Targeting Search

Target Ad sets on a number of criteria you provide in targeting specs. Most targets are predefined values, such as country "Japan" or city "Tokyo".

Find valid values with Marketing API, Targeting Search: https://graph.facebook.com/{API_VERSION}/search. You must provide your query string in UTF8 format.

Targeting Option Status

To verify current and/or planned status of targeting objects, use the targeting_option_list parameter:

curl -G \
  -d 'targeting_option_list=[<TARGETING_OPTION_ ID>,<TARGETING_OPTION_ID>]' 
  -d 'type=targetingoptionstatus'  
  https://graph.facebook.com/<API_VERSION>/search

The response:

{"data":[{"id":"<TARGETING_OPTION_ ID>","current_status":"NON-DELIVERABLE"},{"id":"<TARGETING_OPTION_ID>","current_status":"NON-DELIVERABLE","future_plan":[{"key":"2018-05-10T00:00:00+0000","value":"DEPRECATING"}]}]

Return Fields

Geographic

Search targeting by country, country group, city, state, zip code, and other geographic areas at type=adgeolocation. You can specify optional parameters with type=adgeolocation. To find the United States' country code:

curl -G \
  -d 'location_types=["country"]' \
  -d 'type=adgeolocation' \
  -d 'q=un' \
  -d 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
  https://graph.facebook.com/v<API_VERSION>/search

The response:

{
  "data": [
    {
      "key": "GB", 
      "name": "United Kingdom", 
      "type": "country", 
      "supports_city": false, 
      "supports_region": false
    }, 
    {
      "key": "AE", 
      "name": "United Arab Emirates", 
      "type": "country", 
      "supports_city": false, 
      "supports_region": false
    }, 
    {
      "key": "UM", 
      "name": "United States Minor Outlying Islands", 
      "type": "country", 
      "supports_city": false, 
      "supports_region": false
    }
  ]
}

key is a fixed number unique in per category, such as countries or country groups. Other fields, including name, are subject to change. Use key to define Targeting Specs.

In the response:

• if supports_region is true, this country has region codes
• if supports_city is true, this country has city codes

Countries

Every country you can target has a country code. Optional parameters for type=adgeolocation&location_types=['country']:

Country Group

All country groups have a code to search and get a list of countries. For all country groups named mercosur:

curl -G \
  -d 'location_types=["country_group"]' \
  -d 'type=adgeolocation' \
  -d 'q=mercosur' \
  -d 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
  https://graph.facebook.com/v<API_VERSION>/search

The response:

{
  "data": [
    {
      "key": "mercosur",
      "name": "Mercosur",
      "type": "country_group",
      "country_codes": [
        "BR",
        "AR",
        "UY",
        "PY",
        "VE"
      ],
      "is_worldwide": false,
      "supports_region": true,
      "supports_city": true
    }
  ]
}

If is_worldwide is true, this is a worldwide country group. If supports_region is true, the country group has region codes. If supports_city is true, the group has city codes.

Regions

To search for all regions starting the code al:

curl -G \
  -d 'location_types=["region"]' \
  -d 'type=adgeolocation' \
  -d 'q=al' \
  -d 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
  https://graph.facebook.com/v<API_VERSION>/search

The response:

{
  "data": [
    {
      "key": "3843",
      "name": "Alabama",
      "type": "region",
      "country_code": "US",
      "country_name": "United States",
      "supports_region": true,
      "supports_city": true
    },
    {
      "key": "3844",
      "name": "Alaska",
      "type": "region",
      "country_code": "US",
      "country_name": "United States",
      "supports_region": true,
      "supports_city": true
    },
    {
      "key": "527",
      "name": "Alberta",
      "type": "region",
      "country_code": "CA",
      "country_name": "Canada",
      "supports_region": true,
      "supports_city": true
    },
    {
      "key": "1089",
      "name": "Alsace",
      "type": "region",
      "country_code": "FR",
      "country_name": "France",
      "supports_region": true,
      "supports_city": true
    }
  ]
}

Options for type=adgeolocation&location_types=['region']:

If supports_region is true, you can target this region. If supports_city is true, the region has city codes.

Cities

Since March 2019, we have reclassified several cities to other roles, but you can continue to use city. The search will return results that were formerly cities.

To search codes for all cities starting with Manhattan:

curl -G \
     -d 'location_types=["city"]' \
     -d 'type=adgeolocation' \
     -d 'q=Manhattan' \
     -d 'access_token=ACCESS_TOKEN' \
     https://graph.facebook.com/VERSION/search

The response:

{
  "data": [
    {
      "key": "2447439",
      "name": "Manhattan",
      "type": "city",
      "country_code": "US",
      "country_name": "United States",
      "region": "Kansas",
      "region_id": 3859,
      "supports_region": true,
      "supports_city": true
    },
    {
      "key": "2439596",
      "name": "Manhattan",
      "type": "city",
      "country_code": "US",
      "country_name": "United States",
      "region": "Illinois",
      "region_id": 3856,
      "supports_region": true,
      "supports_city": true
    },
    {
      "key": "2479541",
      "name": "Manhattan",
      "type": "city",
      "country_code": "US",
      "country_name": "United States",
      "region": "Montana",
      "region_id": 3869,
      "supports_region": true,
      "supports_city": true
    },
    {
      "key": "2428908",
      "name": "Manhattan",
      "type": "city",
      "country_code": "US",
      "country_name": "United States",
      "region": "Florida",
      "region_id": 3852,
      "supports_region": true,
      "supports_city": true
    },
    {
      "key": "2703980",
      "name": "Manhattan",
      "type": "subcity",
      "country_code": "US",
      "country_name": "United States",
      "region": "New York",
      "region_id": 3875,
      "supports_region": true,
      "supports_city": true,
      "geo_hierarchy_level": "SUBCITY",
      "geo_hierarchy_name": "BOROUGH"
    },
   ...

If supports_region is true, the region for this city is available for targeting. If supports_city is set true, this city is available for targeting.

Geographic Areas

We have other geographical areas you can use to target. Some of these areas are not yet defined, as noted below.

The hierarchy of geographical areas is as follows, from largest to smallest:

• REGION
• LARGE_GEO_AREA
• MEDIUM_GEO_AREA
• SMALL_GEO_AREA
• METRO_AREA
• CITY
• SUBCITY
• NEIGHBORHOOD
• SUBNEIGHBORHOOD

Zip Code

You can also search zip codes to target on Facebook. For zip code search, we recommend adgeolocation with location_types=['zip']. Visit the Meta Helpcenter to view a list of countries with supported Zip codes.

Search zip codes starting with 9:

curl -G \
  -d 'location_types=["zip"]' \
  -d 'type=adgeolocation' \
  -d 'q=9' \
  -d 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
  https://graph.facebook.com/LATEST-API-VERSION/search

The response:

{
  "data": [
    {
      "key": "US:90028",
      "name": "90028",
      "type": "zip",
      "country_code": "US",
      "country_name": "United States",
      "region": "California",
      "region_id": 3847,
      "primary_city": "Los Angeles",
      "primary_city_id": 2420379,
      "supports_region": true,
      "supports_city": true
    },
    {
      "key": "US:94110",
      "name": "94110",
      "type": "zip",
      "country_code": "US",
      "country_name": "United States",
      "region": "California",
      "region_id": 3847,
      "primary_city": "San Francisco",
      "primary_city_id": 2421836,
      "supports_region": true,
      "supports_city": true
    },
    {
      "key": "US:94501",
      "name": "94501",
      "type": "zip",
      "country_code": "US",
      "country_name": "United States",
      "region": "California",
      "region_id": 3847,
      "primary_city": "Alameda",
      "primary_city_id": 2417628,
      "supports_region": true,
      "supports_city": true
    },
    {
      "key": "US:95190",
      "name": "95190",
      "type": "zip",
      "country_code": "US",
      "country_name": "United States",
      "region": "California",
      "region_id": 3847,
      "primary_city": "San Jose",
      "primary_city_id": 2421846,
      "supports_region": true,
      "supports_city": true
    }
  ]
}

Locales

Targetable locales by locale codes. To search for all locales starting with en:

curl -G \
  -d 'type=adlocale' \
  -d 'q=en' \
  -d 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
  https://graph.facebook.com/v<API_VERSION>/search

The response:

{
{
      "data": [
        {
          "key": 51, 
          "name": "English (Upside Down)"
        }, 
        {
          "key": 6, 
          "name": "English (US)"
        }, 
        {
          "key": 24, 
          "name": "English (UK)"
        }
      ]
    }
}

DMA Codes

To get these, specify type=adgeolocation and location_types=['geo_market'] in your query. To search for DMA codes that start with "New":

curl -G \
  -d 'location_types=["geo_market"]' \
  -d 'type=adgeolocation' \
  -d 'q=New' \
  -d 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
  https://graph.facebook.com/v<API_VERSION>/search

The result:

{
  "data": [
    {
      "key": "DMA:622",
      "name": "New Orleans",
      "type": "geo_market",
      "country_code": "US",
      "country_name": "United States",
      "supports_region": true,
      "supports_city": true
    },
    {
      "key": "DMA:501",
      "name": "New York",
      "type": "geo_market",
      "country_code": "US",
      "country_name": "United States",
      "supports_region": true,
      "supports_city": true
    },
    {
      "key": "DMA:533",
      "name": "Hartford & New Haven",
      "type": "geo_market",
      "country_code": "US",
      "country_name": "United States",
      "supports_region": true,
      "supports_city": true
    },
    {
....
    }
  ]
}

Electoral Districts

To search for Electoral Districts to target, specify type=adgeolocation and location_types=['electoral_district']. To search for Electoral Districts in California:

curl -G \
  -d 'location_types=["electoral_district"]' \
  -d 'type=adgeolocation' \
  -d 'q=California' \
  -d 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
  https://graph.facebook.com/v<API_VERSION>/search

The response:

{
  "data": [
    {
      "key": "US:CA14",
      "name": "California's 14th District",
      "type": "electoral_district",
      "country_code": "US",
      "country_name": "United States",
      "region": "California",
      "region_id": 3847,
      "supports_region": true,
      "supports_city": true
    },
    {
      "key": "US:CA02",
      "name": "California's 2nd District",
      "type": "electoral_district",
      "country_code": "US",
      "country_name": "United States",
      "region": "California",
      "region_id": 3847,
      "supports_region": true,
      "supports_city": true
    },
 ...
}

Geo Locations Metadata

You can use additional optional parameters with type=adgeolocationmeta:

curl -G \
  -d 'cities=[2418779]' \
  -d 'zips=["US:90210"]' \
  -d 'countries=["US","JP"]' \
  -d 'regions=[10]' \
  -d 'type=adgeolocationmeta' \
  -d 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
  https://graph.facebook.com/v<API_VERSION>/search

The response is a JSON object with metadata for geo locations specified:

{
  "data": {
    "countries": {
      "US": {
        "key": "US", 
        "type": "country", 
        "name": "United States", 
        "supports_city": true, 
        "supports_region": true
      }, 
      "JP": {
        "key": "JP", 
        "type": "country", 
        "name": "Japan", 
        "supports_city": true, 
        "supports_region": true
      }
    }, 
    "regions": {
      "10": {
        "key": "10", 
        "type": "region", 
        "name": "Dubai", 
        "country_code": "AE", 
        "supports_city": true, 
        "supports_region": false
      }
    }, 
    "cities": {
      "2418779": {
        "key": "2418779", 
        "type": "city", 
        "name": "Danville", 
        "region_id": 3847, 
        "region": "California", 
        "country_code": "US", 
        "supports_city": true, 
        "supports_region": true
      }
    }, 
    "zips": {
      "US:90210": {
        "key": "US:90210", 
        "type": "zip", 
        "name": "90210", 
        "primary_city": "Beverly Hills", 
        "region_id": 3847, 
        "region": "California", 
        "country_code": "US", 
        "supports_city": true, 
        "supports_region": true
      }
    }
  }
}

Options:

Radius Suggestions

To target around a specific location, get a suggested radius reach enough people with suggested_radius:

curl -G \
  -d 'latitude=37.449478' \
  -d 'longitude=-122.173016' \
  -d 'type=adradiussuggestion' \
  -d 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
  https://graph.facebook.com/v<API_VERSION>/search

The response is JSON object with suggested_radius and distance_unit.

{
  "data": [
    {
      "suggested_radius": 10,
      "distance_unit": "mile"
    }
  ]
}

Example fetching suggested_radius with a distance_unit specified:

curl -G \
  -d 'latitude=37.449478' \
  -d 'longitude=-122.173016' \
  -d 'type=adradiussuggestion' \
  -d 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
  https://graph.facebook.com/v<API_VERSION>/search

{
  "data": [
    {
      "suggested_radius": 16,
      "distance_unit": "kilometer"
    }
  ]
}

Use these parameters:

See also Local Awareness Ads to use with suggestions.

Interests

Send a GET request to the /search endpoint and set type to adinterest and q to the specific interest to search:

curl -G \
  -d 'type=adinterest' \
  -d 'q=baseball' \
  -d 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
  https://graph.facebook.com/v<API_VERSION>/search

The response will return the following fields:

Interest Suggestions

Send a GET request to the /search endpoint and set type to adinterestsuggestion to get a list of suggested interests related to your interest.

Sample Query

curl -G \
  -d 'interest_list=["Basketball"]' \
  -d 'type=adinterestsuggestion' \
  -d 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
  https://graph.facebook.com/<API_VERSION>/search

Sample Response

{
  "data": [
    {
      "id": "6003598240487",
      "name": "la biblia",
      "audience_size": 7419780,
      "path": [
  ],
      "description": null
   },
   {
      "id": "6003022269556",
      "name": "Rugby football",
      "audience_size": 13214830,
      "path": [
  ],
      "description": null
   },
   {
      "id": "6003146664949",
      "name": "Netball",
      "audience_size": 4333770,
      "path": [
  ],
"description": null
   },
   {
      "id": "6003013291881",
      "name": "Kaizer Chiefs F.C.",
      "audience_size": 1812850,
      "path": [
  ],
      "description": null
  },
  ....
  {
      "id": "6003400886535",
      "name": "espn sportscenter",
      "audience_size": 222960,
      "path": [
  ],
     "description": null
  },
  {
     "id": "6002925969459",
     "name": "watching movies",
     "audience_size": 4630950,
     "path": [
  ],
     "description": null
  },
  {
     "id": "6003214125247",
     "name": "lakers",
     "audience_size": 340360,
     "path": [
  ],
     "description": null
  }

Options include:

Limitations

• Not all available interests will be returned in a search.
• Interests may be renamed at any time, and validating by name may fail when this happens. Therefore, we recommend validating interests by interest_fbid_list rather than by name. Check if terms are valid, by quering with type=adinterestvalid and the interest to validate:

curl -G \
  -d 'interest_list=["Japan","nonexistantkeyword"]' \
  -d 'type=adinterestvalid' \
  -d 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
  https://graph.facebook.com/v<API_VERSION>/search

The response:

{
  "data": [
    {
      "name": "Japan",
      "valid": true,
      "id": 6003700426513,
      "audience_size": 68310258
    },
    {
      "name": "nonexistantkeyword",
      "valid": false
    }
  ]
}

Options:

Interests

To browse possible interests to target, send a GET request to the /search endpoint with type set to adTargetingCategory and class to interests.

curl -G \
  -d 'type=adTargetingCategory' \
  -d 'class=interests' \
  -d 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
  https://graph.facebook.com/v<API_VERSION>/search

Limitations

• Not all available interests will be returned in a search.

Behaviors

Target based on a user's actions or past purchase behavior. Retrieve all possible behavior targeting options with type=adTargetingCategory&class=behaviors.

curl -G \
  -d 'type=adTargetingCategory' \
  -d 'class=behaviors' \
  -d 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
  https://graph.facebook.com/v<API_VERSION>/search

The response contains the following:

Demographics

This includes workplace, education, job title types and relationship status types. You can also target based on recency of a life event: 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year. You can reference schools to target by an id and name.

To search for all schools starting with ha:

curl -G \
  -d 'type=adeducationschool' \
  -d 'q=ha' \
  -d 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
  https://graph.facebook.com/v<API_VERSION>/search

The response:

 {
  "data": [
    {
      "name": "Harvard University", 
      "id": 105930651606,
      "coverage": 8395398,
      "subtext": "Cambridge, Massachusetts"
    }, 
    {
      "name": "Hajvery University", 
      "id": 148971135122588,
      "coverage": 124162
    }, 
    {
      "name": "Harvard-Westlake School", 
      "id": 107799365910274,
      "coverage": 14106
    }
  ]
}

Education Majors

Target majors by an id and name. To search for all majors that start with ph:

curl -G \
  -d 'type=adeducationmajor' \
  -d 'q=ph' \
  -d 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
  https://graph.facebook.com/v<API_VERSION>/search

The response:

{
  "data": [
    {
      "name": "Photography", 
      "id": 108170975877442,
      "coverage": 613618
    }, 
    {
      "name": "Physics", 
      "id": 109279729089828,
      "coverage": 942491
    }, 
    {
      "name": "Philosophy", 
      "id": 108026662559095,
      "coverage": 701271
    }
  ]
}

Work Employer

Reference targetable employers by id and name. To search for all work employer starting with mic:

curl -G \
  -d 'type=adworkemployer' \
  -d 'q=mic' \
  -d 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
  https://graph.facebook.com/v<API_VERSION>/search

The response:

{
  "data": [
    {
      "name": "Western Michigan University", 
      "id": 10022826163,
      "coverage": 24366
    }, 
    {
      "name": "University of Michigan", 
      "id": 21105780752,
      "coverage": 17357
    }, 
    {
      "name": "Michigan State University - SPARTANS", 
      "id": 8891783019,
      "coverage": 65853
    }
  ]
}

Job Title

Every self-declared, targetable job title has an id and name. To get all job titles that include Business Analyst:

curl -G \
  -d 'type=adworkposition' \
  -d 'q=Business Analyst' \
  -d 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
  https://graph.facebook.com/v<API_VERSION>/search

The response:

{
   "data": [
    {
      "name": "Business Analyst", 
      "id": 105763692790962,
      "coverage": 282124
    }, 
    {
      "name": "Financial Analyst", 
      "id": 112930925387573,
      "coverage": 212889
    }
  ]
}

The response has these fields:

---

The following are common parameters for this API. For type-specific input parameters, see the details below.

Based on the category of autocomplete data, provide the appropriate type. To retrieve locales, specify type=adlocale. Valid categories are:

Demographic Browse

Retrieve all possible demographic targeting options with type=adTargetingCategory and a class.

The response contains these fields: