Facebook Pixel is a piece of code you can place on your website to collect data. It helps businesses track conversions from Facebook ads, optimise ad campaigns, create remarketing ads, and more.
A lot of business owners sometimes wonder if they can have multiple Pixels installed in the same ad account. The short answer is, technically, yes. Facebook lets you create up to 100 pixels in your Business Manager account.
However, the real question is whether you need to install multiple pixel codes.
Why One Pixel May Be Enough for Most Businesses
First, let’s quickly discuss the difference between your Business Manager and your Facebook Ad Accounts.
The Facebook Business Manager is like a digital hub for all your marketing needs on the platform. A Business Manager can have multiple ad accounts created for multiple individual pages. If you only have one Facebook page in your Business Manager, then you only have one Ad Account.
Initially, each Facebook Ad account gets one pixel, which is that bit of code you can install on your website to track certain data. You can install the same Pixel on multiple websites you own, and then separate the audiences using Custom Audiences.
For most businesses, one pixel is usually enough to get the most out of this Facebook advertising gimmick, for multiple reasons:
1. It’s Much Easier
Especially for inexperienced Facebook marketers, having just one pixel greatly simplifies the entire process. Having just one pixel allows you to optimise your campaign around it easily, and get a better grip on the pixel tracking data.
2. You Give Facebook More Data
Facebook tracks data for the pixel in order to help you optimise your campaigns, so the more relevant data the pixel tracks, the better the results. When you’re only dealing with one pixel, you allow it to track as much data as possible, learn from your target audience, and access essential information on your customer’s online behaviour.
3. Better Retargeting Results
Retargeting is essential for many businesses, and the best way to do it on Facebook is to install the Facebook pixel and have it track the add to cart function. With just one pixel tracking this information, you can maximise your retargeting and avoid splitting your audiences into smaller segments, which would happen with multiple pixels.
The pixel is just a piece of code, so from a technical standpoint, you likely don’t need to have several pixels installed. The base Pixel Code assigned to each Ad Account can be quickly added to your site, and then you can create Pixel Standard Events to track a specific action you’re interested in.
A Standard Event is still a code you can copy-paste on a specific page where you want to track the actions, such as the ad’s landing page.
Events versus Pixel Codes
Sometimes people may refer to Pixels when in fact they are asking about Events, which can be Standard or Custom. There’s also the Custom Conversion option, but we’ll get to that later.
Think of it like this: the pixel is like the door that lets Facebook into your site and gives it the ability to see what’s going on there.
Facebook has no idea what users do on your website once they click on your ad and leave the platform. That creates a gap in how advertisers see the consumer journey, so the Facebook Pixel is the way to bridge that gap.
But the Events are the ways to tell Facebook pixel what to look out for.
1. Standard Events
Standard Events refers to a list of predefined actions Facebook tracks, which can help you understand how people use your site, optimise for conversions, and build audiences.
They include:
- Add payment info
- Add to cart
- Add to wishlist
- Complete registration
- Donate
- Purchase
- Search
- Subscribe
- Submit application, etc.
Each Standard Event comes with its unique code you can copy on the page you want the Pixel to track a particular action. For instance, you can have your base Pixel installed on all pages of your website, but aren’t interested in having the same event tracked everywhere. Simply copy the relevant code, go to its intended page, and paste the event code above the tag in the pixel code.
2. Custom Events
If the action you want to track isn’t in Facebook’s predefined list, then you can create Pixel Custom Events and define your own action. You can also use additional parameters to provide additional information about each custom event to ensure they are clearly defined.
Custom Conversion
Custom conversions let you create rules for events, or for links. These rules allow you to measure certain customer actions, which helps refine the Pixel data and give you better insights into how your campaigns are performing.
For instance, say you want to only track your purchases for children’s shirts over $20. You can use the custom conversions option and track every single instance where a user makes such a purchase. Once you’ve set it up in your Events Manager, the pixel will begin gathering this data, which you can then use to optimise ad delivery.
You can create custom audiences with just those users who’ve bought children’s clothes for over $20, and provide them with individualised ads and offers.
When You May Need Multiple Pixels
In some cases, multiple Facebook pixels may actually be a good idea, but it really depends on the type of business you have, and your tracking needs.
For example, say you have two major goals when it comes to Facebook Pixel tracking: one has to do with getting people to buy, the other has to do with lead generation. You could, therefore, argue that you would need two different Pixels for each of these purposes because each of these goals is complex, has a lot of layers, different audiences, so it’s easier to separate the pixel data this way.
These will be two different branches of your tracking data. You can either:
- Create another Ad Account and set up a different Pixel. This helps separate the data, so when you go to create a campaign for lead generation you go to one Ads Manager, and for purchases to the other one.
- Or create a second Pixel in your existing account, which means you work with the same Ads Manager, just be careful to ensure you choose the right pixel for tracking.
So if you do have such intricate needs, then you may need multiple Facebook pixels. But for the majority of businesses, just having one pixel installed generally does the trick.
Over to You
Do you need help setting up your Facebook pixel and optimising your Facebook ad campaigns? We’d be happy to lend a hand.
Book a free 30-minute strategy session with Australian Internet Advertising now to get in touch with our Facebook marketing team and find out more about what your Facebook advertising next steps should be.
