negatives and focus on amplifying the positive impacts. Simply taking away the word “Pandemic” and republishing a new ad will immediately fix the problem.

5. Bad Ad Publishing History

Repeatedly publishing incompliant ads will get your ad account banned; while repeatedly publishing Low Quality Ads may get all your current and future ads flagged as "Low Quality" the moment they are approved.

If you're currently experiencing this, it means Facebook's AI has blacklisted your Facebook Page. This is tricky as there's currently no channel to appeal this decision until Facebook restricts your page advertising access. You can see this as a gone case. The best solution is to create a brand new Facebook page and adhere to Facebook's Advertising Policy and Best Practices from now on.

The verdict?

What you need to do is balance between creativity and compliance, and you too can write killer ad copies, design attractive thumbnails, and create more engaging ads.