TLDR

• Starting January 2025, Meta will restrict health and wellness brands from using key event tracking like “Purchase” or “Add to Cart” for ads.
• Businesses must shift to non-restricted events such as “Landing Page Views” or “Engagement” for campaign optimization.
• Meta’s rules are broad, and their algorithm could miscategorize accounts, even for brands not directly in the health and wellness space.
• Losing access to high-intent events will cause a drop in ad performance, especially for campaigns relying on those events for targeting or measurement.
• Check your Events Manager for flags, adapt your strategy to focus on non-restricted events, and request a review if your account is flagged incorrectly.

What’s Happening?

Meta is shaking things up with a big change to how it handles ads for health and wellness brands. Under a broad new definition, businesses in this category will no longer be able to share key event data with Meta, so you won’t be able to optimize for events like “Purchase” or “Add to Cart.” Instead, you’ll have to focus on traffic or engagement campaigns. 

The details are vague, but starting in January 2025, Meta will be categorizing websites and apps based on the products or services they offer. If you’re in the health and wellness industry, your products will now be considered a “sensitive category”, and lose access to key event tracking like “Purchases” & “Add To Cart”.  

Instead, businesses selling health & wellness products will need to optimize their campaigns to non-restricted events like “Landing Page Views” or “Engagement”. While Meta says these changes aim to protect user privacy, their broad definitions mean brands not directly tied to these industries could get flagged by mistake as well.

These changes could impact a range of industries, particularly those connected to health and wellness. Here are some examples:

• Health and Wellness Brands: Companies selling supplements, fitness programs, or wellness products.
• Pharmaceutical and Medical Services: Telemedicine platforms, pharmacies, or healthcare providers.
• Legal Firms: Personal injury law firms may fall under broader health-related restrictions.
• Fitness and Lifestyle Apps: Apps focused on workouts, dieting, or mental health.

If your business operates in or near these categories, it’s important to stay informed and review your account status.

How This Effects You

If you’re a business in health-adjacent industries—like fitness, supplements, or even personal injury law—this could have a big impact on how you run your campaigns. Losing access to high-intent events like “Purchase” means you will see a dip in ad performance, especially if your campaigns rely on those for targeting or measurement. You may even need to start from scratch, with entirely new campaigns with new objectives to drive your business forward.

It’s worth noting that Meta won’t pause your active campaigns because of these restrictions. However, you will receive notifications via email, Ads Manager, and Events Manager detailing which ad sets and events are impacted. These updates will help you stay on top of what’s changing so you can adjust accordingly.

Meta May Miscategorize Your Account

Meta’s categorization process isn’t perfect, and their algorithm could misclassify your account, leading to unnecessary restrictions. This means your campaigns might be flagged for limitations, even if your business doesn’t truly fall under the sensitive categories they’re targeting. 

Via Foxwell Digital

Since Meta’s system relies heavily on automation, errors can happen—especially for businesses in industries that are loosely related to health and wellness. It’s crucial to regularly check your Events Manager to see if you’ve been flagged by mistake. If you spot an issue, act quickly to request a review and prevent unnecessary disruptions to your campaigns.

How to Respond

To navigate these changes and keep your campaigns on track, here are a few recommendations:

1. Shift to Non-Restricted Events
   If your site or app falls under Meta’s sensitive category, start focusing on events like “Landing Page Views,” “Search,” “ViewContent,” or “App Install” for targeting and optimization. These events aren’t restricted and can still drive strong results.
2. Review Restricted Events
   Identify which events are restricted in your account and explore alternative standard events that align with your business objectives. Adjust your strategy to prioritize these non-restricted options.
3. Avoid Using Custom Workarounds
   Don’t create custom events that mimic restricted ones. This could violate Meta’s policies and lead to further issues with your campaigns.
4. Evaluate Your Categorization
   If you believe your website or app has been miscategorized, submit a review through Events Manager. This process can take time, so act quickly to ensure your campaigns aren’t unnecessarily impacted.
5. Request a Review if Necessary
   If you believe your business was miscategorized, use Events Manager to request a review. This process takes time, so don’t delay.

By staying proactive and adapting your strategy to these new guidelines, you can minimize disruptions and continue reaching your audience effectively.

Let’s Talk

This update could cause headaches for businesses, but there’s still time to adapt. If you’re unsure how these changes might impact your campaigns—or need help reworking your strategy—we’ve got you covered. Contact us today to chat about how to keep your campaigns on track despite these new restrictions.