Meta Pixel

Meta Pixel Helper

This guide shows you how to use the Meta Pixel Helper tool to verify your Pixel is working properly, troubleshoot common errors, and improve Pixel performance.

Overview

The Pixel Helper is a Chrome Browser extension that runs in the background to automatically reviews websites for Meta Pixel code. When the extension is installed a </> icon, the Pixel Helper icon, will appear in the upper right corner of the browser next to the address bar. When a website has a Meta Pixel installed, the Pixel Helper icon turns blue and a small badge will appear indicating the number of Pixels found on the webpage. If the icon does not turn blue, no Meta Pixels are installed on this webpage. Click the Pixel Helper icon and a small popup appears with information you can use to verify, troubleshoot, and improve the Pixel.

Install Pixel Helper

Requirements

To use the Meta Pixel Helper you must:

Verify Pixel Implementation

Navigate to your website in the Chrome browser, and click on the Pixel Helper icon. The popup will tell what Pixels were found on the webpage, and whether they have loaded successfully.

Troubleshooting

The Meta Pixel Helper reports errors and suggestions to improve performance.

Data Processing Parameters Sent

This section shows if data processing parameters are being sent with the Limited Data Use flag. DPOST and DPOCO will show 1, 1000 if it is sent with California/USA data.

Pixel Did Not Load

The Pixel Did Not Load error means that the Pixel Helper found what looks like Meta Pixel code on your site, but the actual HTTP call was never made. Possible causes include:

  • An error in the code.
  • If the Pixel fires on a dynamic event, such as a button click. The error will disappear upon clicking on the button.

Encoded Characters

The Encoded Characters error means that the Pixel Helper found what looks to be double-encoded characters. Possible causes include:

  • a tag or CMS system encoding already encoded this information. For example, encoding &amp; into &amp;amp;. Make sure that characters are not being encoded twice, for example, try changing &amp; to &.

Not a Standard Event

The Not a Standard Event warning means that the Pixel Helper found an event that is not one of the Standard Events. For example, the event is named Purchased instead of Purchase.

Pixel Activated Multiple Times

The Pixel Activated Multiple Times error means that a Pixel with the same ID and event name was sent multiple times to Meta. The same event should only occur once upon page loading. If the event is sent with different custom data parameters, those parameters should be aggregated into a single Pixel event.

Invalid Pixel ID

The Invalid Pixel ID error means that the sent ID for the Pixel did not match a known Pixel ID in our system. You can find your Pixel ID in the Events Manager.

Can Not Find Product Catalog

The Can Not Find Product Catalog error means that the Product Catalog ID which was passed in the field product_catalog_id in the Pixel fire could not be found on our system. You can find your Product Catalog ID in Business Manager under Settings > Product Catalogs.

Make sure your Product Catalog is associated with your Pixel.

You Have Opted Out of Tracking

The You Have Opted Out of Tracking warning means that you have opted out of tracking from Meta and the Pixel fires detected were not logged on our servers. This prevents any server side validation for the Custom Audience Pixel potentially leaving Pixel problems undiagnosed.

You can learn more about our offsite tracking in your Meta Ads Preferences including how to turn tracking back on.

Meta respects mobile device settings regarding ad tracking so you may need to update your devices settings to opt back in. If one or more device has opted out each device will have to opt back in before tracking is enabled.

Pixel is not paired with a product catalog

The Product Catalog Not Paired warning suggests that the Pixel is not paired with any product catalog. This pairing is required to specify relationship between Pixels and product catalogs. There are two ways to pair a catalog with a Pixel, the Commerce Manager or the Product Catalog Preferences API.

Data Processing Parameters Sent

The Data Processing Parameters Sent section displays any data processing parameters sent with the Limited Data Use (LDU) flag for a specific event. The Data Processing Option is shown at the state (DPOST) and country (DPOCO) level. For example, a dpost value of 1 represents California and a dpoco value of 1000 represents the United States. If the values are 0, Meta will geolocate the event. If you set a country, you must set a state or Meta will automatically geolocate the event.

Pixel Took Too Long to Load

The Pixel Took Too Long to Load warning suggests that it took a long time before the Pixel was activated. This may be due to where the Pixel is located on the webpage. It is recommended to place the Pixel code early in the web page, preferably just before the closing </head> tag in the HTML.

If a webpage visitor closes the webpage, clicks on a link, or navigates away before the Pixel event activates, the action will not be tracked. A significant percentage of actions and conversions can be lost due to these actions.

Pixel is Not the Only Conversion

It is recommended that you use a single conversion Pixel across all ads tracking or optimization for each event to avoid inefficient optimization and tracking of these conversion events.

In the case that a secondary conversion event occurs based on person's interaction with the webpage, such as a button click, then this warning can be ignored.

Pixel Advanced Matching

The Pixel Advanced Matching warning suggests that the value sent for the advanced matching parameter is invalid or not formatted correctly. Examples are when you are sending static values from example code such as {{email}} for the em field, where the {{email}} should have been replaced by the real email address. Please verify that the values are formatted and replaced correctly before passing it to the Meta Pixel.