Question from Reddit user:
I know how to put my Fb pixel on my campaigns, I have made some lead campaigns but was wondering if a traffic campaign can be edited to track leads?
I ask because the CPM of traffic campaigns is way cheaper for me than lead campaign, and wanted to see if perhaps they could get better results.
This is what says under track events in the ads manager
Track event datasets that contain the conversions your ad might motivate. The dataset that contains the conversion selected for the ad account will be tracked by default.
It says “by default” so, can this be changed? I can’t find a way to do it.
Thanks in advance.
Answer from Nabil:
The short answer is:
Yes, a Traffic campaign can absolutely track leads, and you are right to experiment with a cheaper CPM objective for potentially better results.
The key is that all Meta (Facebook) ad campaigns, regardless of the objective you choose (Traffic, Leads, or Conversions), can be optimized to track any standard event, like Lead or Purchase, as long as that event is properly sent from your website via the Meta Pixel or the Conversions API.
The setting you are looking at is for the optimization goal, which is usually fixed by the campaign objective, but you can still use the traffic campaign to generate and track the Lead event.
The long answer is:
Your confusion is understandable because Meta uses the term “track event” in two different contexts: first, for measurement (recording that an event happened), and second, for optimization (telling the algorithm what action to prioritize getting you).
When you select the Traffic objective, the algorithm is primarily optimized for Link Clicks or Landing Page Views, which is why the CPM is cheaper.
It still measures every event that occurs after the click, including your Lead event, which is why you can see it in your Ads Manager columns.
The statement “The dataset that contains the conversion selected for the ad account will be tracked by default” simply means the pixel is active and logging events.
To get the campaign to focus on the Lead event, you would normally choose the Leads or Conversions objective.
However, since you want to use the cheaper Traffic objective, you can still measure your leads, and your strategy is sound.
To ensure your Lead event tracking is as accurate and resilient as possible, which is essential for maximizing performance, the best solution is to implement the Facebook Conversions API (CAPI) alongside the Meta Pixel using a server-side tagging solution like Stape or Google Cloud Platform (GCP), managed by Google Tag Manager.
In this setup, GTM on your website captures the lead submission and sends the event data, including unique identifiers, to your server container (Stape/GCP).
This server container then sends the Lead event directly to the Meta server via the Conversions API, entirely bypassing browser restrictions, ad blockers, and cookie consent issues that can affect the Pixel.
By sending the Lead event via CAPI, you achieve highly accurate measurement, which, even in a Traffic campaign, provides better data for your own analysis and can still improve the quality of traffic Meta sends over time, even if the primary optimization goal remains clicks.
You will see the successful lead count in your reports, confirming that your cheaper Traffic campaign is, in fact, generating leads.
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