Hi there,
Thanks for reaching out! Happy to give you some initial thoughts on your Facebook ad quality ranking issue. It's a common problem but one you definitely need to fix, and the answer isn't to just let it run. The fact your engagement is high but quality is low is actually a major red flag the algorithm is picking up on.
Let's get into why that is and what you can do about it.
TLDR;
- Don't ignore it: A "Below Average" Quality Ranking is a penalty from Facebook that will increase your costs and limit your ad's reach over time, even if other metrics look okay for now. You must act on it.
- It's not about clicks: Your high engagement and average conversion rates show the ad gets attention, but the low quality score means Facebook thinks the experience is bad for users. This is often caused by misleading copy, clickbait, or a poor landing page.
- The real problem is your creative or your landing page: The most likely culprits are the ad's copy/video promising something the landing page doesn't deliver, or using sensationalised language that Facebook's AI flags as low-quality.
- The solution is systematic testing: You need to pause the current ad and launch a split test with new variations of your video creative and ad copy. Focus on creating clear, value-driven messaging instead of attention-grabbing hooks that might be misleading.
- This letter includes an interactive calculator to show you just how much a high Cost Per Acquisition (CPA), driven by a low quality score, can hurt your profitability.
We'll need to look at what 'Quality Ranking' actually means...
First off, let's clear up a common misunderstanding. The 'Quality Ranking' metric isn't just a measure of whether people click your ad. Facebook looks at a whole load of signals to figure out if your ad provides a good experience. Your other two metrics, Engagement Rate Ranking (Above Average) and Conversion Rate Ranking (Average), are telling you the ad is doing its job of getting clicks and conversions from the people it reaches. So far, so good.
But the Quality Ranking being 'Below Average' is Facebook's way of telling you that users are having a negative reaction, or that your ad has low-quality attributes. This could be things like:
- -> People hiding or reporting your ad after seeing it.
- -> Your ad copy using sensationalised language, clickbait, or making exaggerated claims ("You WON'T BELIEVE this one weird trick!").
- -> The video itself being low resolution, having jarring audio, or being disruptive.
- -> A poor post-click experience on your landing page (super slow to load, full of pop-ups, not matching the promise of the ad).
Tbh, having a high engagement rate combined with a low quality score is a classic sign of what I'd call 'bad engagement'. It means you're grabbing attention, but possibly for the wrong reasons. Maybe the video is controversial, or the headline is a bit of a bait-and-switch. The algorithm is smart enough to see that people are clicking, but it also sees the negative signals and penalises you for it. Letting it run is probably the worst thing you could do, as the penalty will get worse. Your costs (CPM and CPA) will creep up and Facebook will eventually throttle your ad's delivery, showing it to fewer and fewer people.
I'd say you should diagnose the real culprit... the creative and the landing page
Since your conversion rate is 'Average', it suggests the audience targeting is probably okay for now. The problem almost certainly lies with the ad creative itself or the landing page you're sending traffic to. You need to be brutally honest with yourself and analyse them from a user's perspective.
Is Your Ad Creative the Problem?
This is the most likely issue. Your video or copy is triggering Facebook's low-quality alarms. I've seen this happen loads of times. An agency will try to be clever with a pattern-interrupt hook or a bold claim, and it backfires. You don't want to create a message people can't ignore for the wrong reasons.
Instead of vague promises or clickbait, your ad needs to speak directly to a real problem your audience has. We use a simple framework for this called Problem-Agitate-Solve. You state a problem they recognise, you agitate that problem by describing the frustration it causes, and then you present your product as the clear solution.
| Ad Copy Element | Bad Example (Likely Low Quality) | Good Example (Problem-Agitate-Solve) |
|---|---|---|
| Headline | "SECRET To X is FINALLY Revealed!" | "Struggling to Get Qualified Leads?" |
| Primary Text | "You won't believe how easy this is. Our new video shows you the one thing you're missing. Click to see the surprising results!" | "Are your sales calls filled with prospects who aren't a good fit? Wasting hours on demos that go nowhere is frustrating. Our new guide shows you 3 simple tweaks to your funnel to attract genuinely interested buyers." |
| Video Hook | A shocking or unrelated image, loud sound effect, promising something extraordinary. | Directly asking a question that addresses the audience's pain point. E.g., "Is your ad budget disappearing with nothing to show for it?" |
Look at your video and text. Does it fall into the 'bad' column? Is the promise in the ad perfectly aligned with what they see the second they hit your landing page? Any disconnect will get you flagged.
Or is it Your Landing Page?
Facebook doesn't just look at the ad; it crawls the destination URL. If your landing page is a mess, your quality score will suffer. Some things to check:
- -> Load Speed: Does it take forever to load? People will bounce immediately, and Facebook sees that as a bad sign.
- -> Content Mismatch: Does the headline and offer on the landing page perfectly match the ad? If your ad promises a "Free Video Guide" and the landing page talks about "Booking a Demo", that's a bait-and-switch.
- -> Trustworthiness: Does the page look professional? Or is it cluttered and amateurish? We've seen clients struggle with ads simply because their landing page didn't look trustworthy enough for someone to hand over their details. No reviews, no social proof, no clear contact info is a massive red flag for users and for Facebook.
You probably should stop the ad and start testing...
So, to directly answer your question: No, do not just let it run. You need to pause that ad immediately. With a low spend of $35, you've caught the problem early, which is great. Now you need to set up a proper test to find a creative that the algorithm and your audience actually like.
Don't just edit the existing ad. You'll lose all the data and social proof (likes/comments) it has. Instead, you should duplicate the existing ad within the same ad set and create a few new variations to test. This way, you keep your targeting and budget settings the same and can isolate what's causing the issue.
Here's a simple testing framework I'd suggest. You're trying to figure out if the problem is the copy, the video, or the thumbnail.
Step 1: Pause Original Ad
Stop spending on the ad with the low quality score immediately.
Step 2: Duplicate Ad
Create 3 new variations inside the same ad set to test against each other.
Step 3: Test Variables
Ad A: New Copy + Old Video
Ad B: Old Copy + New Video
Ad C: New Copy + New Video
Step 4: Analyse & Scale
After a few days, turn off the losers and scale the ad with the best all-around metrics.
For the 'New Copy', rewrite it using the Problem-Agitate-Solve method. Be direct, clear, and focused on value. For the 'New Video', try a different opening hook. I remember one SaaS client we worked with saw great results with simple user-generated content (UGC) style videos - they felt more authentic and less like a slick ad, which can sometimes improve trust and quality scores. There are lots of different angles you could test there.
You'll need to understand the financial impact of getting this wrong
At the end of the day, this isn't just an academic exercise in pleasing the Facebook algorithm. The quality score has a direct and significant impact on your wallet. A low score leads to a higher Cost Per Mille (CPM), which is the price you pay for 1,000 ad impressions. A higher CPM means a higher Cost Per Click (CPC), which ultimately means a higher Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) or cost per conversion.
Let's say you manage to improve your creative and your quality score goes from 'Below Average' to 'Average' or 'Above Average'. This could easily slash your CPA by 30-50% or even more. The calculator below shows how big a difference that can make.
Play around with the CPA slider. See what happens to your ROAS when you cut the CPA from £50 to £25. The number of conversions doubles for the exact same ad spend. That is the prize you're fighting for. That is why you can't just "let it run".
This is the main advice I have for you:
Getting this right isn't about finding a magic bullet. It's about having a disciplined, systematic process for testing and optimisation. I've detailed the main recommendations for you below as a clear action plan.
| Step | Action | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Pause | Immediately pause the ad with the "Below Average" quality ranking. | To stop wasting money on an ad that is being penalised by Facebook and will only see its costs increase and reach decrease over time. |
| 2. Diagnose | Critically review your video ad copy and landing page for potential quality issues (clickbait, misleading claims, poor UX, slow load times). | To form a strong hypothesis about what caused the low quality score, which will inform the new variations you create for your test. |
| 3. Re-create | Create 2-3 new ad variations within the same ad set. Focus on testing new, clearer ad copy (using a framework like Problem-Agitate-Solve) and a different video creative/hook. | To systematically test which element was causing the problem and find a combination that delivers a better user experience and improves your quality score. |
| 4. Launch & Monitor | Launch the new test with the same budget. After 3-4 days (or once each ad has enough data), check the quality rankings and primary performance metrics (CPA, CTR) of the new variations. | To gather enough data to make an informed decision. Don't make decisions too early based on just a few conversions. |
| 5. Optimise | Turn off the losing variations and allocate the full ad set budget to the winning ad (the one with the best combination of quality score and low CPA). | To focus your budget on what works, lower your overall acquisition costs, and build a foundation for scaling the campaign profitably. |
This kind of detailed analysis and structured testing is exactly where professional help can make a huge difference. It's not just about knowing which buttons to press in Ads Manager; it's about understanding the underlying dynamics of the auction and having the experience to diagnose problems quickly and implement effective solutions. One campaign we worked on for a medical job matching SaaS reduced their Cost Per Acquisition from £100 down to just £7 by applying these exact principles.
Fixing this one ad is a great start, but it's often a symptom of a broader strategic issue. If you'd like to have a chat and walk through your ad account together, we offer a completely free, no-obligation initial consultation where we can give you some more specific advice. It might be helpful to have a second pair of expert eyes on it.
Hope this helps!
Regards,
Team @ Lukas Holschuh
