Lookalike Audiences are one of the most powerful tools in the Australian small business owner’s marketing arsenal. Instead of guessing who might buy from you, you’re asking Meta’s algorithm to find people who share the same traits, behaviours, and interests as your existing high-value customers.
By leveraging the data you already have—like your customer email list or website visitors—you can scale your advertising efforts with much higher precision and a better return on ad spend (ROAS).
Prerequisites: What You’ll Need Before Starting
Before you dive into the Meta Ads Manager, ensure you have the following ready:
- A Business Manager Account: You must have admin access to your Facebook Business Page and Ad Account.
- A Source Audience (Seed): You cannot create a Lookalike from nothing. You need a 'Custom Audience' first. This could be a list of customer emails, people who visited your website (via the Meta Pixel), or people who engaged with your Instagram profile.
- Sufficient Data: Meta recommends a source audience of at least 100 people from the same country (Australia) for the algorithm to find meaningful patterns, though 1,000+ is ideal.
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Step 1: Navigate to Audiences in Ads Manager
Log in to your Facebook Ads Manager. Click on the All Tools icon (three horizontal lines, often called the 'hamburger' menu) on the left-hand sidebar. From the menu that appears, select Audiences.- What you should see: A dashboard showing all your saved, custom, and lookalike audiences. If you haven't created any yet, this area might be empty.
Step 2: Initiate the Lookalike Creation
Click the blue button labelled Create Audience located at the top left of the screen. A dropdown menu will appear. Select Lookalike Audience.Step 3: Select Your Lookalike Source
A pop-up window titled "Create a Lookalike Audience" will appear. The first field is Select your lookalike source.Click into the box. You can choose from existing Custom Audiences you’ve already created, or you can create a new one on the fly (such as a 'Value-Based Source' if you have the Meta Pixel tracking purchase values).
Pro Tip: For the best results, use a source audience of your highest-spending customers rather than just all website visitors. This tells Facebook to find more 'big spenders'.
Step 4: Define the Audience Location
In the Select audience location field, type "Australia". While you can target multiple countries, for most Brisbane or Australian-based businesses, it is best to keep your lookalike focused on the domestic market to ensure the algorithm finds relevant local behaviours.- Note: Meta recently updated this; you can now sometimes leave this blank if you intend to define the location later at the Ad Set level, but selecting Australia here remains the standard best practice for local businesses.
Step 5: Choose Audience Size (The Percentage Scale)
This is where you decide how similar you want your new audience to be to your source. You will see a slider ranging from 0% to 10%.- 1% Lookalike: Includes the people who most closely match your source audience. This is the highest quality but smallest size.
- 10% Lookalike: Includes a broader group of people. This is a larger audience but less 'similar' to your original customers.
Step 6: Create Multiple Versions (Optional but Recommended)
If you want to test different levels of 'similarity', click Select number of lookalike audiences and choose 3. You can then set ranges like 0-1%, 1-2%, and 2-5%.- What you should see: Three separate bars on the slider representing three different audience segments. This allows you to bid differently for the 'warmest' prospects.
Step 7: Finalise and Create
Review your settings. Ensure the source is correct and the percentage is set to 1%. Click the blue Create Audience button at the bottom right.Step 8: Wait for Population
Your new audience will now appear in your Audience Manager with a status of "Populating".- What you should see: A status bar under the 'Availability' column. It usually takes 6 to 24 hours for Meta to fully find all the matches. However, you can still start setting up your ad campaign immediately; the audience will fill up in the background.
Step 9: Implement in a Campaign
Go back to Ads Manager and create a new Campaign (e.g., Sales or Leads). At the Ad Set level, scroll down to the Audience section. In the "Custom Audiences" box, start typing the name of the Lookalike Audience you just created and select it.Step 10: Refine with Local Targeting
Since a 1% Lookalike covers all of Australia, if you are a local Brisbane business (e.g., a plumber in Chermside or a cafe in Bulimba), you must add geographic restrictions. In the Locations section of the Ad Set, change 'Australia' to 'Brisbane' or your specific postcodes. This tells Facebook: "Find people who look like my customers, but only if they live in Brisbane."---
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Using a 'Dirty' Seed List: If your source audience includes people who complained or refunded, Facebook will find more people like them. Clean your email list before uploading.
- Going Too Broad Too Fast: Don't start with a 10% lookalike. You will likely waste budget on people who aren't a great fit. Stick to 1% or 2% until you have exhausted that audience.
- Overlapping Audiences: If you run a 1% lookalike and a 2% lookalike in two different ad sets at the same time, you might be competing against yourself. Use 'Exclusions' to keep them separate.
Troubleshooting Common Issues
- "Audience too small": This happens if your source (Custom Audience) has fewer than 100 people from the same country. You'll need to drive more traffic to your site or upload a larger customer list.
- "Source not eligible": Ensure your Meta Pixel is active and receiving events. If you are using a Customer List, ensure your CSV file is formatted correctly with headers like 'email' and 'phone'.
- Lookalike not performing: If the lookalike isn't converting, the problem is often the 'seed'. Try creating a lookalike based on 'Purchases' instead of just 'Page Views'.
Next Steps
Once your Lookalike Audience is running, the next step is to monitor your Frequency and Cost Per Result. If your frequency gets too high (above 4 or 5), it means you've saturated that 1% lookalike and it’s time to expand to a 2% or 3% audience.
Need help fine-tuning your Meta Ads strategy or setting up your tracking pixels correctly? Our Brisbane team is here to help you scale. Contact Local Marketing Group today for a strategy session.