You’ve gotten the website for your ecommerce business up and running, but you haven’t received much traffic or made many sales. When thinking about why that might be, you realize you don’t know how effective your marketing campaigns, including Facebook ads, are in driving potential customers to your site and business. You need a tool to track who is visiting and utilizing your web store.
Enter Meta pixel (formerly known as Facebook pixel), a tool for just this very purpose, as well as the Meta Pixel Helper (formerly known as Facebook Pixel Helper extension). These tools can help you navigate how to get the most out of your potential customers—here’s more about them and how to utilize Meta Pixel Helper.
What is Meta Pixel Helper?
Meta Pixel Helper is a web browser extension that scans websites for Meta pixel code so you can see if pixels are functioning correctly.
The Meta pixel is a short line of computer programming code that, if embedded in your website, allows you to track user activity. It can show you metrics like customer engagement, product views, add-to-cart events, and purchases. Meta Pixel can also track when a customer on your site performs an action such as clicking a button or viewing a video. This also applies to Facebook ads, so you can track whether a visitor to your site purchases a product after viewing or clicking on an ad, which can help you measure the effectiveness of your marketing.
Meta Pixel Helper is a troubleshooting plug-in solely for the Meta pixel, so you have to have the pixel embedded in your website in order to make use of Pixel Helper.
Key features of Meta Pixel Helper
One of the primary uses of Meta Pixel Helper is to check whether or not Meta pixel code is installed and active on a website, letting you properly track customer behavior. When pixel code is present, the Pixel Helper icon will turn blue and a small badge will appear indicating the pixel is active and tracking.
The other major feature of Meta Pixel Helper is it identifies whether you have incorrectly installed the pixel code. When the pixel is loaded and functioning properly, Meta Pixel Helper will display no messages. But if you get the message “Pixel Did Not Load,” this typically means pixel code is present on your site, but it contains an error. An error can be anything from a misspelling in the code itself to the tool counting duplicate site visitors. By clicking the “Pixel Did not Load” message, you can get more information about the error to help you resolve it and ensure the pixel is working and tracking properly.
The error “Pixel Activated Multiple Times” indicates you have multiple lines of pixel code on a single webpage (which can skew data collection results). The error “Product Catalog Not Paired” shows that the pixel was not properly connected to products on your site, so it couldn’t track purchases and conversions.
How to install and use Meta Pixel Helper
If you’ve ever downloaded an ad blocker or email extension to your web browser, you’ll be familiar with the process of Meta Pixel Helper setup. Otherwise, here are the quick-and-easy steps to install Meta Pixel Helper on your computer.
1. Download Google Chrome
The Meta Pixel Helper extension is currently only available on Chrome, Google’s web browser. To install Chrome, first download it from Google’s Chrome site. Make sure to choose the correct version for your system (Mac or PC) and follow the remaining prompts to get Chrome up and running.
2. Locate and download Meta Pixel Helper
You’ll need to download Meta Pixel Helper as an extension for the Chrome web browser. To do this, navigate to Chrome’s app store and search for Meta Pixel Helper. Click the Install button, which will import it for free directly into your Chrome application. Alternatively, you can also Google “Meta Pixel Helper” in Chrome, which will take you to the extension’s page, where you can download the tool.
3. Get started using Meta Pixel Helper
Once downloaded, Meta Pixel Helper will automatically appear as an “</>” icon to the right of your search bar. Clicking the icon will bring up a drop-down menu with information about the Meta pixel, such as whether it is running on the site you’re currently visiting, and whether any errors are present.
Common errors detectable with Meta Pixel Helper
Meta Pixel Helper can act as a troubleshooting tool by alerting you through icons when certain events aren’t being tracked properly, such as if Meta Pixel is counting customers’ actions twice. Some errors that may appear when you click the Meta Pixel Helper plug-in button in your browser include:
- The Not a Standard Event error. If you get this error, you should look into your event triggers (automatic triggers that measure when a customer takes an action such as adding an item to their cart) within your Meta pixel code to ensure they are all spelled correctly.
- The Pixel Activated Multiple Times and Duplicate Pixels Found errors. If you get these error, it means you have embedded Meta Pixel multiple times on a single page of your website. This could have happened when installing the code and building your site. Make sure you only have it embedded once so you get the most accurate data for your advertising campaigns and customer tracking.
- The Pixel Took Too Long to Load error. This will let you know if your Pixel code is improperly installed, such as being embedded too far down a webpage. If you receive this error, move the code up on your site so that the Pixel code loads more quickly and you don’t lose tracking and conversion numbers.
Meta Pixel Helper FAQ
Can Meta Pixel Helper detect and fix tracking errors?
Yes, the main function of Meta Pixel Helper (formerly Facebook Pixel Helper) is to monitor tracking errors stemming from the Meta pixel code. These errors include duplicate instances of the Meta pixel on your site, an invalid Pixel ID, and the Meta pixel not loading properly.
Are there any privacy concerns or compliance considerations when using Meta Pixel Helper?
As with any user data collection tool, it’s important to inform visitors to your site what information is being gathered and allow them to opt out, if necessary, via a pop-up form. You will need to comply with data privacy laws protecting consumers from companies selling their data, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the EU or the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in California. Meta Pixel Helper itself does not gather any user data.
Does Meta Pixel Helper integrate with other analytics platforms?
No, Meta Pixel Helper does not integrate with other analytics platforms.
Is it possible to customize pixel events using Meta Pixel Helper?
No, it’s not possible to customize single pixel events using Meta Pixel Helper. In order to do that, you would have to modify the pixel coding itself.
How can I uninstall Meta Pixel Helper?
You may want to uninstall Meta Pixel helper if your Meta pixel tracking is working without issue and you have no need to troubleshoot the system. If you wish to uninstall Meta Pixel Helper, type “chrome://extensions” into your search bar. Then, under Meta Pixel Helper, click the Remove button. Click Remove again to confirm. Alternatively, click the three dots button in the top right hand corner of your Chrome browser, then click More Tools, followed by Extensions. Once you’re on the Extensions page, click Remove under Meta Pixel Helper.
