Advantage+ is the default - treat it as a machine you feed
Advantage+ Shopping Campaigns are Meta's strongest acquisition surface for catalogue-driven e-commerce - but only when the inputs are right. The machine optimizes on data: clean pixel, complete catalogue, structured creative feed. Garbage in, expensive garbage out.
The three inputs that decide everything
Pixel and Conversions API: server-side tracking is non-negotiable in the post-iOS world - the machine cannot optimize what it cannot measure. Catalogue health: complete titles, real prices, live stock, category mapping and enhanced feeds. Creative feed: 15+ creative variants per product group, rotating weekly - the machine needs surface area to find the winners.
Audience inputs still matter: exclusions (recent buyers, existing customers) and seed audiences guide the exploration phase. The machine explores less when it starts from context.
The operating rhythm
Weekly: review creative fatigue, refresh underperforming variants, trim catalogue errors. Monthly: re-evaluate budget distribution against blended ROAS and CAC by cohort. The mistake is letting automation run unattended for months - Advantage+ compounds with attention, not absence.
