Connecting your Meta business portfolio is the first step in enabling Invalid Traffic (IVT) detection and prevention across your Meta Ads accounts. Once connected, our solution can monitor activity, identify invalid users, and apply prevention automatically through exclusion audiences.
Key Information Before You Begin
Before you start the connection process, please ensure the following applies:
Meta admin access: You have full admin access to the Meta Portfolio you are wanting to connect in order to grant us the required permissions.
TG Site tag installed: Your website has the TrafficGuard site tag implemented. This tag is essential for our solution to track and analyse traffic from your Meta ads.
Facebook pixel exists: Your website has at least one Facebook pixel. The pixel must be on the same website where the TrafficGuard site tag is located.
Customer Audience ToS agreed: Your business has approved the Facebook Custom Audience Terms of Service. If these terms have not been accepted, the connection will fail.
Connecting a Portfolio
Once your account group has been set up to allow Meta connections, you will see a new option: Manage Connections.
In your Account Group navigate to Account group details (in the main menu) and select Manage Connections.
Click the Create Meta Connection button to begin.
A side panel will appear, outlining the connection requirements. Click Login with Facebook and enter your Facebook user credentials.
You will then be guided through the Facebook permissions flow. Please select the following:
Select a Portfolio to connect. You can only select one per connection.
Select all pages for which you want to protect associated ads. We require page access to protect ads linked to those pages.
Select all ad accounts you want to protect. Each ad account you select will become a standalone TrafficGuard Meta account.
The final step displays the permissions you're granting. All permissions must be granted for the connection to be successful.
After completing the Facebook permissions flow, you will be prompted to select a default pixel. This is a mandatory step. Once you select the pixel, our system will automatically create a custom event named "TG Invalid User - [propertyID]" on the chosen pixel for each property. For an account to move to Prevention mode, you must approve these events in your Meta Ads Manager.
The final step in the onboarding process is where our system will immediately begin attaching TrafficGuard URL parameters to all relevant ad sets (those with a conversion location of "website"). If you do not click "Finish," the URL parameters will be appended within the next automated cycle (usually within the following 12 hours).
At the final step of onboarding, when URL parameters are applied to relevant ads, these ads will likely go into Facebook learning. The learning phase is when Meta’s delivery system gathers data to understand how your ad set performs and finds the best way to deliver it. This phase can take up to 7 days but is often quicker. Learn more
Post-Connection Management
After a successful connection, our system automatically creates a TrafficGuard account and property for each of your selected Meta ad accounts. Navigate to 'Accounts' to view all.
Pixel & Property Group Management
You can manage pixels directly within your property group settings and change the selected pixel on any property group that contain a Meta account.
When a pixel is updated on a property group the system checks if the newly assigned pixel has the required custom events. If not, it triggers the creation of the necessary custom events and sends a notification to you, requesting approval in Meta Events Manager.
Only one pixel can be assigned per property group. However, a single pixel can be assigned to multiple property groups.
Learn more about using Meta pixels in TrafficGuard.
Account Statuses
Your Meta account status, visible in the account status bar, will help you understand its current state.
Connected: This status indicates that the account is fully functional, and we are able to track and prevent invalid traffic. You can now transition the account from Detection to Prevention mode, assuming invalid traffic is being identified.
Not connected: This is a critical status indicating a connection or permission failure. It can be caused by invalid Meta credentials, withdrawn ad account permissions, or if the connection was revoked.
Setup incomplete: This means there's a functional connection, but a crucial setup task hasn't been completed. This status is triggered if:
Custom Audience Terms of Service have not been accepted.
The custom audience has not been created.
The TrafficGuard site tag is not recording events.
Facebook page access has been withdrawn, preventing URL parameters from being appended.