Breaking Down Facebook’s Click Metrics

According to their advertising glossary, Facebook currently has over 300 different metrics marketers can leverage to gauge campaign success. Among those 300+ metrics are three different types of “clicks.” While it may seem excessive to slice the concept of a click that much, each flavor of click metrics can tell its own important story.

Here we will break down each click metric and elaborate on why they play an important role when measuring campaign performance.

Clicks v Link Clicks v Outbound Clicks

The three types of click metrics on Facebook are Clicks (All), Link Clicks, and Outbound Clicks. While there are dozens of other metrics referencing the cost, rates and unique instances of clicks, these metrics are primarily driven by these three, core measurements.

Clicks (All)

Quite literally, Clicks (All) counts any click on your ad. This includes likes, reactions, comments, link clicks, etc. Here’s how Facebook defines this metric:

Facebook’s Definition:  The metric counts multiple types of clicks on your ad, including certain types of interactions with the ad container, links to other destinations, and links to expanded ad experiences. It includes: Link clicks, Clicks to the associated business Page profile or profile picture, Post Reactions, Comments, Shares, Clicks to expand media full screen, and Clicks to take actions identified as your campaign objective (such as liking your Page for a Page engagement campaign).

Clicks (All) is a great indicator of how engaged your audience was with your ad. A high number of Clicks are also directly correlated to high ad recall rates and a high Relevance Score, which is a rating “from 1 to 10 that estimates how well your target audience is responding to your ad.”

With clicks, it is important to note that Facebook’s definition of a click differs from other ad platforms. For example, in Google Ads a click only counts when someone advances to your website. This means if you are comparing clicks between the two platforms you are not comparing apples-to-apples.

Link Clicks

With the introduction of Collection and Full Screen Experience Ads, the definition of a Link Click has changed. Now, a Link Click measures the number of times a user clicks on an ad and is either sent to your website, a collection, or a full screen experience. Here’s how Facebook defines this metric:

Facebook’s Definition:  The number of clicks on links within the ad that led to destinations or experiences, on or off Facebook.

A Link Click represents a significant next step in the Buying Process: a user has raised their hand, per se, to learn more about your brand. In addition, when a user performs a Link Click, they can be retargeted on Facebook with much more specific and efficient ads.

Outbound Clicks

Outbound Clicks are any click that takes a user to your website or properties. Here’s Facebook’s definition:

Facebook’s Definition:  The number of clicks on links that take people off Facebook-owned properties.

For most advertisers, the amount of incoming traffic from an ad is the most important success measure. It goes without saying that having a user on your website, where you have complete control of the messaging and flow, can significantly increase the likelihood of a sale.

For Collection or Full Screen Experience ads, an Outbound Click is recorded when a user is sent to your website after clicking on a component within the collection or experience.

The Full Breakdown of Facebook’s Click Metrics

We put together this handy table that breaks down which user actions are recorded under the various click metrics.

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