Understanding Ad Performance Metrics

In the fifth video from our Social Advertising for Franchises 101 series, we walk through one of the most important parts of advertising that every franchisee should understand—how to read your ad performance metrics.

These numbers are what show whether your campaigns are actually working and if your ad dollars are being well spent. Let’s take a closer look at the key metrics you’ll see in Meta Ads Manager or the Flamel.ai platform, what they mean, and how to interpret them in the real world.

Your ad spend shows how much money your campaign has actually spent so far, while your budget is how much you’ve told Meta you’re willing to spend.

For example, if your campaign is set to $10 per day and has been running for a week, your spend might show around $70. If you’re using Meta’s Advantage Campaign Budget, the platform may automatically move that money between ad sets to get the best results.

For franchisees, it’s important to check both numbers regularly—make sure your spending aligns with your marketing plan and that your budget is high enough to generate meaningful data.

Pro tip: Small, local campaigns often need at least $5–$10 per day per ad set to help Meta optimize effectively.

These two metrics are closely related but not identical.

• Impressions show the total number of times your ad was displayed.

• Reach measures how many unique people saw your ad.

  
  

If your campaign has 10,000 impressions and a reach of 5,000, that means each person saw your ad twice on average.

Impressions tell you how visible your ad is, while reach tells you how many individuals you’re actually getting in front of. For local franchise campaigns, your reach may be smaller—and that’s perfectly fine. What matters most is whether those people are engaging and taking action.

Clicks show how many times people interacted with your ad—usually by visiting your website, store page, or booking form.

CPC (Cost Per Click) shows how much you’re paying for each of those interactions.

If you spend $50 and receive 100 clicks, your CPC is $0.50. A lower CPC generally means your targeting and creative are resonating with your audience.

However, not all clicks are equal. If people click but don’t take further action on your website, your campaign might be attracting attention but not driving conversions—so always review your clicks in context with other metrics.

Results track how many people completed your desired action—like submitting a form, purchasing a product, or visiting your store.

Result Rate measures the percentage of people who took that action compared to how many saw or clicked your ad.

For instance, if your ad generated 1,000 clicks and 100 people completed a form, your result rate would be 10%.

These metrics help you see how effective your creative, offer, and landing page are at turning interest into action.

Cost Per Result (or CPR) shows how much you’re paying for each completed goal—your conversions.

If you spent $100 and received 10 signups, your CPR is $10. A lower CPR means your campaign is more efficient and giving you a better return on your ad spend.

This is one of the most important metrics to focus on. If your average customer spends $50 and your CPR is $5, that’s excellent. If it’s $25, you may need to adjust your creative, targeting, or budget to improve efficiency.

Each metric gives you part of the story, but together, they show the full picture:

• Budget and Spend reveal how much fuel your campaign has.

• Impressions and Reach measure how wide your message spreads.

• Clicks and CPC show how engaging your ad is.

• Results, Result Rate, and CPR tell you how well your campaign converts attention into real business outcomes.

  
  

If your impressions are high but your clicks are low, your ad creative might need a refresh. If you’re getting clicks but few conversions, it might be time to adjust your offer or landing page.

In our next video, we’ll show you how to use these insights to make confident decisions about scaling your campaigns and optimizing your ad spend for maximum return.