Question from Reddit user:
Hello,
I have worked in Google Ads for around 3 years now but recently had a client ask us to run their Facebook Ads campaign and have a few questions about custom events and custom conversions.
Custom Conversions vs Custom Events?
What is the difference? I currently have custom events & custom conversions set up for both form submits and purchases. Is this the correct way to implement?
Custom Events not populating in the ads manager tab?
When I go to the ads manager and edit the columns, I do not see the form submit custom event? I see other custom events but not the form submit specifically. Facebook has classified it as an “Other” event type. I have a few other “Other” event types that show up under the custom event portion when I try to add another column so I’m not sure why this one won’t show up.
The custom conversions I added into the account show up under the Custom Conversion column so I’m really at a loss as to why that one custom event won’t show up.
Thank you in advance!
Answer from Nabil:
The short answer is:
The key difference is that a Custom Event is a direct action you track on your website using the Meta Pixel or Conversions API, whereas a Custom Conversion is a rule-based conversion you create inside Ads Manager based on a Custom Event or a specific URL/event property.
You are correct to track key actions like form submits and purchases, but your issue with the form submit custom event not appearing in the Ads Manager columns is likely due to the event having an “Other” category and not receiving enough recent volume, or a configuration issue preventing it from being fully classified as a high-priority event for reporting.
The best solution to ensure all your custom events are reliably tracked and fully available for reporting and optimization, bypassing client-side Pixel issues, is to implement the Facebook Conversions API alongside your existing Google Tag Manager setup, potentially using a server-side solution like Stape or Google Cloud Platform.
The long answer is:
Welcome to the world of Meta Ads, where tracking can often feel less straightforward than Google Ads.
Let’s clarify the core difference between the two terms.
A Custom Event is the raw, foundational action or signal you send to Meta.
When a user submits a form, you fire a Custom Event named something like form_submit.
This event is the data point itself.
A Custom Conversion is a powerful tool you create within Meta Ads Manager that uses your raw events to define a specific, high-value conversion goal.
For example, you can tell Meta, “A conversion is any instance of my form_submit Custom Event,” or “A conversion is any page_view on the URL /thank-you-page.”
Custom Conversions are easier to use in campaign optimization and reporting because they’re a pre-defined goal.
To your question about implementation: setting up both Custom Events and Custom Conversions for form submits and purchases is perfectly fine and often the recommended best practice, as it gives you flexibility in reporting and ad set optimization.
The problem you’re seeing – your form_submit custom event not appearing in the column customization – is often a result of Meta’s classification system.
When an event is categorized as “Other,” it has a lower priority than standard events like Purchase or Lead, and Ads Manager often hides low-volume or generic “Other” events from the standard reporting columns, even if other “Other” events show up.
To ensure all your critical events, including the form submits, are reliably captured, classified, and available, the best technical solution is to implement the Facebook Conversions API in parallel with your existing Pixel/GTM setup.
You can use your existing Google Tag Manager (GTM) implementation to capture the necessary data layer information, but instead of relying solely on the browser-based Pixel to send the event, you send the data from GTM to a server-side tagging environment like Stape or Google Cloud Platform.
This server then uses the Facebook Conversions API to send the form_submit event directly to Meta’s servers.
This server-side approach offers three huge advantages: it avoids browser restrictions like ad blockers that can block the client-side Pixel, it ensures the event payload is correctly formatted and classified with high confidence, and it generally results in higher match quality and data accuracy, which often helps Meta’s system properly recognize and prioritize the custom event for all reporting and optimization purposes, including showing it in the Ads Manager columns.
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