Conversion value is the amount of money attached to a conversion, such as the order total of a purchase. In Meta ads, it is the number your website sends along with an event so that Meta can add up revenue and report return on ad spend.
How to calculate conversion value
Total conversion value = the sum of the value of each conversion
For purchases, Meta says the metric "is calculated by adding the value parameters you set for the purchase standard event on your website". It defines website purchases conversion value as "the total value of website purchases".
A coffee roaster sells three kinds of order through its ads: 60 orders of a $45 sampler, 40 of an $80 subscription starter and 20 of a $120 gift box. The total is 60 × $45 + 40 × $80 + 20 × $120, or $2,700 + $3,200 + $2,400 = $8,300. The ads spent $2,075, so return on ad spend (ROAS) is $8,300 ÷ $2,075 = 4.0. The average per order, $8,300 ÷ 120 orders, is about $69.17, which is the average order value.
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Try for Free ($0 Trial)How the value reaches Meta
The value is not worked out by Meta. Your setup supplies it:
- The shopper completes the action on your site.
- Your Meta Pixel or Conversions API sends the event, a value and a currency.
- Meta credits the event to an ad inside its attribution setting and adds the value to that ad's total.
If the event arrives with no value, Meta still counts the purchase, but conversion value and ROAS show as empty or zero for it. You can check which events Meta received in Events Manager.
Value for actions that are not purchases
Leads, bookings and sign-ups have no price on the page, but you can still give them a value. The usual method is to multiply what a customer is worth by the share of leads that become customers.
| Action | Basis | Value to send |
|---|---|---|
| Lead for a $500 service | 1 in 10 leads buys | $50 |
| Booked demo for a $2,400 yearly plan | 1 in 4 demos buys | $600 |
| Newsletter sign-up | No clear sales link | Leave without a value |
Review these estimates every few months with real close rates, because a wrong value makes ROAS look better or worse than it is.
Conversion value mistakes
- Mixing revenue and profit. Decide whether you send the order total or the margin, and keep it the same everywhere. Break-even changes with that choice, and our break-even ROAS calculator shows how.
- Sending a value with the wrong currency. The currency travels with the event. A store selling in euros that sends dollars distorts every report.
- Counting shipping and tax inconsistently. Pick one rule and apply it to every order.
- Duplicate events. If the Pixel and Conversions API both report a purchase and they are not matched, value is counted twice.
Conversion value and ROAS targets
Because ROAS is conversion value divided by spend, any error in the value passes straight into your ROAS target and your scaling decisions. A campaign that looks like it runs at 4.0 may run at 2.0 once duplicates are removed. Check the value on a few real orders before trusting the column.
Example. A mattress retailer finds Ads Manager credits $30,000 of purchases to a month of ads, but its store shows $24,000 from the same campaigns. The gap comes from two things: some orders fire the event twice, and the shop sends the value with shipping included. After fixing both, the ads report $24,500, close to the store's figure, and the team sets its ROAS target on numbers it can trust.
In Madgicx. Madgicx Cloud Tracking sends conversions to Meta from the server, so Meta can see and attribute more of them. One-Click Report puts Meta, Google Ads, TikTok, Shopify and Klaviyo data in one place, so you can compare the value Meta reports with store revenue.
FAQ
What is conversion value in Facebook ads?
It is the money value of the conversions your ads are credited with. For purchases, Meta adds up the value you send with each purchase event, and the total drives ROAS.
How is conversion value different from revenue?
Conversion value is the revenue Meta attributes to your ads, inside its attribution setting and based on the events it received. Revenue in your store covers all sources. The two rarely match.
Why is my purchase conversion value zero?
The most common cause is a purchase event sent without a value parameter. Fix the Pixel or Conversions API setup so each purchase carries its amount and currency.
Can I set a conversion value for leads?
Yes. Estimate what a lead is worth from your close rate and average sale, and send that amount with the lead event. Update it as your real numbers change.
Does conversion value include profit margin?
Not by default. It is whatever amount you send, usually the order total. Use profit margin to set a break-even target for ROAS.
Related
- Related terms: Conversion, Return on ad spend (ROAS), Average order value, Events Manager
- In depth: Tools for tracking Facebook ROAS
Sources
- Website Purchases Conversion Value, Meta Business Help Center
