Why Your "Above Average" Ads Are Still Failing (And How to Fix Them)

The Core Concept
Ad Relevance Diagnostics are Meta's feedback mechanism for explaining why an ad is underperforming. They replaced the single "Relevance Score" (1-10) to provide granular insight into three specific areas: visual quality, audience engagement, and post-click conversion probability. Ignoring these signals forces you to bid higher in the Ad Auction to reach the same users.

The Strategy
Don't aim for "Above Average" on all three metrics—it's often unnecessary and expensive. Instead, use the "Diagnostic Matrix" approach. If Quality is low, refresh the creative. If Engagement is low, sharpen your hook. If Conversion is low, optimize the landing page speed and offer alignment. Prioritize fixing "Below Average (Bottom 35%)" rankings first, as these actively penalize your delivery costs.

Key Metrics
While diagnostics are qualitative, they directly impact quantitative metrics. Monitor CPM (Cost Per Mille) as your primary health check—rising CPMs often precede a drop in Quality Ranking. Secondary metrics include CTR (Click-Through Rate) for engagement health and CVR (Conversion Rate) for offer relevance. Industry benchmarks suggest maintaining a CTR above 1.5% for e-commerce feeds to stay competitive [2].

Ad Relevance Diagnostics are a set of three performance metrics that compare your ad's performance against other ads competing for the same audience. Unlike absolute metrics like CPC or ROAS, these are relative rankings that tell you if your ad is performing better or worse than your direct competitors in the auction.

Meta breaks this down into three distinct pillars:

1. Quality Ranking: How the platform and users perceive the aesthetic and technical quality of your ad (e.g., no low-res images, no engagement bait).
2. Engagement Rate Ranking: The expected probability that a user will click, comment, or react compared to other ads.
3. Conversion Rate Ranking: The expected probability that a user will complete your optimization goal (purchase, lead, etc.) after clicking.

Why This Matters for the Ad Auction
The Ad Auction doesn't just care about your bid; it calculates "Total Value." Total Value = (Bid × Estimated Action Rates) + User Value. These diagnostics are essentially a report card on that "User Value" component. If your diagnostics are poor, your "User Value" score drops, meaning you must pay significantly more (higher bid) to win the same impression. In my experience auditing accounts, fixing a "Below Average" Quality Ranking can sometimes reduce CPA by 20-30% without changing the budget.

Most marketers look at these scores in isolation, but the real insight comes from the combination of the three. This matrix reveals exactly where your funnel is leaking.

Interpreting "Average"
Don't panic if you see "Average." In the world of Meta ads, "Average" is actually good. It means you are competitive. You only need to take drastic action when you see "Below Average (Bottom 35%)" or "Bottom 20%." These are the red flags indicating you are paying a premium for impressions.

Quality Ranking is the most subjective of the three metrics, but it is heavily influenced by user feedback signals (hiding the ad, reporting it) and machine vision analysis of your creative assets. A low score here often means your ad feels like an interruption rather than content.

Strategies to Improve Quality Ranking:

• Reduce Text Density: While the "20% text rule" is officially gone, the algorithm still favors visuals with minimal text overlay. Move your value proposition to the headline or primary text fields.
• Avoid Sensationalism: Words like "Shocking," "Miracle," or excessive punctuation (!!!) trigger low-quality flags. Stick to clear, benefit-driven copy.
• Upgrade Asset Resolution: Ensure all video assets are 1080x1920 (9:16 aspect ratio) for mobile placements. Blurry or cropped assets are an instant signal of low quality.

Micro-Example:

• Bad: A static image with a giant red "50% OFF" banner covering the product.
• Good: A high-res lifestyle shot of the product in use, with the discount mentioned in the headline.

Engagement Rate Ranking measures the "thumb-stopping" power of your ad. If this is low, your audience is scrolling past your content without a second glance. This is rarely a product problem; it is almost always a hook problem.

Strategies to Improve Engagement Rate:

• Iterate the First 3 Seconds: For video ads, the first 3 seconds are critical. Test visual hooks (sudden motion, weird objects) vs. verbal hooks (questions, bold statements).
• Refine Audience Targeting: Sometimes your creative is fine, but you're showing it to people who don't care. Tighten your lookalike audiences or test broad targeting to let the algorithm find interested users.
• Use "Tribal" Language: Speak directly to a specific sub-niche. Using specific terminology signals to the user "this is for me," increasing the likelihood of a pause and click.

Benchmarks to Watch:
According to recent data, the average CTR for Facebook ads across all industries is roughly 1.5% [2]. If your CTR is significantly below this while your CPM is high, your engagement ranking is likely dragging you down.

Conversion Rate Ranking is the most financially critical metric. It tells you: "Of the people who clicked, how many actually bought?" A low score here indicates a broken promise—your ad set an expectation that your landing page failed to meet.

Strategies to Improve Conversion Rate:

• Message Match: Ensure the headline on your landing page matches the headline in your ad exactly. If the ad says "50% Off Summer Sale," the landing page cannot say "Welcome to Our Brand."
• Improve Page Load Speed: A slow site kills conversion. Every second of delay reduces conversion rates significantly. Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to diagnose issues.
• Simplify the Checkout Flow: Remove unnecessary form fields. Use express checkout options (Shop Pay, Apple Pay) to reduce friction.

The "High Intent" Trap
Sometimes, a low conversion ranking is actually a sign of low intent traffic. If you use "click-bait" tactics to get high engagement (Pillar 2), you often sacrifice conversion quality (Pillar 3). The goal is balance, not maximizing clicks at all costs.

While Ad Relevance Diagnostics are useful, they are proxy metrics, not business metrics. You cannot pay your rent with a "Quality Ranking." You must correlate these diagnostic improvements with actual financial outcomes.

The Success Hierarchy:

1. Primary Metric: ROAS & CPA: If your ROAS is healthy, you can often ignore a "Below Average" ranking. I've seen profitable campaigns with poor quality scores because the offer was just that compelling.
2. Secondary Metric: CPM: Watch this closely. If you improve your Quality Ranking from "Below Average" to "Average," you should see your CPM drop. This is the direct financial benefit of relevance optimization.
3. Tertiary Metric: Frequency: High frequency often leads to "Ad Fatigue," which causes all three relevance scores to plummet. If frequency crosses 3.0-4.0 in a retargeting audience, it's time to refresh creative.

Data Insight:
Recent benchmarking data indicates that the average Cost Per Lead (CPL) varies wildly by industry, but optimizing relevance scores is one of the few levers available to lower these costs in a competitive auction environment [1].

1. Obsessing Over "Above Average"
New advertisers waste weeks trying to get all three metrics to "Above Average." This is diminishing returns. Once you hit "Average," move on to testing new offers or creative concepts. The algorithm is satisfied; you don't need to be perfect.

2. Ignoring Small Sample Sizes
Diagnostics are not accurate until an ad has roughly 500 impressions. Making decisions based on data from an ad that has only run for 4 hours is a recipe for killing winning ads prematurely.

3. Blaming the Creative for a Product Issue
If your Quality and Engagement rankings are high, but Conversion is consistently low across multiple creative variations, stop making new ads. The problem is your product pricing, your shipping costs, or your brand trust. No amount of creative optimization will fix a bad offer.

4. Neglecting Mobile Optimization
With over 90% of social traffic on mobile, a desktop-perfect landing page that breaks on iPhone will tank your Conversion Rate Ranking immediately. Always audit your post-click experience on an actual device, not just a browser dev tool.