What the Pixel and Conversions API do
The Meta Pixel is a piece of JavaScript on your website. When someone visits or submits a form, it tells Meta. Browsers and ad blockers increasingly block it, so some events never arrive.
The Conversions API (CAPI) sends events from your server or a connected tool straight to Meta. Because it does not depend on the visitor's browser, it fills the gaps. Meta recommends using both.
Step 1: Create a dataset (pixel)
- Open Meta Events Manager in your Business Manager.
- Click Connect data sources → Web and give the dataset a name, such as your business name.
- Make sure it belongs to your own business account, not your agency's.
Meta now calls pixels "datasets" in Events Manager. One dataset can receive both Pixel and Conversions API events.
Step 2: Install the Pixel
Choose one method:
| Method | How | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Partner integration | Shopify, WordPress (with Meta's official plugin) and similar platforms connect in a few clicks | Sites on those platforms |
| Google Tag Manager | Add the Pixel base code on all pages, then add an event tag for each action | Sites already using GTM |
| Manual code | Paste the base code into the <head> of every page and fire events in your code | Custom-built sites |
Then add events. For lead generation, the important ones are:
| Event | When to fire | Use |
|---|---|---|
| PageView | Every page | Retargeting and audiences |
| Lead | Successful form submission | Main optimisation event |
| Contact | Clicks on phone, email or WhatsApp | Secondary signal |
| CompleteRegistration | Sign-ups for a webinar or event | If relevant |
Step 3: Add the Conversions API
You have four main options, from easiest to most flexible:
| Option | Effort | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Platform integration | Low | Shopify and WordPress sites; the plugin sends server events for you |
| Conversions API Gateway | Medium | Meta's hosted setup, run on your own cloud account |
| Server-side Google Tag Manager | Medium to high | One server container sending to Meta, Google and others |
| Direct API | High | Leads qualified later in a CRM, sent by your developer or CRM |
Include as much customer information as you have, hashed: email, phone, first name, and the fbp and fbc browser IDs. This improves matching.
Step 4: Deduplicate events
If the Pixel and Conversions API both send the same Lead, Meta must know it is one lead, not two. Send the same event name and the same event ID from both. Generate the ID in the browser when the form is submitted, pass it to the Pixel, and include it with the server event.
Step 5: Verify your domain
In Business Settings → Brand safety → Domains, add your domain and verify it with a DNS record or a meta tag. This proves you own the site and lets you configure events for it.
Step 6: Test and monitor
- In Events Manager, open Test events, enter your site URL and submit a test form.
- Check the Lead event arrives from both Browser and Server, marked as deduplicated.
- After a few days, check Event Match Quality. Adding phone numbers and names usually raises it.
- In Ads Manager, set your campaign's conversion event to Lead.
Go further: send lead quality back
If you track which leads became customers in a CRM, send that back to Meta as a later event (for example, a qualified or purchased lead). Meta can then optimise for leads that buy, not just leads that fill in forms. This is one of the most effective fixes for low-quality Facebook leads.