If you constantly see Facebook ads in your newsfeed, you may have noticed something.

The image is the part of the ad that stands out the most. Here’s a recent ad that appeared in my Facebook newsfeed.


facebook newsfeed facebook ad

As you can see, when you glance at the ad, all of your attention goes towards the image. You only read the text above and below the image after you see the image. This is why when designing the ad, you should spend the most time on the image. The text should only be written after you create the image.

Therefore, to help you create attention-grabbing ads, I am going to show you the rules to follow while creating your Facebook ad.

Disclosure: This content may contain a few affiliate links, which means if you click on them, I will get a commission (without any extra cost to you).

Rule #1: Limit the Amount of Text to 20%

The first rule you must follow while creating your Facebook ad is to place minimal text on it. When Facebook first introduced newsfeed ads, they only approved ad images that had less than 20% text. But they later removed this rule.

Your ad will go live even if it has more than 20% text, but the reach will be reduced. This results in lower ROI. So if you want to generate maximum clicks and traffic from your Facebook ads, make sure you limit the amount of text to 20%.

This will boost reach, and help increase the other engagements you are looking for. If you want to add more text, just place it in the description.

Some businesses create great ads while adding very little or no text to the image. They still get good results because the image is well designed to attract all the attention. And they add persuasive copy above and below the image that gets users to click and visit the landing page.


clickfunnels facebook ad

An example is the above ad from ClickFunnels that recently appeared in my newsfeed. There’s very little legible text on the image, but it grabs attention with all of the colors. The copy, as you can, see is very persuasively written. It shows us that they can help us finish a task that usually takes hours in “under 10 minutes.” So we want to click on the link and check the page out.

wpbeginner facebook ad

Another great example is this ad from WPBeginner, which promotes a blog post. The image is very relevant and attractive, and there’s no text on it other than the “W” in the WordPress logo. But there is plenty of copy that convinces us to visit the blog post.

Rule #2: Follow the Principle of Conversion Scent

When the design style of the ad image is similar to the design style of the landing page, it indicates the presence of a strong conversion scent. Conversion scent creates a bridge between the ad and the landing page and provides a sense of familiarity to the new website visitor. This increases the conversion rate.

Therefore, make sure you use the same photos, color schemes, logo design, font, etc. on both your landing page and the ad. Also, keep the text copy similar.

Here’s a great post that goes into more details about conversion scent. Make sure you read it as they have a lot of good examples.

Rule #3: Optimize the Landing Page with the Image

A lot of the people who visit your landing page from a Facebook ad will also share it. This is because of two reasons. One is that they are clearly active on the network, and the other being that they are already logged in. All they need to do is click a couple of buttons to share the landing page. This can send a lot of free traffic.

Therefore, set the landing page to pick the same image you used for the ad (as the thumbnail) when the post is shared by visitors. As you have done a lot of hard work in creating an image that gets more clicks, it will ensure that this image will generate the highest ROI.

If possible, add the image to the top of the webpage it leads to too. This strengthens the conversion scent.

optimize the landing page with the image facebook ad

An example is the post, “The Beginner’s Guide to Facebook Advertising” from Oberlo. As you can see, they placed the above image right at the top.

the beginner’s guide to facebook advertising facebook ad

When you click the share button on the page, the same image appears as the post thumbnail. This ensures that a large attractive thumbnail appears which will drive a lot of free traffic.

The presence of the same image on the ad also ensures that conversion scent is strong. More people will read the entire post and sign up through the options form present at the bottom.

Rule #4: Make Clicks Your Primary Goal

One of the biggest mistakes people make while creating Facebook ad images is focusing on too many goals.

Usually, when you create a Facebook image, you should opt for setting one primary goal. This could be either to drive engagement or traffic. The image with a primary goal of engagement will get you likes, comments, followers, and increase your EdgeRank while the image with the primary goal of traffic will drive a lot of traffic, (and minimal engagement).

If you try to achieve both goals with every image, you won’t get the highest engagement or traffic.

While creating ads, you don’t have to worry about engagement if you limit the amount of text on the image to less than 20%. That will already ensure that it reaches the maximum number of people for your investment.

Therefore, place your image’s emphasis on driving traffic. This can easily be achieved making it all about the landing page the image will lead to. Your image design and copy should entice users to click on it and visit your website.

For example, if your landing page is a blog post, you can simply write the blog post’s headline in the image. If it is a webinar, mention the tile of the webinar. Feel free to use icons and illustrations to reduce the number of words.

The better you tease the landing page, the more clicks you will get.

Adding some extra copy and call-to-action (above and below the image) that invite people to click on the image and visit the landing page will also help.
linkedin sponsored facebook ad

Here’s a great example of an ad from LinkedIn. In the ad, they inform us that they have a technique that can increase our ROI in 2018. The ad doesn’t give us many more details, so we have to click on it and check it out.

Rule #5: Split Test Images

You probably won’t create the best version of your image in your first attempt. This is why you should create several versions, and split test them till you find the best one.

Facebook now lets you split test image directly with their ad tool. So this is something should do to maximize results. But make sure no matter what you change, you always stick to the rule of conversion scent, and the 20% text limit.

Wrapping Up

Now that you know the 5 rules to follow while creating your Facebook ad image, you should go ahead and create it. They are all easy to follow.

Simply get started by studying the landing page design principle. After that, follow the principle of conversion scent and create an ad that looks like the landing page.

Next optimize it for clicks, while limiting the amount of text to less than 20%. While optimizing the image, you will come up with several ideas. So create different versions of the image, and split test them till you find the best performing one.

What rules do you follow while creating your Facebook ad image? Which is the most important one? Please leave your comments below.

2 Comments

  1. This blog was… how do I say it? Relevant!! Finally, I have found something which helped me. Appreciate it!

  2. This helped me a lot in creating my Facebook Ad image. Thanks for the great post.

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