In May 2017 Facebook rolled out a pretty epic update to the pixel – epic because it was a massive power play and showed just how intent the platform is to improving advertising, the user experience as well as encroach on the search engine/Google sphere.
You may have noticed Facebook Microdata already, and perhaps thought nothing much of it. I’m talking about Microdata and a new automatic event called “SubscribedButtonClick”.
In this post I’m going to walk you through the former a little deeper, what it is and how to start the process of getting yours optimised properly in 2020.
WHAT’S FACEBOOK MICRODATA
When using the Pixel Helper Tool, you may notice a new field called “Microdata” that triggers when the pixel loads on the site (see below).
This is essentially allowing Facebook to gain way more information in terms of what users are doing on your site, what they’re looking at, and how well your site is performing.
Facebook Microdata does this by looking at the markup data – essentially SEO information on the pages to discern that your site is about Barbecues (for example) and this particular visitor is very interested in this product (based on how they engage with the page).
Why should you care?
Facebook Microdata is actually pretty scary/intense/and amazing all in one.
What this is now allowing Facebook to do is to spot people most likely to perform the desired action and optimise advertising campaigns accordingly.
Facebook Microdata is also allowing you to tap into competitor traffic in a way!
Here’s an example:
Using the BBQ example above, if I am on a competitor website checking BBQs and you decide to run ads for your BBQ sale, Facebook will now know to show your ads to me as I am a very “hot” prospect and have shown interest in this type of product.
Likewise, let’s say I purchased the BBQ on that competitor site – well if you’re selling BBQ tongs or cleaning products, again Facebook will now have the data to tell it to show your ads to me as I am a likely customer.
In this sense, this VERY MUCH replicates the “search” function of Google. Whereby Google targets ads to individuals already deep in the consideration phase of a marketing funnel.
Facebook was always able to do this type of ad targeting/optimisation – but not to this extent. This is what Facebook microdata is enabling us to tap into.
Powerful stuff.
SCHEMA & OPENGRAPH
So what’s the difference between Schema and OpenGraph?
OpenGraph is what Facebook uses and Schema is a Google identifier that helps search engines to identify the category or property type of your site’s content. Facebook taps into both of these so you’ll want to make sure they’re both installed correctly.
If you see a little box icon next to “Schema” this means it is NOT installed on the site or landing page in question.
TIP – pitch this as an up-sell to clients. It will be highly beneficial for them to have this and drastically improve their FB campaigns.
HOW DO I SET IT UP
You’ll probably (like 97%) need a web developer to help you with this – especially if you’re not comfortable editing the CMS of your site. Try a find a dev that is ideally familiar or specialises in SEO – as they will understand Schema.
Step #1: Head to Structured Data Markup Helper
https://www.google.com/webmasters/markup-helper/?email=true
Step #2: Add in the URL in question and select “Start Tagging”
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