Business Portfolio & tracking setup
The foundations every profitable campaign relies on. Set up your Meta Business Portfolio so you own your assets, install Pixel and CAPI so Meta sees everything, and sync your catalogue so Dynamic Ads work. Get this right once, scale forever.
Your Business Portfolio is your headquarters
Your Business Portfolio (inside Meta Business Manager) is where every asset you advertise with lives. Setting it up properly from the start prevents access issues, ownership disputes, and sudden account restrictions later.
Seven things live inside your Portfolio:
Facebook Page
Your business's public face on Facebook
Instagram Account
Connected for ads across feeds, stories, reels
Ad Account
Where campaigns run and budgets are billed
Pixel & tracking
Sends site events back to Meta
Product Catalogue
Your store feed for Dynamic Ads
Payment method
Billing source for ad spend
Users & roles
Staff, freelancers, agencies with scoped access
Business verification
Unlocks CAPI, Shops, higher spending limits
- Your agency owns your assets, not you
- You lose account access when staff leave
- Meta flags your account for suspicious activity
- You can't unlock advanced features like CAPI
- Full ownership of every asset
- Security against account restrictions
- Flexibility to add or remove people instantly
- Access to every Meta Ads tool and feature
The 8-step setup
Work through these in order. Expect it to take 30 to 60 minutes if starting from scratch, less if you've already got some pieces in place.
Create or access Meta Business Manager
Go to business.facebook.com/overview. If you don't have one, click Create Account. Enter your business name, your name, and a business domain email (not personal Gmail or Hotmail).
Add your Facebook Page
In Business Settings → Accounts → Pages, click Add → Add a Page. Select your Page (or request access if it's owned elsewhere). Make sure your Portfolio owns the Page — not just has access.
Connect your Instagram account
In Business Settings → Accounts → Instagram Accounts, click Add and log in to your Instagram. This unlocks ad placements across feeds, stories, and reels.
Create your Ad Account
In Business Settings → Accounts → Ad Accounts, click Add → Create a New Ad Account. Name it clearly (e.g. BusinessName - AU Ad Account). Use this for all paid activity. Never boost posts directly from your Page.
Set up your Meta Pixel
In Business Settings → Data Sources → Pixels, click Add → Create Pixel. Install on your site immediately, even if you're not running ads yet. This starts collecting data for future campaigns.
Create your Product Catalogue
In Commerce Manager → Create a Catalogue, choose E-commerce as your business type. Sync your product feed from Shopify or WooCommerce, or manually upload products.
Add a payment method
In Business Settings → Payments, add a credit card or PayPal. The payment details must match your business details for compliance and invoicing.
Complete Business Verification (when requested)
Meta may ask you to verify your business. Prepare your business name certificate, ABN (if Australian), and proof of address. Verification unlocks CAPI, Shops, and higher ad spending limits.
Assign yourself Full control access to every asset (Pages, Ad Accounts, Pixels, Catalogues).
Give staff, freelancers, and agencies partial access only, scoped to specific assets.
Enable two-factor authentication for every user with admin access.
Remove people immediately when they stop working with you.
Pixel + CAPI — how Meta actually sees your sales
Meta doesn't know what's happening on your website unless you tell it. Tracking is how your site speaks to Meta so the algorithm can optimise for purchases, report accurate ROAS, and scale your campaigns intelligently.
There are two ways to send this data — and you need both.
The Pixel
A small piece of JavaScript installed on your site. Tracks what visitors do — pages viewed, add to cart, purchases — and sends that data to Meta from the browser.
Conversions API (CAPI)
Sends the same information directly from your website's server to Meta. Bypasses ad blockers, iOS privacy limits, and browser restrictions. Required for accurate data in 2026.
Ad blockers, iOS updates, cookie restrictions — they all prevent the Pixel from firing reliably. CAPI fills the gap by sending data server-to-server, which can't be blocked. When both fire together, Meta deduplicates automatically so you're not double-counting. This is why Meta strongly recommends a combined setup.
The events Meta needs to track
Meta tracks specific user actions as events. For ecommerce, these are the ones that matter most:
If you're on Shopify, install the official Facebook & Instagram app from the Shopify App Store. It installs the Pixel, enables CAPI server-side tracking, and maps events correctly without manual coding. This is the recommended path — don't hand-code events unless you have a developer and a specific reason to.
Your Product Catalogue unlocks Dynamic Ads
For ecommerce brands, Catalogues are not optional. They're a live product feed from your store to Meta that stays automatically updated with your inventory, pricing, and stock levels.
Once set up, your Catalogue unlocks four major capabilities:
Dynamic Product Ads
Meta automatically shows each visitor the exact product they viewed. "Still thinking about that blue jumper?" — powered by Pixel + Catalogue working together. No manual ad creation per product.
Personalised retargeting carousels
When someone browses multiple products, Meta can show them a carousel of those exact items. Relevant, personal, and scales without effort.
Product-level performance insights
See which specific products drive sales, which items have the highest ROAS, and which categories convert best. Unlock data for merchandising and product decisions.
Instagram Shopping & Facebook Shops
Your Catalogue powers shoppable tags in posts and stories, plus in-app shop experiences across Meta platforms.
Setting up your Catalogue takes about 10 minutes if you're on Shopify, longer if you're manual.
Open Commerce Manager
Go to Commerce Manager → Catalogues → Add new. Select Ecommerce as your category.
Connect your store platform
Choose your platform (Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, or manual). For Shopify: use the Facebook & Instagram Sales Channel app — it syncs your catalogue automatically and keeps it updated in real time.
Map your product data
Make sure each product has clear titles, high-quality images, accurate pricing, and product URLs that work. Meta requires these fields to display your products in ads.
Connect Catalogue to your Pixel
In Commerce Manager, link your Catalogue to your Pixel so Meta can match site events (like ViewContent) to specific products in your feed. This is what makes Dynamic Product Ads work.
What you should have in place
Before moving to Module 3, make sure all of this is set up:
Business Portfolio owns your Page, Instagram, and Ad Account
Pixel installed and firing standard events
CAPI active via Shopify app or server integration
Product Catalogue synced and connected to your Pixel
Payment method added and matching your business details
Permissions locked down with 2FA on every admin account
Get it wrong and nothing downstream works. If you're unsure about Pixel + CAPI, book a call and we'll verify everything together.