When Did Meta End the Relevance Score?

Meta’s relevance score page carries an update dated 8 August 2019: “We replaced relevance score with ad relevance diagnostics.” The score ran from 1 to 10. The diagnostics are three rankings, and Meta now tells you to use them to find out why an ad underperforms, not as a target. If a guide still says to aim for a score of 8 or more, it is out of date.

What was the relevance score?

Meta’s page says an ad’s relevance score was calculated from the positive and negative feedback Meta expected it to receive from its target audience. Positive indicators varied by objective and could include video views or conversions. Expected hides or reports pulled the score down. Ads scored between 1 and 10, with 10 the highest, and the score updated as people interacted with the ad.

Ads bought through reach and frequency were not affected, and Meta said the score had a smaller impact in brand awareness campaigns. Advertisers could see it in any Meta ads reporting tool and through the ads API.

The page does not state the day the score first appeared. It says only that the score would show as a visible metric “beginning this week”, so this entry does not give a start date.

When did it end?

The same page opens with “Update 08/08/2019: We replaced relevance score with ad relevance diagnostics to make diagnosing ad relevance clearer and more actionable.” Meta writes dates month first on its business news pages, for example “Update 03/29/2019” on another page, so that reads as 8 August 2019.

What replaced it?

Meta’s help pages name three diagnostics. Quality ranking compares your ad’s perceived quality with ads competing for the same audience. Engagement rate ranking compares its expected engagement rate. Conversion rate ranking compares its expected conversion rate with ads that have the same optimization goal.

Meta also sets limits. The diagnostics are not available for ads with fewer than 500 impressions, and they are not inputs into the ad auction. Engagement rate ranking is available only for the last 35 days, and not for dynamic creative or for the optimization goals ad recall lift, impressions, reach, custom conversions or value.

The rankings are default columns in the performance column preset. In a custom preset you add them yourself through Customize columns.

How did Meta’s advice change?

Meta’s relevance score page said the score should not be the primary indicator of an ad’s performance, yet it also encouraged advertisers to use it to test creative before a campaign and to watch for dips while one ran.

Today Meta’s help page says to use the diagnostics “to diagnose underperforming ads – not to optimize ads that are already meeting your advertising objectives”. It says high rankings should not be your primary goal and are no assurance of better results. It adds that high-performing ads sometimes have below-average rankings, and that is fine.

If an ad already meets your objective, leave the rankings alone.

How do you read the rankings now?

Meta says to review the three together. This summary follows its interpretation chart:

What you see	Meta’s reading	Meta’s suggested direction
Quality below average, the others average or above	Ad seen as low quality	Improve creative quality or target people likelier to see it as high quality
Engagement below average, the others average or above	Ad is not spurring interest	Make it more relevant to the audience, or target people likelier to interact
Conversion below average, the others average or above	Ad is not producing conversions	Improve the call to action or post-click experience, or target higher-intent people

Meta adds that moving a ranking from low to average matters more than moving it from average to above average.

FAQ

Can I still see a relevance score in Ads Manager?

Meta says it replaced the score with ad relevance diagnostics. Look for the quality, engagement rate and conversion rate ranking columns instead. They are default columns in the performance preset and must be added manually to custom presets.

Is a below average ranking a problem?

Not by itself. Meta’s help page says high-performing ads sometimes have below-average rankings and that is fine. It tells you to optimize for your advertising objectives, not for the rankings. Open them when an ad is missing its objective.

Why do I see no rankings for an ad?

Meta says the diagnostics are not available for ads with fewer than 500 impressions. Engagement rate ranking also covers only the last 35 days and is not offered for dynamic creative or some optimization goals, including reach and impressions.