Low-budget ad accounts have limited data, so every decision has to be precise and well thought-out. Most advice for ad accounts with large spends simply doesn’t apply to those spending under $500 daily. You can’t afford to run everything on broad, spend $100 per test, or A/B test your funnels without careful planning. It’s just too expensive.

‍

As someone who runs ads for my products, I know firsthand that every dollar matters. Managing small accounts effectively comes down to making smart decisions quickly.

‍

Here are strategies I use for small ad accounts:

‍

1. Improve Audience Targeting by Reducing Auction Overlap

‍

Auction overlap happens when you’re bidding against yourself, which drives up costs and makes your campaigns less effective. A simple fix is to use Facebook’s “Define Further” option to narrow your audience.

‍

Here’s how to do it:

• List your top-performing interests.
• Choose interests with an audience size of 50M+ to lead.
• Use the “Define Further” option with smaller interests to refine your audience.

‍

This helps you reach a more specific and higher-quality audience without wasting ad spend. It might cost a bit more per click, but the traffic quality will be much better.

‍

‍

2. Use Lookalike Audiences to Target High-Intent Customers

‍

A lot of advertisers think lookalike audiences are no longer effective, but they can still work if done right. Lookalikes give you a way to find new high-intent customers, especially if you have a small account and want to reach cold traffic.

‍

To get the best results, focus on:

• Testing lookalikes from 1% to 10%.
• Keeping each lookalike test in separate ad sets to find the best performers.
• Building high-quality custom audiences (e.g., highest LTV buyers or highest AOV buyers).

‍

Stacking or combining lookalikes with other targeting options is also a great way to scale once you find what works.

‍

‍

3. Test Creatives Effectively with Advantage Shopping Campaigns (ASC)

‍

Facebook’s ASC are great for testing creatives on smaller ad accounts. Here’s a simple setup that’s worked for many businesses:

• CBO campaigns handle remarketing and scaling.
• 70% of ad spend goes to ASC for creative testing.
• Keep the number of campaigns small — up to 5 campaigns per account is ideal.

‍

This setup keeps things streamlined while allowing you to find the best-performing creatives, but keep in mind it might not work for every business. Test it and adjust based on your results.

‍

In conclusion:

‍

Managing small ad accounts requires precision and a focused strategy. By launching fewer tests, testing effective targeting, using lookalikes strategically, and experimenting with creative campaigns, you can make the most of a limited budget.

‍

Don’t be afraid to cut underperforming ads quickly, and always be ready to reanalyze the funnel when needed.

‍

Deividas

— — — — — — — — — — — — - — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Subscribe to my newsletter: https://www.detokaris.com/newsletter