Is Meta Ads Targeting Still Needed in 2025?
Ben Heath explores the evolution of Facebook and Instagram ads targeting from 2013 to 2025, showing how Meta’s automation now outperforms manual inputs. He answers the core question: should advertisers still bother with targeting today?
The Evolution of Targeting
- 2013 era – Targeting was make-or-break. A poor campaign could succeed purely by adjusting targeting.
- 2018+ – Open targeting gained traction. Letting Meta decide often beat restrictive inputs.
- Advantage+ campaigns – Introduced targetingless options (shopping, sales, leads). Now advertisers give suggestions, not hard rules.
Do We Still Need Targeting?
For most advertisers, probably not. Meta’s AI has more data than advertisers and adding manual layers often creates unnecessary constraints. Instead, focus on larger levers: offers, creatives, brand positioning, and partnerships.
What Still Matters
- Controls (Hard Boundaries) – Location, minimum age, legal restrictions, exclusions. These are enforced and must be set correctly (e.g. local businesses, age-restricted products).
- Custom Audiences – Warm audiences like video viewers or website visitors are already known to Meta, but customer lists (emails, external sources) still require uploading for retargeting beyond 180 days.
- New Ad Accounts – For fresh accounts with little conversion data, adding targeting suggestions (demographics, interests) can help guide Meta until enough data accrues.
Value Rules: The Future of Targeting
Instead of dictating who to show ads to, advertisers can now apply value rules. These allow weighting conversions (e.g. paying more for high-LTV demographics, prioritizing younger users for brand longevity). Unlike targeting, value rules influence optimization rather than constraints.
Key Takeaways
- Detailed targeting suggestions are largely obsolete for mature accounts — Meta ignores or overrides them.
- Controls (location, age, legal rules) are still essential.
- Upload external customer lists for visibility Meta doesn’t have.
- Value rules are the new strategic lever — shaping how Meta optimizes, not whom it can reach.
- Focus your energy on offers, creative, and positioning — Meta handles the targeting better than you can.
How Aimerce Enhances Is Meta Ads Targeting Still Needed in 2025?
How Aimerce Enhances Modern Targeting
As targeting shifts from manual inputs to automated optimization, data accuracy and external signals become the competitive edge. This is where Aimerce makes targeting strategies work even better.
Why Aimerce is Critical
- Durable Custom Audiences – Extends beyond Meta’s 180-day limit, keeping your customer flywheel alive.
- First-Party Data Enrichment – Uploads and syncs customer lists automatically, ensuring Meta has visibility on high-value leads from external channels.
- Event Accuracy – Guarantees location, age, and compliance data flow cleanly so control boundaries are respected.
- Better Optimization Signals – With higher-quality match rates, Meta’s AI optimizes faster, especially for new ad accounts still in the learning phase.
- Value Rule Support – By improving conversion tracking and LTV signals, Aimerce makes value rules far more powerful and predictive.
In short, while targeting inputs fade in importance, Aimerce ensures Meta’s automation has the best data foundation possible, allowing advertisers to scale with confidence in 2025 and beyond.