When to Use Multiple Campaigns or Ad Sets

Why It Matters

Streamlining campaigns prevents budget fragmentation and lets Meta’s AI optimize performance, directly boosting advertisers’ return on investment.

Key Takeaways

• Prefer a single campaign and ad set for most advertisers.
• Use Meta’s creative testing tool within the main ad set.
• Separate campaigns only when distinct business goals require dedicated budgets.
• Avoid splitting audiences by interests or lookalikes; it's outdated.
• Split prospecting and remarketing only if budget allows clear control.

Summary

The podcast tackles a common dilemma for Meta advertisers: when, if ever, should you run multiple campaigns or ad sets versus a streamlined single‑campaign structure. Host John Loomer explains that most marketers benefit from a simplified approach, keeping one campaign and ad set to let Meta’s algorithm allocate budget efficiently.

Loomer highlights three core principles. First, creative testing belongs in the primary ad set using Meta’s built‑in testing tool, not in isolated campaigns. Second, separate campaigns are justified only when distinct business objectives—such as lead generation versus direct sales—require dedicated spend and sufficient volume. Third, outdated practices like segmenting audiences by interests, behaviors, or look‑alike groups should be abandoned because they dilute data and hurt performance.

He cites examples from the questioner, Bob Hyler, noting that advertisers often over‑segment for remarketing versus prospecting. While Meta now auto‑prioritizes remarketing, brands with massive remarketing pools or highly profitable prospecting may still need separate ad sets with capped budgets. Loomer stresses that any split must be driven by a clear goal, not habit.

The takeaway for marketers is clear: minimize unnecessary campaigns, consolidate testing, and only add complexity when budget and strategic objectives demand it. This discipline preserves data integrity, improves algorithmic learning, and ultimately drives higher ROI on Meta ad spend.

Original Description

Today's question is about when to use multiple campaigns instead of a single Advantage Plus campaign structure, especially when it comes to separating cold traffic and retargeting. Remarketing happens naturally through algorithmic targeting now, so splitting it out is usually unnecessary. Jon explains the specific situations where multiple campaigns or ad sets actually make sense, why budget splits can hurt your results, and when keeping everything in one place is the smarter approach.

Want your question to be answered on a future episode? Go to JonLoomer.com/Question (https://jonloomer.com/Question) and record your question today.