What Is Audience Network?
The Audience Network is Meta's inventory of third-party apps and websites where your ads can appear outside Facebook and Instagram. Meta uses your campaign's targeting and creatives to serve ads in partner properties — mostly mobile games and news apps.
Typical behaviour
You run a Meta campaign with automatic placements. Meta serves 60% of impressions on Facebook feed, 25% on Instagram, 8% on Reels, and 7% on Audience Network. The Audience Network share often shows the lowest CPMs and the lowest quality — a mix of accidental clicks and low-attention app installs.
Benchmarks
- Audience Network typically shows the lowest CPMs in Meta placements (< $2 in many markets).
- Post-click quality is often 30–60% weaker than feed placements.
- Some ecommerce accounts see 5–15% of conversions from it; others see almost none.
Why it matters
Audience Network is either a small efficient tail or a budget sink — it varies by account. Always view a placement breakdown weekly; if it's producing conversions at good CPA, keep it on; if it's just serving cheap impressions with zero downstream action, exclude it.
Common mistakes
- 1.Leaving Audience Network on without reviewing placement breakdown.
- 2.Excluding it site-wide without checking if it converts on retargeting.
- 3.Judging Audience Network only on CTR — click quality matters more.
Put Audience Network to work
Related services
FAQs about Audience Network
Should I turn off Audience Network?
Only if the placement breakdown shows it burning budget with no conversions. On retargeting it often pulls its weight; on cold prospecting it's usually the weakest placement.
Why can't I exclude Audience Network on Advantage+?
Advantage+ Shopping doesn't allow placement exclusions by design. If you must exclude, use a manual sales campaign instead.
Is Audience Network the same as Instant Articles?
No — Instant Articles is a specific placement inside Facebook. Audience Network is off-Meta inventory.