Connecting Meta Ads

Connecting Meta Ads requires Starter or higher. Free-tier stores see organic + pixel attribution but no paid-ad spend or performance. If your store moves to a plan without Meta Ads while it’s connected, the connection keeps syncing so your Meta reports are complete again the moment you upgrade; disconnect it (see Disconnecting below) to stop syncing.

Meta is how you pull Facebook, Instagram, Reels, and Audience Network campaign spend + performance into Ordinary.

Before you start

• You’re on Starter or higher.
• You have admin access on the Meta Business Manager that owns the ad account.
• Your Facebook account can access that ad account.

Step 1 — connect

1. Open Settings → Meta. The card is called Meta Conversions API.
2. Click Connect Meta.
3. You’ll be redirected to Facebook to sign in and approve the permissions.

Ordinary requests these permissions:

• ads_read — pull campaign, ad-set, and ad data.
• ads_management — send purchase events to your Meta pixel and create paused draft ads from Creatives. Ordinary never launches or edits a live ad.
• business_management — see which business portfolios and ad accounts your user has access to.
• Page permissions (pages_show_list, pages_read_engagement) — find the Facebook Page linked to your ads.

Step 2 — check the ad account

There’s no picker: Ordinary connects the first ad account your Facebook user can access, along with its business portfolio, page and pixel. The connected card shows each one under Business Portfolio, Ad Account, Page and Pixel. Check the ad account is the one that runs ads for your Shopify store.

Ordinary supports one Meta ad account per Shopify store.

Step 3 — wait for first sync

Ordinary immediately starts two background syncs:

• Recent 90 days — daily campaign, ad-set, and ad data, so your reports fill in first.
• Historical — older data, as far back as Meta’s reporting allows (roughly two to three years).

You can keep using the app while both run. Settings → Sync Status shows each one’s progress.

After it’s connected

• Channels → Meta — see spend, impressions, clicks, orders attributed, revenue attributed, ROAS. See Channels — Meta ads.
• Creatives — (Advanced) your ads with per-ad performance. See Creatives.
• Marketing Mix — Meta appears as a channel alongside organic and other paid channels. Instagram traffic is part of Meta.

Refresh cadence

• Today’s data — refreshed every hour.
• Yesterday’s data — re-pulled every hour too, so Meta’s late adjustments land as soon as Meta reports them.
• Ad creatives — refreshed every hour.

There’s no manual refresh button; syncs run on their own. You can see when each integration last synced, and any backfill in progress, at Settings → Sync Status.

Disconnecting

Settings → Meta → Disconnect, then confirm.

Ordinary removes the connection, stops syncing Meta ad data and stops sending purchase events to your Meta pixel. Ad data already imported stays in your reports. Reconnect at any time with Connect Meta.

Troubleshooting

• “Reconnect required” — Meta revoked or expired Ordinary’s access. Click Connect Meta and approve the permissions again.
• Wrong ad account — Ordinary connects the first ad account your Facebook user can access. Reconnect with the Facebook user that manages the store’s ad account, or contact support@tryordinary.com.
• Zero spend for yesterday — usually a sync timing issue. See Meta data is stale or empty.
• Numbers don’t match Meta Ads Manager — expected. Ordinary cross-references Meta spend against pixel-observed attribution, which uses click-only data. See Channels — Meta ads § Click-through vs view-through.

Related articles

• Channels — Meta ads
• Creatives
• Meta data is stale or empty
• Attribution models explained