Hi there,
Thanks for reaching out. I've had a look at the situation with your blog campaign and I'm happy to give you some initial thoughts. Tbh, it's a really common problem and the solution is probably the opposite of what you'd expect. You're stuck getting low LPVs because you're asking Meta for LPVs, and I'll explain why that's a trap and how a different approach will get you the engaged readers you're actually after.
TLDR;
- Your Landing Page View (LPV) campaign is almost definitely attracting low-quality "clickers," not actual readers. Meta is doing exactly what you asked: finding the cheapest clicks, which come from people who don't engage.
- You MUST switch your campaign objective to 'Conversions'. Even for a blog, this is the only way to tell the algorithm to find people likely to take a valuable action.
- The "conversion" you should optimise for isn't a sale. It should be an engagement metric like a newsletter signup, time spent on page, or scroll depth. This requires setting up custom events in your pixel.
- Stop relying solely on Advantage+. Start with specific, layered interest targeting based on your blog's niche to build a pool of quality visitors first, before letting the algorithm take over.
- This letter includes a 'Cost Per True Reader' calculator to show you why paying more per click can actually be a much cheaper way to acquire a real, engaged audience.
The Big Misunderstanding: Why You're Paying Meta to Find Your Worst Audience
Here’s the uncomfortable truth about the campaign you're running. When you set your campaign objective to "Landing Page Views," you give the algorithm a very specific, and very flawed, command: "Find me the largest number of people who will click a link and load a webpage for the lowest possible price."
The algorithm, being a very literal machine, does exactly that. It scours your target audience to find the users who are most prone to clicking ads but least likely to do anything else. These are the people who mindlessly click on things in their feed but have the attention span of a gnat. They hit your site, the pixel fires to register the "Landing Page View," and they bounce before your first sentence has even loaded. Meta has done its job, you've paid for the LPV, but you haven't gained a reader. Their attention is cheap for a reason: nobody else wants it because it doesn't convert into anything meaningful. You are, quite literally, paying the world's most powerful advertising machine to find you the worst possible audience for a blog.
This is why your performance is poor and why retargeting didn't work. You're trying to re-engage an audience that was never engaged in the first place. It's like trying to have a deep conversation with someone who just walked past you on the street. It’s a pointless endeavour. Awareness is a byproduct of delivering value, not a prerequisite for it. For a blog, that value is the content itself. You need to optimise for consumption of that value, not for the click that precedes it.
The LPV Campaign Trap
The Conversion Campaign Method
I'd say you need to change your objective to find readers, not clickers
The solution is to change your campaign objective from LPVs to 'Conversions'. I know you said your blog doesn't involve sales, but a "conversion" in Meta's world doesn't have to be a purchase. A conversion is simply any valuable action you want a user to take. For a blog, a valuable action is a sign that someone is actually reading your stuff.
You'll need to work with your developer or use Google Tag Manager to set up custom events that fire when a user shows genuine interest. Here are the types of conversions you should be optimising for:
- Newsletter Signups: This is the absolute gold standard for any content publisher. An email subscriber is an asset you own. You can communicate with them for free, bring them back to new articles, and build a real community. This should be your primary goal.
- Time on Page: You can create an event that fires when a user has been on an article page for a specific duration, say 60 or 90 seconds. This is a strong signal that they are actually reading. Someone who clicks and bounces will never trigger this event, so you immediately filter out the rubbish.
- Scroll Depth: Similarly, you can fire an event when a user scrolls 75% or 90% of the way down a page. This proves they've consumed the vast majority of your content.
When you switch your campaign to optimise for one of these events, you're giving Meta a much smarter instruction: "Don't just find me people who click. Find me people who are statistically similar to those who have previously signed up to my newsletter or spent 90 seconds reading my articles." The algorithm is brilliant at this kind of pattern matching. Your cost per LPV *will* go up, and your total number of LPVs will likely go down. This is a good thing. You are trading a large volume of worthless traffic for a smaller, but much more valuable, volume of genuinely engaged readers.
LPV Campaign Scenario
Conversion Campaign Scenario
You'll need a proper targeting strategy
You mentioned using Advantage Audience+, which can be effective, but only when it has good data to learn from. Right now, your pixel is full of data about low-quality clickers, so Advantage+ is just finding you more of the same. You need to feed it with high-quality data first. You do this by starting with a more manual, structured approach to targeting.
For a new account or a strategic reset like this, I'd always start by manually testing detailed targeting audiences. Think about your ideal reader. What are their specific pains, passions, and problems that your blog solves? You don't target 'books'; you target followers of a specific author, members of a 'sci-fi book club' Facebook group, or people interested in a niche publisher. You need to get specific.
I usually structure this into separate campaigns for each part of the funnel. Here's how I'd prioritise audiences for a blog:
- ToFu (Top of Funnel - Cold Audiences): This is where you find new readers. Start by creating ad sets based on themes of highly specific interests. For example, if your blog is about urban gardening, one ad set might target interests like 'Square Foot Gardening', 'Container Gardening', and pages for specific seed companies. Another might target followers of famous gardening influencers. Test these manually to see which pockets of interest contain your most engaged readers (i.e., which ones drive the most custom conversions).
- MoFu (Middle of Funnel - Warm Audiences): Once you have some quality traffic, you can start retargeting. This is where you bring people back. Create audiences of everyone who has visited your blog in the last 30-90 days, people who have watched 50% of your video ads, or people who engaged with your Facebook/Instagram page. The goal here is to show them a different article or a direct call-to-action to subscribe to the newsletter.
- Lookalike Audiences: As soon as you have enough data (at least 100, but ideally 1,000+) for your primary custom conversion (e.g., Newsletter Signups), create a 1% Lookalike audience from that list. This is an incredibly powerful tool. You are telling Meta, "Go find me more people in this country who look exactly like the people who have already subscribed to my newsletter." This often becomes the best-performing cold audience you have. You can then create lookalikes from your other high-quality events, like '60-second readers'.
Only after you've validated these audiences and are feeding the pixel with consistent, high-quality conversion data should you consider letting Advantage+ take the reins more broadly. You have to teach the algorithm what a good reader looks like before you can trust it to find them on its own.
You probably should use ad copy that speaks to a problem
Your ads themselves need a shift in perspective. You aren't just announcing a new article; you are offering a solution, an insight, or a piece of entertainment. Your ad copy must reflect that. Instead of "New Blog Post: 10 Tips for a Better Garden," you need to hook them with the problem your article solves.
We use a simple framework for this called Problem-Agitate-Solve (PAS).
- Problem: Hit them with a pain point they recognise instantly. "Tired of your balcony plants dying no matter what you do?"
- Agitate: Poke the bruise. Remind them why it's frustrating. "You've spent a fortune on soil and pots, only to watch your herbs wither away. It feels like you just don't have a green thumb."
- Solve: Present your article as the clear, simple solution. "Our latest guide reveals the #1 mistake most balcony gardeners make (and how to fix it in 5 minutes). Read now to finally grow something you can be proud of."
This approach transforms your ad from a simple announcement into a compelling offer. It creates curiosity and promises immediate value, making the click far more intentional. People who click on an ad like this are already pre-qualified; they have the problem you're talking about and are actively looking for the solution your blog post provides. This results in much higher on-page engagement and a better chance they'll perform your desired conversion action.
This is the main advice I have for you:
To put it all together, here is a clear plan of action. This moves away from chasing cheap, empty metrics and towards building a real, engaged audience for your blog.
| Component | Recommendation | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Campaign Objective | Immediately pause the LPV campaign. Create a new campaign with the 'Conversions' objective. | To instruct Meta's algorithm to find users who are likely to take a valuable action (read/subscribe), not just click a link. |
| Conversion Event | Set up and optimise for a custom conversion. Prioritise 'Newsletter Signup' first, or 'Time on Page > 60s' as a backup. | This defines what a "good" visitor is for the algorithm, allowing it to find more people like them. It aligns ad spend with your actual business goal. |
| Audience Targeting (Cold) | Start with manual, themed interest-based ad sets. Once you have 100+ conversions, create a 1% Lookalike of your converters. | You need to manually find your ideal reader profile and feed the pixel high-quality data before relying on automation like Advantage+. |
| Audience Targeting (Warm) | Create retargeting ad sets for recent website visitors and page engagers. | Brings back high-intent users to read more content or to push for the newsletter signup they didn't complete on their first visit. |
| Ad Creative | Rewrite your ad copy using the Problem-Agitate-Solve (PAS) framework. Focus on the reader's pain point. | To attract clicks from people genuinely interested in the solution your article provides, leading to higher on-page engagement. |
| Budget & Measurement | Accept a higher Cost Per Click/LPV. Focus entirely on the Cost Per Action (CPA) for your chosen conversion event. | Your goal is to acquire engaged readers and subscribers efficiently, not to get the cheapest traffic. You must measure what matters. |
Making this shift requires a bit more technical setup upfront, especially with custom conversions, and a more strategic mindset when it comes to audience building and copywriting. It's a move from just "running ads" to building a proper growth engine for your blog. While it can seem complex, getting it right is the difference between burning money on vanity metrics and investing in a system that consistently brings new, loyal readers to your content.
Many content creators find it helpful to work with an expert to get this foundation built correctly. If you'd like to discuss your specific situation in more detail, we offer a free, no-obligation initial consultation where we can look at your setup and map out a more detailed strategy together.
Regards,
Team @ Lukas Holschuh
