Facebook Ad Targeting 101: Interests, Lookalikes, Custom Audiences

You can have the best product and the most compelling creative—but if your audience targeting is off, your Facebook ad won’t perform.

Welcome to Facebook Ad Targeting 101. In this guide, we’ll break down the three main targeting types every e-commerce seller should understand:
Interest targeting, Lookalike Audiences, and Custom Audiences.

Let’s make sure your ads reach the right people, at the right time.

🎯 Why Targeting Matters

Facebook’s power lies in its data-rich targeting engine. With over 3 billion users on Meta platforms, the trick isn’t reaching more people—it’s reaching the right people.

That’s where smart targeting comes in. It improves:

• Ad relevance

• Conversion rates

• Return on ad spend (ROAS)

Ready to target smarter? Let’s dive into your three core audience types.

1. Interest Targeting: Start with What They Like

This is the most beginner-friendly option. Interest targeting lets you show ads to users based on:

• Pages they follow

• Apps they use

• Activities and behaviors on Facebook and Instagram

📌 Example Interests for a fitness brand:

• “Home workouts”

• “Yoga”

• “Nike Training Club”

💡 Pro Tip: Stack related interests to refine your audience—but avoid overly narrow targeting unless you’re testing a niche segment.

🛠 When to use:

• You’re launching to a cold audience

• You’re testing new markets or niches

• You don’t have enough data for Custom or Lookalikes

⚠️ Limitation: Facebook’s interest data isn’t always precise. Users may have liked a page years ago and lost interest—so monitor performance closely.

2. Lookalike Audiences: Reach People Like Your Best Customers

Lookalike Audiences help you find new people who behave like your existing high-value users.

You give Facebook a source audience, and it uses its algorithm to find others with similar traits.

👥 Examples of source audiences:

• Customers who purchased in the last 30 days

• Email subscribers

• High-LTV users (via Shopify or AdsPolar data)

🎯 You can control the similarity-to-size ratio:

• 1% Lookalike = Closest match (higher quality)

• 5–10% = Broader reach, potentially lower match quality

🛠 When to use:

• You’ve made at least 100 conversions or purchases

• You want to scale campaigns without sacrificing quality

• You’re looking to expand into new regions or demographics

💡 Pro Tip: Always test 1%, 3%, and 5% lookalikes in separate ad sets to find your sweet spot.

3. Custom Audiences: Retargeting and Warm Leads

Custom Audiences allow you to target people who’ve already interacted with your brand—via your website, app, or Facebook assets.

Types of Custom Audiences include:

• Website visitors (tracked by Facebook Pixel)

• Instagram/Facebook page engagers

• Video viewers

• Add-to-cart or checkout abandoners

• Email list uploads (via CSV or platform sync)

🛠 When to use:

• You're running retargeting campaigns

• You want to recover abandoned carts

• You’re nurturing warm leads with reminder or offer ads

📌 Example:
You run a Custom Audience of users who added a product to cart but didn’t purchase—and offer them 10% off in a retargeting campaign.

💡 Pro Tip: Use exclusion targeting (e.g., exclude recent purchasers) to avoid annoying customers with irrelevant ads.

🧠 Combine Strategies for Best Results

Facebook’s targeting works best when you combine these audience types in a funnel strategy:

1. Top of Funnel (TOF)

   • Use Interest or broad targeting to attract new users

   • Introduce your brand and products

2. Middle of Funnel (MOF)

   • Target Lookalikes and engagers

   • Show benefits, testimonials, or educational content

3. Bottom of Funnel (BOF)

   • Use Custom Audiences to convert high-intent users

   • Offer urgency or incentives to drive purchases

📊 How AdsPolar Enhances Targeting Strategy

Using AdsPolar, you can:

• Compare how different audience types perform across Facebook, TikTok, and Google

• Monitor CPM, CTR, ROAS by audience category

• Visualize which segment delivers the best value—so you can scale intelligently

No more guessing which audience is working. AdsPolar gives you the data to back every targeting decision.

Final Thoughts

Facebook ad targeting isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution—it’s a toolkit.
Mastering Interest targeting, Lookalike Audiences, and Custom Audiences will give your e-commerce brand the flexibility to reach the right people at the right moment.

Start simple. Test often. Optimize based on data.

And with the right tools (like AdsPolar), you’ll target not just more users—but the right customers.