- Meta's value optimisation uses the purchase value you send. If the value is gross profit, Meta learns to find profitable buyers.
- You need margin per product and a server tag that sends the profit value with the Purchase event.
- Change carefully: it resets part of the learning. Test on one campaign first.
Most advertisers send revenue as the purchase value, so Meta finds people who spend a lot. If your margins differ by product, that can steer spend to high-revenue, low-profit baskets. Sending profit instead aligns what Meta optimises with what you earn. This page explains how to do it and what to watch. It follows ROAS vs POAS and profit on ad spend. Meta's tools and options change, so check Ads Manager.
The idea
| Revenue as value | Profit as value | |
|---|---|---|
| Meta learns to find | People with large baskets | People whose baskets earn the most margin |
| Target ROAS means | Revenue per ad dollar | Profit per ad dollar (POAS) |
| Good when | Margins are similar across products | Margins vary a lot |
| Risk | Promotes low-margin items | Lower reported "revenue"; needs margin data |
Check your tracking in one pass
This is an example. Run the check on your own site to see where yours stands.
What you need
- Margin per product (or by category), with shipping and fees where you can. See profit on ad spend.
- A server tag that sends the Purchase event with
valueset to gross profit and the correct currency. - Enough volume: Meta needs a steady flow of purchases to learn.
- A shared event ID between pixel and server so there is one purchase per order.
Open Tracked's POAS Data Feed (Pro plan) works out profit per order on your server and sends it to GA4 and, as the conversion value, to Google Ads. For Meta, you map the profit value in your Meta Conversions API tag yourself, using the same margins, because the power-up currently targets GA4 and Google Ads.
Set it up
Calculate profit per order
Margin times item price, summed, less shipping and fees.
Pass the profit to the server container
As a field in the purchase event data.
Set value in the Meta tag to profit
And keep currency.
Decide what the browser pixel sends
If both send, they must send the same value, or send the purchase from the server only. Otherwise deduplication may keep the wrong copy.
Adjust targets
A ROAS target of 3 on revenue is a different target from a profit target. Recompute using break-even POAS of 1.0.
Test
One campaign or one ad set first.
Raw events in. Clean events out.
Open Tracked collects each event on your own domain, removes the noise and sends what is left to Meta, Google Ads, TikTok.
Risks
Works with your stack
Grab a logo and throw it. These are the tools Open Tracked already talks to.
Frequently asked questions
Can Meta optimise for profit?
It optimises for the value you send. If you send gross profit as the purchase value, it optimises for profit.
Will reported ROAS go down?
Yes, because profit is smaller than revenue. Judge by profit.
Does Open Tracked send profit to Meta?
The POAS Data Feed sends profit to GA4 and Google Ads. For Meta you map the profit value in your server tag.
How do I avoid conflicting values?
Send the purchase from one source, or make the pixel and server send the same value.
How much volume do I need?
Enough purchases for Meta to learn. Test on your highest-volume campaign.
Do I need spreadsheets to read my results?
No. Once tracking is live, the Open Tracked analytics shows spend, revenue, ROAS and profit, and you can ask Ari, the built-in AI assistant, questions about your own numbers in plain words. Ari's allowance depends on your analytics plan.
Is Open Tracked different from Open Track or Open Space Track?
No. Open Tracked is the official name of our server-side tracking platform, and the website is opentracked.io. Many people search for it as Open Track, OpenTrack or Open Space Track. All of them lead to the same product: server-side Google Tag Manager hosting, first-party analytics and a CRM pipeline.
Fix your tracking at the source
Open Tracked hosts your server-side Tag Manager, keeps first-party cookies alive and shows what each ad is really worth.
The Open Tracked team
We build Open Tracked: server-side tracking hosting, analytics and the tools around them, for stores that spend on ads. Questions about this guide, or an idea for the next one?
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