Have you ever been scrolling through your Facebook feed only to find multiple ads of a product or service you searched for just moments before?

Though some say the Facebook pixel is creepy (and it kind of is),  it’s also an ingenious marketing tool to better serve your target audience.

So what is it exactly? If you’re unfamiliar, a Facebook pixel serves as an identifier.

Essentially, it’s a snippet of code installed on your website, so that you can track your all of your traffic down to the type, information about what your audience likes, how many items users have put an item in their cart on your site, or even whether they purchased a given item or not… so you can see where some people can get uneasy.

But if you use the Facebook pixel correctly, you can see a significant return on your adspend over time by simply installing the pixel on your website to better target your traffic.

Where do you start? I’ll walk you through step by step how to create a Facebook Pixel so you can produce higher quality and targeted ads than ever before.

Create a pixel

You can either create a pixel through Facebook Ads Manager or Business Manager, but if you’re looking to grow your business (which you should be), be sure to stick to the Business Manager to have a dashboard that lets you manage multiple pages, ads, and audience insights all from the same place.

So to create an actual pixel, complete the following steps: visit your business manager account > select settings > select data sources > select pixels > select add. Name your pixel something specific if you’ve got multiple ventures (like your website name or another identifier) because Facebook will let you create up to 15 of them.

You’ll want to be able to quickly differentiate the given purpose of each pixel if you have multiple websites, e-commerce platforms like Etsy or Shopify, etc.

Install your pixel

Now that you’ve got your Pixel created with a name and ID, you have two options: to use a platform integration if you are using a well-known web platform like WordPress or Squarespace, to install your pixel, or take a DIY approach.

If you choose to do it yourself, take the piece of code Facebook gives you when setting up your pixel, and paste it into the header code of your website. Otherwise, the integration will complete this step for you.

Test your pixel

Facebook Pixel Chrome Extension is a plugin you can install directly on Google Chrome in order to test and see if your Pixel is live on your website. (It’ll also reveal how many websites you view are tracking your data with multiple pixels, but that’s another story).

That way if at anytime your pixel shows inactive, you’re able to monitor and adjust accordingly. You can also test traffic through Facebook’s test feature once you’ve completed the proper steps to ensure you’re up and running.

Create a custom audience for your pixel

Now, this is where the magic happens. Once your pixel tracks at least 100 conversions or clicks to your website, you can actually create a Lookalike Audience. Why’s this important?

Though Facebook Ads allows you to target people specifically based on region, pages liked, or other interests when you create an ad, using a Lookalike Audience through the Pixel is 100 times better. No longer are you guestimating your target audience based on these principles, because the Lookalike feature allows you to target people who are already engaging with your website.

This feature takes all the data Facebook has accumulated about your visitors and then matches as many data points as possible to market to the same people. Again, genius.

Create an ad and use your pixel

You’ve done all the legwork, and you’re on the home run stretch. Create an ad with a clear and specific call to action, choose a result that converts, and use the Lookalike feature for the best results. You won’t believe what you’ll find.

Measure your results

Track, measure, and analyze everything you produced via your ad. How many leads did you generate? How much revenue resulted in your ad? How many people engaged with your ad? Take note, implement necessary changes, and watch your investments grow.