Understanding the Recency of Interest-Based Targeting in Meta's Advertising API
Meta's Advertising API enables businesses to create targeted audiences based on various criteria, including interests, behaviors, demographics, and geographic locations. However, advertisers often seek clarity on the recency of the data used to define these interest categories.
Interest-Based Targeting in Meta's Advertising API
Meta does not explicitly disclose the exact timeframe of user activity that determines an interest-based audience. The platform utilizes a combination of real-time and historical user engagement data, including:
- Page likes and follows
- Post interactions (likes, comments, shares)
- Website visits (via Meta Pixel)
- Ad engagement
Recency of Interest Data
While the precise recency of interest-based data is not officially specified in Meta's documentation, it is inferred that:
- Interest categories are dynamically updated based on user interactions.
- Data used for targeting is refreshed frequently to reflect recent behaviors.
- The Marketing API allows advertisers to search for and select audiences based on current interests, ensuring relevance in ad campaigns.
Also keep in mind that
If you create a saved audience based on the interest "Starbucks", Meta will include people in your audience who have engaged with Starbucks-related content or activity on Meta or across the web within the past 90 days. This could include people who have liked the Starbucks Meta page, commented on Starbucks posts, visited the Starbucks website, or made a purchase at a Starbucks location using a registered Starbucks card, among other activities.
It's worth noting that the interest targeting options on Meta are based on a variety of data sources, including user engagement data, demographic information, and third-party data providers. Meta uses a combination of machine learning algorithms and human review to determine which interests to include in its targeting options, and these interests may be updated or changed over time.
Overall, if you create an audience based on the interest "Starbucks", you can expect that the audience will include people who have engaged with Starbucks-related content or activity within the past 90 days, but the exact composition of the audience may vary based on a variety of factors.
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