Use Lookalike Audiences in Meta Ads to Scale Your Campaigns

One of the most powerful features of Meta Ads (Facebook and Instagram) is the ability to use lookalike audiences. When used correctly, they allow you to reach new people similar to your best customers—and scale your campaigns without losing quality.

In this article, you’ll learn how lookalike audiences work, when to use them, how to build them step by step, and how to get the most out of them in your paid traffic strategy.

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What Is a Lookalike Audience?

A lookalike audience is a group of people on Facebook or Instagram who share characteristics and behaviors with another group—called a “source audience.”

Meta’s algorithm analyzes the source audience and finds users who “look like” them based on data such as:

• Interests
• Demographics
• Behavior on Meta platforms
• Purchasing habits
• Page interactions

This means you can target new users with high potential to convert—even if they’ve never heard of your brand.

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Benefits of Using Lookalike Audiences

✅ Reach cold audiences that are more likely to engage or convert
✅ Scale campaigns beyond small interest-based groups
✅ Use your existing data to create more profitable ads
✅ Increase ROAS while keeping CPC and CPA under control

They’re a go-to tool for scaling paid traffic without starting from scratch.

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When Should You Use Lookalike Audiences?

Lookalikes work best after you’ve already gathered some audience data. Great times to use them include:

• After collecting at least 100–500 leads or purchases
• After running a successful lead gen campaign
• After building a warm custom audience (e.g., video viewers, website visitors)

They’re not ideal for launching a brand-new campaign with no data. Use interest-based audiences first, then switch or test lookalikes.

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Step-by-Step: How to Create a Lookalike Audience in Meta Ads

Step 1: Go to Audiences

In Meta Ads Manager, go to Audiences > Click Create Audience > Lookalike Audience

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Step 2: Choose a Source Audience

Pick one of the following:

• Custom audience (website visitors, lead list, video views, etc.)
• Page engagement (people who interacted with your Facebook/Instagram page)
• Customer list (email or phone list)
• Conversion event (e.g., Purchases from Meta Pixel)

Tip: The better the quality of your source audience, the better the results.

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Step 3: Select the Audience Location

Choose the country or region where you want your lookalike audience to be located. Lookalikes are geo-specific—Meta will only find similar users in that location.

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Step 4: Choose Audience Size

You can create lookalikes from 1% to 10% of the population of the selected location.

• 1% = most similar (higher quality, smaller reach)
• 2–5% = more reach, slightly less similarity
• 6–10% = wider reach, broadest audience, lowest similarity

Start with 1% if you’re optimizing for conversions. Use higher percentages when you want scale.

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Step 5: Name and Save the Audience

Example:
Lookalike – 1% – Leads – US – May 2025

Now it’s ready to be used in a campaign.

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Best Source Audiences for Lookalike Creation

Here are high-quality options you should try:

1. Purchasers – The strongest base for high ROAS
2. Leads – Works well for lead generation campaigns
3. High video viewers (50%+) – Great for awareness to consideration
4. Page engagement – For creators and coaches with active pages
5. Website visitors (last 30–90 days) – Useful for retargeting and scaling

Pro Tip: If you can segment your list (e.g., high spenders, repeat buyers), use only the best segment to feed the lookalike.

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How to Use Lookalike Audiences in Campaigns

For Cold Traffic

Use lookalikes to reach new, high-potential leads who behave like your past converters.

Example:

Lookalike – 1% Purchasers – Send to product page or lead magnet

For Scaling

Once your interest-based campaigns perform well, duplicate the campaign and test it with a lookalike.

You can even stack them:

One ad set = 1% Lookalike
Another ad set = 2–5% Lookalike
Compare results

For Expansion

Once 1% lookalikes perform well, test larger percentages or lookalike layering with interest-based targeting.

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Mistakes to Avoid

🚫 Using low-quality source audiences (random emails, unsegmented visitors)
🚫 Launching lookalikes too early (no real data yet)
🚫 Not testing different sizes (1%, 2–3%, etc.)
🚫 Overlapping audiences (exclude the source audience when needed)

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Bonus: Combine Lookalikes with Retargeting

Use your lookalike audience for cold traffic, and follow up with retargeting ads to:

• Page viewers
• Add-to-cart users
• Lead form viewers who didn’t submit

This combination increases reach and conversion rates.

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Final Thoughts

Lookalike audiences are one of the most scalable tools in your Meta Ads toolkit. When used properly, they allow you to grow your client’s business with precision, not guesswork.

Start with small percentages and quality data. Track results. Optimize. Scale.

Let the algorithm work for you—once it knows who to look for.