The three settings behind every Meta ad
Campaign level
Campaign objective
What do you want people to do?
The broad outcome for the campaign. It decides which locations and goals you can choose next.
Available objectives
  • Awareness
  • Traffic
  • Engagement
  • Leads
  • App promotion
  • Sales
Ad set level
Conversion location
Where should it happen?
The place you want the action to take place. Which locations appear depends on the objective.
Available locations
  • Website
  • App
  • Messaging apps Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp
  • Instant Forms
  • Calls
  • On your ad video views, post engagement, event responses, group joins, reminders set
  • Facebook Page
  • Instagram profile
  • Combinations website and app, website and calls, website and Instant Forms, website and shop, Instant Forms and Messenger
Performance goal
What should Meta optimize for?
The specific result Meta’s delivery system aims to get the most of. It decides who sees your ad.
Available performance goals*
Be seen and remembered
  • Reach
  • Daily unique reach
  • Impressions
  • Ad recall lift
  • 2-second continuous video views
Watch, tap, visit, ask
  • ThruPlay
  • Post engagement
  • Event responses
  • Reminders set
  • Page likes
  • Instagram profile visits
  • Link clicks
  • Landing page views
  • Conversations
  • Calls
Sign up or pay
  • Leads
  • Leads through messaging
  • Qualified leads
  • Conversions
  • Purchases through messaging
  • Value of conversions
* Names are shortened; in Ads Manager each starts with "Maximize" (for example, Maximize number of landing page views). Performance goals may look different in your ad account: the goals you see depend on the objective and conversion location you pick, and Meta rolls out and renames goals gradually. Meta's two app goals (app installs and app events) are left out because they don't apply to most Kadampa centers.
Sources
  1. Meta Business Help Center: How to choose the right ad objective in Meta Ads Manager
  2. Meta Business Help Center: About marketing objectives in relation to Facebook's ad delivery system
  3. Meta Business Help Center: About performance goals
  4. Meta Business Help Center: Performance goals available by ad objective and conversion location in Meta Ads Manager (locations and goals listed here, checked November 2026)
  5. Jon Loomer: 21 Performance Goals: The Focus of Meta Ads Optimization

Choosing a performance goal

Pick the goal first, then the objective

The Decision Tree at the end of this page starts from the objective, because that is the order Ads Manager asks for it. This section turns it around: decide what you want Meta to optimize for, then pick any objective that offers it.

Campaign level Objective = the menu

Sets which conversion locations and performance goals you can choose. Meta says the objective itself has no effect on how your ads are delivered.1

Ad set level Performance goal = the order

The result Meta's delivery system bids on in the ad auction. It decides who sees your ad and is what the learning phase counts.28

Example: Meta's own example is choosing Sales as the objective but optimizing the ad set for link clicks.2 That ad set looks for people likely to click, not people likely to buy. In the same way, Landing page views is offered under Traffic, Engagement and Sales, and it delivers the same way whichever of the three you start from.31011

Performance goals, from first glance to sign-up

Select a goal to see what it does, when to use it, and which objectives offer it. Goals near the top cost less per result, so your budget buys more of them; goals near the bottom cost more, so the same budget buys fewer. Each card lists the campaign objectives that offer the goal, taken from Meta’s table of performance goals by objective and conversion location.39

Meta lists 23 performance goals. The two app goals (Maximize number of app installs and Maximize number of app events) are left out here because they don’t apply to most Kadampa centers, which don’t have their own mobile app.

Be seen and remembered
Watch, tap, visit, ask
Sign up or pay
RetentionOutside Meta's performance goals

Return visits and referrals come from email, SMS, retargeting and a warm in-person welcome. Meta ads are strongest at finding new people and prompting a first step; once someone has subscribed, these channels do most of the work of turning them into a regular.

Sources

Meta Business Help Center

  1. About marketing objectives in relation to Facebook's ad delivery system: the objective has no effect on delivery; it sets which options are available
  2. About performance goals: the goal is what the delivery system bids on and can differ from the objective
  3. Performance goals available by ad objective and conversion location in Meta Ads Manager: which goals each objective and location offers
  4. About ThruPlay: 6-second and 15-second ThruPlay
  5. Understand the difference between link clicks and landing page views
  6. About landing page view optimization
  7. About performance goals for lead ads: leads, qualified leads, leads through messaging and value of conversions
  8. About the learning phase

Additional sources (Jon Loomer)

  1. 21 Performance Goals: The Focus of Meta Ads Optimization
  2. How to Pick Your Campaign Objective
  3. Remove Performance Goal Options
  4. The Difference Between Facebook Clicks

Goal names are shortened here; in Ads Manager each one starts with "Maximize," as shown on each card. Objectives listed on each card come from Meta's table of goals by objective and conversion location, checked November 2026. Definitions, the order of the goals, cost and volume labels and "Use when / It does not" notes are KMC's own guidance and summaries, not Meta's wording. Meta rolls out and renames goals gradually, so some may not appear in every ad account.

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Choosing a conversion location

Put the action where it’s easiest to follow up

The conversion location is where the result happens: your website, a form inside Facebook or Instagram, a chat, a phone call or the ad itself.1 It also shapes what you’ll need to set up. A website location under Engagement, Leads or Sales asks you to pick a conversion event, which the Meta pixel tracks. Instant Forms, messaging apps and calls don’t need one.12

Three questions to choose by

  1. Where is the next step easiest?Fewer taps and screens usually means more people finish.
  2. Can you follow up there?Someone needs to answer chats and calls, and leads need a path into your email or SMS list.
  3. Can you see the result?Website sign-ups need the pixel to be counted. Forms, chats and calls are counted inside Meta.

The locations that fit most centers

Under each location are the campaign objectives that offer it. The Decision Tree at the end of this page shows every combination of objective, location and goal.25

Website

Traffic, Engagement, Leads, Sales

Best for
Class and event pages, registrations, and anything paid through an online checkout.
You’ll need
A clear, fast-loading page, and the Meta pixel tracking the sign-up or purchase.
Watch for
Every extra step loses people. Send the ad to the exact page, not the homepage.

Instant Forms

Leads

Best for
Free intro classes, library talks and building an email or SMS list. People sign up without leaving Facebook or Instagram.3
You’ll need
A privacy policy link, which Meta requires, and a plan for getting leads into your email or SMS tool.3
Watch for
Contact details can be prefilled, so forms are easy to submit and intent can be lower.3 Follow up quickly, and consider Meta’s “Higher intent” form type.

Messaging apps

Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp · Traffic, Engagement, Leads, Sales

Best for
First-time visitors with questions about what to expect, parking or what to wear.
You’ll need
Someone who can reply promptly while the ad is running.
Watch for
Unanswered messages. A slow reply usually loses the person.

Calls

Traffic, Engagement, Leads, Sales

Best for
People who would rather talk to someone before their first visit.
You’ll need
Someone answering the phone during the hours the ad runs.
Watch for
Voicemail. Schedule the ad for hours when someone can pick up.

On your ad

Video views, post engagement, event responses, reminders · Awareness, Engagement

Best for
Warming up a new area and spreading a Facebook Event.
You’ll need
A strong video or post, or a Facebook Event for event responses.
Watch for
No one signs up here. Follow with an ad to people who watched or responded.

Facebook Page or Instagram profile

Engagement (Page) · Traffic (Instagram profile)

Best for
Building followers for a new or small center.
You’ll need
An active, welcoming Page or feed for people to land on.
Watch for
Followers aren’t attendees. Use this alongside ads that invite people to class.
Website or Instant Form for sign-ups?

For free events, an Instant Form usually brings more sign-ups for the same budget because people never leave the app. For paid events, or when people need the schedule and details before deciding, send them to your website. Meta also offers a combined Website and instant forms location under Leads. It sends each person to whichever of the two they’re most likely to complete, and it needs the Meta pixel with a Lead event on your website.4

Sources

Meta Business Help Center

  1. About conversion locations and events in Meta Ads Manager: what a conversion location is; not all locations require a conversion event
  2. Available conversion locations and events by objective in Meta Ads Manager: which locations each objective offers and which need an event
  3. About lead ads with instant form: forms stay inside Facebook and Instagram, prefilled details, form types and the privacy policy requirement
  4. Create a lead ad that optimizes for website and instant forms
  5. Performance goals available by ad objective and conversion location in Meta Ads Manager: objectives listed under each location

App locations are left out because they don’t apply to most Kadampa centers. The three questions, “Best for / You’ll need / Watch for” notes and the website versus Instant Form advice are KMC’s own guidance, not Meta’s wording. Help Center articles checked November 2026.

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Meta Ads Decision Tree
Meta Ads Manager · Campaign setup reference

Meta AdsDecision Tree

Pick an objective, then a conversion location, to see which performance goals Meta offers for that combination. Click any goal to see when to use it.

1Objective
The overall result the ad campaign is meant to achieve.
2Conversion location
Where people take action, such as a website, messaging app or form.
3Performance goal
How Meta measures success and delivers the ad.
1

Choose objective

Top of funnelLower cost · lower commitmentBottom of funnelHigher cost · higher commitment
Outside the funnel