Short answer
Choose the objective that matches the action you want: Reach for awareness, Video views or Pre-roll for video, Website traffic or Sales for your site, App installs or re-engagements for apps, Engagements for interactions, and Followers for audience growth.
Key takeaways
- X optimizes delivery and billing around the objective you pick.
- One objective per campaign; split goals into separate campaigns.
- Sales objectives need conversion tracking set up first.
The objective is the most important choice in an X campaign: it decides who sees your ad, what X optimizes for and what you pay for.
What objectives are there?
| Objective | Use it when you want | Typically billed per |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | As many people as possible to see the ad | 1,000 impressions |
| Video views | People to watch your video | View |
| Pre-roll views | Your video to run before publisher content (Amplify) | View |
| App installs | Downloads | Install or click |
| App re-engagements | Existing users to open the app | Click |
| Website traffic | Visits to your site | Click |
| Engagements | Likes, replies, reposts | Engagement |
| Followers | New followers | Follow |
| Sales (conversions) | Purchases or sign-ups on your site | Optimized for conversions |
Exact names and billing options shift slightly as X updates Ads Manager.
How do I choose?
Ask what single action proves the campaign worked, then pick the objective that optimizes for it.
A shop wants sales: use Sales with the pixel installed. A podcast wants listeners: Website traffic to the episode page, or Video views for a clip. A new brand wants to be known locally: Reach with location targeting.
What are common mistakes?
Picking Engagements when you want sales, and judging Reach campaigns by clicks.
Each objective should be judged by its own metric. For setup steps, see how to run X ads.
Questions people ask
Can I change the objective after launch?
No. Create a new campaign with the new objective.
Which objective gets the cheapest clicks?
Website traffic optimizes for clicks. Engagement campaigns can produce cheap clicks too, but they aren't optimized for site visits.
Is Followers worth it?
If followers turn into customers or readers for you, yes. Promote your best representative post, not a 'please follow' ad.