Add the Facebook (Meta) pixel so I can tell whether my ads are working
The Meta Pixel is the piece of Facebook and Instagram advertising that tells you whether your ads actually brought anyone - who arrived, what they did, what it cost you per sale. You can put it on your bernard site in one ask.
Adding it
- Get your number from Meta Events Manager. It sits under your pixel
(Meta now also calls it a dataset) and it's all digits, something like
123456789012345. Copy it exactly - no letters, no spaces. - Ask for it by name and paste the number. For example: "Add the Meta Pixel to my site, my pixel id is 123456789012345."
- It's on within about a minute, on every page, including pages you create next month. There's nothing to publish and nothing to approve, because it isn't a change to any page - see Add my own analytics, Facebook pixel or chat tool to my site for why tracking tools work differently from everything else your AI does.
If the number isn't the right shape you'll be told straight away, with where to look again - rather than a pixel that quietly never fires.
The part worth reading before you judge your ad results
Advertising tracking needs your visitors' permission, and bernard asks for it properly. That has two consequences, and both are normal.
Meta will report fewer people than really visited. The pixel only runs for visitors who agree to advertising cookies. Everyone who declines is invisible to Meta - they still browsed, still bought, still counted in your own takings, but Meta never saw them. So your cost-per-sale in Meta's dashboard will look worse than it truly is. Every honest site is in this position; treat Meta's figures as a floor, not a full count.
Your ordinary visitor counts may step down too. Once visitors are being asked about cookies, your visit counting waits for their answer as well, not just the advertising pixel. If your site wasn't already asking, your analytics will show a drop the day the pixel goes on. Your traffic hasn't fallen - the share you're permitted to count has. Somebody can also say yes to visit counting and no to advertising, and that is honoured exactly.
Neither of these is a fault to report. They're what asking permission looks like, and the alternative - counting people who said no - isn't available.
What the permission covers
Your visitors are asked about the tracking bernard puts on for you, and nothing runs until they choose. Tools that came across from your old site when you moved are a separate matter still being worked on, so if your site arrived carrying its own tracking, ask your AI what's still running on it before you rely on the banner covering everything. Add my own analytics, Facebook pixel or chat tool to my site lists what bernard can install for you today.
Changing or removing it
Running ads from a different account? Ask again with the new number and it replaces the old one. Finished advertising? Ask to remove the pixel and it comes off within about a minute - your site carries on exactly as before, and if the pixel was the only thing needing advertising permission, your visitors stop being asked about it.
Google Ads, TikTok and LinkedIn tracking aren't offered yet. That's a matter of checking each one properly rather than a rule about advertising, and they'll be added as each is verified.
For what your visitors actually see and choose, read How does the cookie banner on my site work?.
The prompt
“Add the Meta Pixel to my site. My pixel id is [paste the number from Meta Events Manager].”
Press Copy, then paste it into your AI and fill in the [bracketed] parts. First time? Connect your AI to bernard first - a one-time setup in bernard → your site → Use your own AI.
Questions people ask
- How do I add the Facebook pixel without touching code?
- Tell your AI you want the Meta Pixel and give it your pixel number. It goes on every page of your site, including pages you add later. There's no code to paste and nothing to approve or publish for this one - it's switched on separately from your pages, so it starts working within about a minute.
- Where do I find my Meta Pixel id?
- In Meta Events Manager, under your pixel or dataset. It's a long string of digits and nothing else. If what you paste isn't that shape, you'll be told before anything goes on, rather than something silently not working.
- Why does Meta show fewer conversions than I actually had?
- Because the pixel only runs for visitors who agree to advertising cookies, and some say no. Meta can only count the ones who agreed, so its numbers are an undercount of real traffic. Nothing is broken - every site that asks visitors properly is in the same position, and the gap is simply the people who declined.
- Will this change my Google Analytics numbers too?
- It can. Advertising tracking means your visitors get asked about cookies, and once they're being asked, your visit counting waits for their answer as well. If your site wasn't already asking, expect your visitor counts to step down to the people who say yes. The traffic hasn't fallen - only the share you're allowed to count.
- Can I take it off again?
- Yes, any time. Ask to remove it and it's gone within about a minute. Ask again later with a different number and the new one replaces the old - no need to remove it first.