First, understand what lookalike audiences are. They are groups of people who share similar traits and interests with an existing custom audience. These lookalike audiences do not know your brand yet. They do, however, resemble your best customers or prospects. By targeting them, you can reach more people who are likely to engage or buy.
Access Your Audiences
Go to your Facebook Ads Manager. Find the “Audiences” section. If you see a shortcut for it, click that. If not, scroll down the main menu. Look for the “Advertise” category and select “Audiences.”
Here, you will manage all your saved audiences, custom audiences, and lookalike audiences.
Prepare Your Base Custom Audience
Before creating a lookalike, ensure you have a strong custom audience. This audience should represent a high-value group of users. For example, people who purchased a product in the last 180 days is a valuable group. The more significant your data set, the better Facebook can find similar people.
Create a Lookalike Audience
Select a base custom audience. For example, choose “Website Purchases (Last 180 Days).”
Click the three dots in the menu. Then select “Create Lookalike.” A new window will appear.
Choose Your Location
Pick the country where you want to find your lookalike audience. You must choose whole countries. For example, select “United States” or “United Kingdom.” If you want to focus on a smaller area later, do that when setting your ad targeting. For now, select the entire country.
Select Your Audience Size
Adjust the slider to set a percentage. This percentage controls how large your lookalike audience will be. A smaller percentage, such as 1%, finds a group closer in similarity to your base audience. A larger percentage, like 4% or 5%, brings in more people but lowers similarity. If you target a large country like the U.S., try 1%. For smaller countries, a slightly higher percentage may help.
Avoid jumping directly to 10%. Expanding to the largest size dilutes similarity. Start small, then test larger sizes. Always balance scale with relevance.
Confirm and Create Your Lookalike
After choosing your country and size, click “Create Audience.” Facebook will generate your new lookalike. You might see a name like “Lookalike (GB) 4% Website Purchases Last 180 Days.” This label helps you remember how the audience was formed.
Ensure Quality Data
Your lookalike’s quality depends on your source. More robust custom audiences produce better lookalikes. Use high-intent events, like purchases or high-value actions, as your base. The richer the seed data, the stronger the resulting lookalike.
Stacking Multiple Lookalike Audiences
In practice, you can create multiple lookalikes. Consider building a lookalike from your email list, your add-to-cart audience, or your website visitors. Combine these inside your ad set targeting. Stack multiple lookalike audiences to broaden reach while maintaining relevance.
Refining Location Targeting in Ads Manager
If you must target a specific region, do this at the ad set level. First, choose the country for the lookalike. Then, when creating or editing your ads, narrow down to towns or cities. Adjust the radius to reach the specific area you want. This way, you keep the core audience’s similarity but show ads only to people in your desired location.
Test and Refine
Once you have your lookalike audiences ready, add them to your ad sets. Monitor performance. Test different percentages and seed audiences. Some lookalikes will outperform others. Over time, identify which lookalikes yield the best results. Then refine and scale those strategies.