Facebook Promises More Relevant Ads with Algorithm Tweak

Ads are just a part of your Facebook news feed now. Whether they’re sponsored stories, page post ads, suggested posts, or whatever – the point is that they are there and they’re not ...
Facebook Promises More Relevant Ads with Algorithm Tweak
Written by Josh Wolford
  • Ads are just a part of your Facebook news feed now. Whether they’re sponsored stories, page post ads, suggested posts, or whatever – the point is that they are there and they’re not going anywhere.

    With that in mind, Facebook says that they want to make the ads you see more relevant to your interests. To do that, the company is announcing an update to their algorithms that they say will enhance both the relevance and quality of every sponsored post you see on the site.

    “We are currently working on some updates to the ads algorithm to improve the relevance and quality of the ads people see. When deciding which ad to show to which groups of people, we are placing more emphasis on feedback we receive from people about ads, including how often people report or hide an ad,” says Facebook engineering manager Hong Ge.

    Facebook learns about which ads are more relevant to you based on your interactions with them – clicks, likes and shares. But they also make this determination based on more direct feedback – like when you hide an ad from your news feed.

    What Facebook says they’re doing with this algorithm tweak is to put more focus on that part of it, when you tell them that you don’t want to see this kind of ad anymore.

    If you’re marketing on Facebook and actively running campaigns, Facebook warns that you may see a difference in your numbers in the coming weeks.

    “This means that some marketers may see some variation in the distribution of their ads in the coming weeks. Our goal is to make sure we deliver the most relevant ads, which should mean the right people are seeing a specific ad campaign. This is ultimately better for marketers, because it means their messages are reaching the people most interested in what they have to offer.”

    They also say that these changes won’t just be better for users, but it’ll help them direct marketers’ ads to people that are actually receptive to them.

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