Running Paid Ads? Here’s Why Broad Targeting Might Be Killing Your Conversions

If you’re running paid ads to generate leads, take note:

Purely targeting broad audiences is killing your lead quality.

It might look good on the surface: cheap leads, lots of volume. But when none of those leads turn into customers? You’re burning budget and feeding bad data into the algorithm.

Let’s unpack what’s going wrong and what you should do instead.

Why Marketers Love Broad Targeting (and Why It Backfires)

Meta gives advertisers two main options:

• Specific targeting: You define your audience by interests, demographics, behaviours.

• Broad targeting: You give Meta minimal parameters (like age or location) and let its algorithm find who to show your ads to.

Broad targeting has been heavily promoted over the past few years, especially by Meta itself. The sales pitch is simple: ‘Launch your campaign. Let the machine learning do the rest.’

And to be fair, sometimes it does work. Especially for brand awareness. Low CPMs. Big audience pools. Easy setup.

But when your goal is lead generation—and those leads actually need to convert into paying customers? That same strategy can wreck your return.

The Real Role of Facebook’s Algorithm

Facebook’s job is simple: Deliver the lowest cost per result.

When you run a lead gen campaign, Facebook is trying to get you the cheapest cost per lead (CPL).

But here’s the catch: Facebook doesn’t know which leads are actually good.

It sees form fills. It doesn’t see closed deals. It can’t tell which leads are tyre-kickers and which are future customers.

So you could be generating 10,000 leads at $1 CPL… and convert none of them.

Facebook thinks it’s crushing it. But your sales team knows otherwise.

Why Low-Cost Leads Often Mean Low-Quality Leads

When you rely purely on broad targeting, Facebook learns from flawed data.

It starts finding more of the same low-intent leads. The kind that never pick up the phone or ghost your inbox. Your CPL stays low. But your cost per acquisition (CPA) skyrockets.

And you’re left wondering why nothing’s converting.

So What’s the Fix? If you're serious about scaling your business, you can't let Facebook control the entire funnel.

Here’s what to do:

• Optimise for cost per acquisition, not just cost per lead

• Test multiple audience types: Broad, lookalike and interest-based

• Track lead quality post-click (not just on-platform metrics)

The 1-3-3 Meta Ads Method

Here’s a simple structure we recommend at JRNY Digital to find and scale high-quality leads:

1 Campaign

• Focused on conversions or leads (depending on your funnel)

3 Ad Sets

• One broad

• One lookalike

• One interest-based

3 Ads Per Ad Set

• Mix of creatives and messages to appeal to different motivations

Launch all ad sets together and let Facebook optimise. One ad set and a few ads will usually dominate spend—and that’s your signal to go deeper.

Then:

• Assess lead quality from each ad set

• Kill underperformers based on CPA (not just CPL)

• Reinvest in the winners

Repeat. Refine. Scale.

We’ve seen this simple approach increase client revenue and lower cost per acquisition by over 40% month-on-month.

Yes, your CPL might rise. But your MER (marketing efficiency ratio) and total revenue? They go up.

Final Thoughts: Stop Chasing Cheap Leads

Leads are easy. Customers are not.

If you’re stuck running broad campaigns and wondering why nothing’s closing, it might be time to rethink your targeting.

Don’t optimise for cheap. Optimise for what works.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is broad targeting bad for lead quality?

Because Facebook optimises for the cheapest leads, not the most qualified ones.

Should I stop using broad targeting completely?

No, but it shouldn’t be your only audience. Test it against other audience types to see what delivers better quality.

What’s more important: cost per lead or cost per acquisition?

Cost per acquisition. Leads mean nothing if they don’t convert into paying customers.

How do I track lead quality after the ad?

Use CRM tagging, source tracking and feedback from your sales team to measure which ad sets actually drive customers.

Can JRNY Digital help improve my paid ad performance?

Absolutely. We help businesses build smarter campaigns, measure what matters, and scale what performs.

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For more insights on effective digital marketing strategies, read our blogs at JRNY Digital.