Question

I could use your advice on how to structure a Meta Ads campaign with the ''Leads'' objective.
I have a limited budget of $500/month and need to target 3 different cities that are far from one another.
In your opinion, should I:

1. Create one ad set including all three cities in the targeting?
OR
2. Create a separate ad set for each city to better control budget allocation and analyze performance by location? (But I have a feeling my budget is too small to split it in 3)

Answer 1

With a limited budget of $500/month (~$16/day) and the goal of generating leads across 3 geographically distant cities, here's how to structure your campaign for efficiency without under-delivering on any location:

Recommendation: Start with Option 1 — One Ad Set with All Three Cities

Why?

• Your daily budget is small (~$5.33 per city if split), which can throttle learning and optimization if you use 3 separate ad sets.

• Meta's algorithm performs better when audiences are aggregated, giving it more room to optimize for the lowest cost per lead.

• You’ll reduce the “limited learning” issue and avoid spreading your budget too thin.

Setup Tips:

1. Campaign Objective: Choose Leads (either instant forms or CRM-integrated).

2. Ad Set Targeting: Group all 3 cities into a single ad set using location pins or city names.

3. Advantage+ Placements: Keep this ON to maximize delivery efficiency.

4. Ad Creative: Use geo-neutral creatives OR mention all 3 cities in the copy to improve relevance.

5. Form Optimization: Ensure your lead form is short and easy to complete on mobile.

What to Do After 7–10 Days:

• Use Breakdown by Location in Ads Manager to check CPL (Cost Per Lead) by city.

• If one city consistently underperforms, then:

  • Move to Option 2 (Split Ad Sets) and allocate a heavier budget to higher-performing cities.

  • Consider rotating focus monthly: Run City A this month, City B next, etc., if leads are highly localized.

Don'ts:

• Don’t split your ad sets from the start with such a tight budget — you’ll compromise the data Meta needs to optimize.

• Don’t optimize too early (wait at least 5–7 days to collect sufficient data).

So, Start with one ad set including all cities. Let Meta optimize across the whole audience. Use performance breakdowns later to decide if splitting makes sense once you have data.