Many business owners and dropshippers are understandably worried about how Apple iOS 14 hurts Facebook ads. If you’re wondering about how the new update will affect your dropshipping business and the ecommerce industry at large, here we’ll go over this update and what it means for the future of dropshipping.
How iOS 14 Hurts Facebook Ads and Campaigns
If you’re unfamiliar with the specific change that the new update brings, iOS 14 users on iPhones will now see a prompt before opening certain apps. That prompt requests the user’s permission to track them “across apps and websites owned by other companies,” like Facebook.
Users are then given the option to “Allow Tracking” or “Ask App Not to Track,” too. If the user opts out of tracking, that could hinder advertisers as it prevents the user from seeing personalized ads. The new prompt and tracking option applies to many third-party apps, including Facebook and other social media channels. In fact, Facebook recently released a white paper that discusses how iOS 14 will affect ads on the platform.
If you want to make sure that your ad campaigns can function in light of the iOS 14 update, Facebook recommends that you take certain actions.
How to Prepare Your Facebook Ads for the Update
According to guidance from Facebook, if you intend to deliver ads for opt-ins or other conversion events that inspire people to take action on your website, you will be required to verify your website’s domain to prevent any potential disruption to your ad campaigns. Facebook states that you “may” need to verify your website. But you absolutely need to do it if you want to keep your campaigns in working order. Facebook makes it easy to verify your domain, so you should have this task completed in no time.
Another element discussed in Facebook’s white paper is the set of limitations on ad creation. For dropshippers, it’s important to note that “your pixel may only optimize for a maximum of 8 conversion events for each domain.”
In dropshipping, eight conversion events are more than sufficient. Just consider what the conversion events are in a dropshipping store, which consist of:
- Page views
- Initiating checkout
- Purchases
There will be plenty of workarounds for this limit. For example, you can create multiple domains that each have a series of conversion events. So this shouldn’t be a huge concern for you. This does bring us to our next limitation, however.
There are more changes in addition to a limited number of conversion events for each domain. According to Facebook’s white paper, “each app is limited to 9 iOS 14 campaign at once. Each campaign is limited to 5 ad sets in the same optimization type.”
This is one of the biggest ways iOS 14 hurts Facebook ads. The takeaway for us here is that dropshippers should separate their iOS 14 campaigns from others, such as desktop and other mobile campaigns for other devices. We’ve always recommended keeping your campaigns separate to gauge the performance of each one. But now, it’s even more important to separate iOS campaigns from desktop, Android, and others.
Will the iOS 14 Update Kill Dropshipping?
With these and other limitations, you may still wonder if this is the beginning of the end for dropshipping. But it’s not — while iOS 14 hurts Facebook ads, it doesn’t cut off the advertising route entirely. There will be some changes in place that could influence your campaigns, but you’ll still have the opportunity to thrive with your iOS campaigns if implemented properly.
Remember, there are four main things to think about as you adapt to the new update and prepare your campaigns:
1. Your Ad Campaigns Will Still Reach Apple Users
Keep in mind that with this update, people will still be able to see ads. They’re given a choice to avoid tracking for more personalization, but that doesn’t mean that they’ll be opting out of ads entirely on Apple devices. You may not be able to target those users as effectively, but you won’t be entirely invisible to your audiences on these devices.
2. Make Sure Your Website Domain Is Verified
If you want your Facebook Ads campaigns to work for iOS 14 campaigns, you need to ensure your domain is verified. Facebook might claim that this isn’t always necessary, but there’s no doubt that it’s mandatory.
3. You’ll Be Limited to 8 Conversion Events
While eight conversion events per domain are more than enough to help your campaigns succeed, you should bear in mind that this limit exists. You can use multiple campaigns across several domains as a workaround.
4. You Can Only Run 9 iOS 14 Campaigns Simultaneously
With this limit on the number of iOS 14 campaigns, this update only emphasizes the importance of keeping your iOS 14 campaigns separate from others as you test ads for Apple devices.
In short, dropshipping isn’t going anywhere, even if other updates affect other campaigns in the future. It will impact retargeting efforts, but dropshipping is here to stay. Dropshipping has been around for a long time and consists of simply shipping products to consumers from your suppliers. It’s not reliant on AliExpress, Alibaba, or any other platform. There will always be ways to get around potential obstacles that could otherwise set you back. It’s about change, which has always affected ecommerce and dropshipping.
The key is being able to adapt to these changes as you grow your business and navigate the evolving landscape. It’s equally important to avoid going into dropshipping alone. Try to follow people who have been in this business for a long time. Pay attention to what they’re doing. If you spend time with people who have plenty of dropshipping experience, you can learn how to apply their strategies to your own business. One of the most common elements of any successful dropshipping campaigns you’re likely to come across is the sales funnel.
Why You Need a Sales Funnel to Offset How iOS 14 Hurts Facebook Ads
One of the most integral components of any dropshipping business is a sales funnel. One of the main reasons many dropshippers are likely to suffer due to the iOS 14 update is that they don’t have a sales funnel. Many of those businesses depend on retargeting through Facebook Ads, which is not the right approach.
With a sales funnel, you can attract leads through multiple platforms and more effectively lead them toward a sale. You can build phone and email lists that go well beyond simply pushing ads on Facebook and hoping for the best. At the same time, it’s important to have ads on many other platforms. Creating a comprehensive campaign will give you the chance to succeed and overcome any challenges like how iOS 14 hurts Facebook ads — and any other updates that you’re likely to face.
Do you want to learn more about how you can use sales funnels to build a winning dropshipping store? Then reserve your seat at the free ecommerce masterclass from Ecommerce Empire Builders today. We’ll show you how you can create a successful business without relying on costly ad campaigns or the need to build a website.