If you run an eCommerce business or sell products online, Advantage+ Catalog Ads in Meta can be one of the most powerful ways to drive sales.
In this guide, you’ll learn what catalog ads are, why they are important, and how to create an Advantage+ Catalog campaign step by step.
What Are Meta Catalog Ads?
A catalog ad allows Meta (Facebook & Instagram) to automatically show products from your store to people based on their behaviour.
Instead of advertising one fixed product, Meta dynamically displays:
- Products users viewed
- Products they added to cart
- Similar products they are most likely to buy
These ads pull real-time product data such as image, price, title, and availability directly from your product catalog.
Why Advantage+ Catalog Ads Are Important
Advantage+ Catalog Ads are important because they:
- Use real customer behaviour data
- Automatically personalise ads for each user
- Work extremely well for retargeting and scaling
- Reduce manual ad management
- Improve Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)
Meta’s algorithm handles optimisation, product selection, and placements—making it ideal for both beginners and advanced advertisers.
What You Need Before Creating a Catalog Campaign
Before you create an Advantage+ Catalog campaign, make sure you have the following:
- A Product Catalog
- A Connected Website or Shopify Store
- A Meta Pixel or Dataset tracking website events
Without these, catalog ads won’t work properly.
How to Create and Connect a Product Catalog
You can create a product catalog in two ways:
1. Automatically (Recommended)
If you use Shopify or WooCommerce:
- Install the Facebook & Instagram app
- Connect your Meta Business Manager
- Connect your Meta Pixel
- Products will sync automatically
2. Manually in Commerce Manager
You can upload products manually or via a feed, but this requires more maintenance.
What Is a Product Set?
A product set is a group of products inside your catalog.
Examples include:
- New arrivals
- Best sellers
- Sale items
- Products within a specific price range
You can create product sets based on:
- Category
- Availability
- Colour
- Size
- Price range
Product sets help you promote specific product groups rather than your entire catalog.
How to Create an Advantage+ Catalog Campaign
Step 1: Create the Campaign
- Go to Meta Ads Manager
- Click the green Create button
- Select the objective Sales
If your catalog is connected, Advantage+ Catalog Ads will automatically turn on.
Set your campaign budget and click Next.
Step 2: Ad Set Level Setup
- Conversion location: Website
- Performance goal: Maximum number of conversions
- Conversion event: Purchase
You don’t need to manually select a pixel here because:
- The catalog is already connected to a pixel
- Events are tracked through the catalog
Choose a product set or select All Products.
You can also:
- Set an end date
- Use saved audiences
- Retarget website visitors or cart abandoners
- Add a broad audience for scaling
👉 Tip: Avoid over-restricting your audience. Let Meta’s algorithm optimise delivery.
Keep Advantage+ placements ON and click Next.
Step 3: Ad Level Setup
Under Identity, select:
- Your Facebook Page
- Your Instagram account
Choose one of the ad formats:
- Single Image – Meta selects product images automatically
- Carousel – Shows multiple products
- Collection – Uses an Instant Experience for immersive shopping
Add:
- Primary text
- Headline template
- Description
- Call to action (Shop Now)
Customising the Ad Creative
Meta allows you to customise how products appear:
- Frame: Add a PNG logo or discount badge across all products
- Crop: Control how images display if they aren’t square
- Background colour: Improve appearance for narrow images
For Collection ads, you can:
- Create an Instant Experience
- Choose a template such as Storefront
- Upload a custom image or video
Final Review and Publish
Before publishing:
- Rename your campaign, ad set, and ad clearly
- Review all settings
- Check the preview on Facebook and Instagram
If everything looks good, click Publish.
Why Advantage+ Catalog Ads Perform So Well
Advantage+ Catalog Ads:
- Automatically show relevant products
- Use real-time website behaviour
- Scale faster with less effort
- They are ideal for eCommerce growth
This is why Meta strongly recommends catalog ads for online stores.
Advantage+ Catalog Ads are one of the most effective ad formats for selling products on Facebook and Instagram.
When set up correctly, they save time, improve performance, and help you scale profitably.
If you want to learn more about Meta Ads, Shopify marketing, and digital growth strategies, explore more tutorials on Digital Growth Tutor.