Improve Event Match Quality Score: Expert Tips from Data Analysts
Unlock your Ad campaign’s potential with these 6 tips to improve your Event Match Quality (EMQ) score, all verified by expert data analysts.
You’ve optimized your tracking and improved everything you can think of in your quest to achieve the perfect Event Match Quality (EMQ) score.
We’ve identified six key factors that are within your control and can significantly boost your EMQ score.
While achieving a perfect 10 may be unlikely, there’s still a lot of room for improvement! In this article you will learn:
Overview: Event Match Quality Scores
An Event Match Quality (EMQ) score is a rating to indicate how effective the customer information parameters sent with the server-side events may be at matching the event to a Facebook account.
The EMQ’s ranking system varies per marketing channel. For instance, Facebook uses a number ranking system from 0 to 10, with 10 being the highest and indicating the best match quality.
The Quest for the Perfect 10.0 EMQ
Let’s talk about the quest for the perfect 10.0 Meta EMQ.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but based on the type of event and the data available, it is highly unlikely that you will hit a perfect 10.0 EMQ.
For example, let’s look at a page view event.
A page view event will have limited data because when a shopper first lands on your site, we don’t know much about them yet.
Now, when we look at a purchase event – we have information on this user but may still be missing the required parameters to obtain that elusive 10.0 score.
To achieve the perfect 10.0 EMQ – you would need to pass a birthdate and Facebook user ID (different from email) with every purchase event.
In all reality, you are not going to have a birthdate and Facebook User ID for every purchase event.
What is a Good EMQ Score?
So, if the perfect 10.0 EMQ score is elusive, what should you aim for?
In general, you are doing well if your scores in Facebook / Meta are:
- 6 – 7 for pre-checkout events
- 8 – 9 for checkout and purchase events
While the elusive perfect 10 may be just out of reach, we have tips below to help you boost your EMQ scores to their highest potential.
6 Tips to Improve Your Event Match Quality (EMQ) for Meta
Below are six tips, tested and proven effective by expert data analysts, that can help improve your Event Match Quality (EMQ) score for Meta.
1. Implement Advanced Matching
There are two types of advanced matching parameters for Meta: automatic advanced matching and manual advanced matching.
For best performance, use both!
Automatic advanced matching will automatically look for recognizable form fields and other sources on your website that contain customer information (first name, surname, and email address.)
Facebook can then use the hashed information to more accurately determine which people took action in response to your ad.
To set up Automatic Advanced Matching, read this article, “Set up automatic advanced matching in Meta Events Manager.”
The second type of advanced matching parameter is “manual advanced matching.”
Manual advanced matching gives you control over which customer information you send to Meta.
To set up manual advanced matching, you must pass this information with your client and/or server-side event tracking.
We’ve got you covered—whether you are using Elevar’s tracking for web, server-side, or both. Elevar automatically passes manual advanced matching data for you.
Not on Elevar’s tracking? Chat with us to explore how you can implement advanced matching for Facebook.
Or, learn more about the manual matching setup with Facebook’s developer doc, “Advanced Matching.”
2. Require Email and Phone Number at Checkout
Requiring an email address and a phone number at checkout is a simple update you can make today.
By requiring email and phone numbers at checkout, you will effectively increase the number of data points collected.
On the other hand, if you are missing one of these values, your EMQ score will be reduced.
3. Website Data Validation
Using email validation on your site to ensure that only valid email addresses are collected and passed to your marketing channels will increase the likelihood of your data matching.
Ensure that collected phone numbers are formatted in the E.164 format (e.g., +12345678900), as this is the format accepted. Proper formatting improves the reliability of phone number matching.
4. Maximize Session Enrichment
Elevar introduced a new feature, Session Enrichment, in 2023.
Session enrichment uses a 1-year server-set cookie to identify returning users—this is not affected by the restrictions that impact browser-set cookies.
In addition to storing user identifier information, Session Enrichment also stores attribution information, such as click IDs, UTMs, and referrers.
Most Click IDs are stored as browser-set cookies (meaning in the user’s browser), so they must adhere to browser restrictions.
Elevar does not store cookies in the user’s browser, so attribution information will not expire; it will be sent to your server-side destinations.
Session Enrichment will definitely boost your match rates because it can pass more user information, which improves your EMQ score!
5. Use the Latest Web Tags
Keep your browser-side tracking up to date to ensure you pass the maximum data available from the browser to your destination.
The EMQ is based on server events, but getting the most out of your browser tracking is important to your overall account.
Elevar provides the latest tags available in your destination, already configured for your settings, and ready for you to import into Google Tag Manager (GTM).
6. Limit Offline Purchase Data
Offline purchases can be useful in your advertising account but will reduce your overall match score on purchase events.
Because offline purchase data has less data available, fewer parameters are sent.
Depending on your offline order volume, this may have a significant impact on your score.
Keep in mind that the score is only a ranking based on parameters.
Your online orders are still performing well, and by sending your offline data, you are providing Facebook with more data for optimization.
It’s a trade-off, and you’ll need to decide what matters more to your business.
Ready to Improve Your Meta Event Match Quality Scores?
We’ve got you covered! Book a call with us to get help improving your Event Match Quality score from our expert data analysts.
Learn how the Elevar Meta integration can help you solve your eCommerce business’s conversion tracking challenges and improve your Facebook ad performance by 20% or more.
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