If you’ve been checking the performance metrics associated with your Facebook advertising, you may have noticed a new number on the report. This is your relevance number, a digit between 1 and 10 that reflects Facebook’s estimate of how relevant your target audience will find your messaging. The higher your ad’s relevance score is, the cheaper it will become to have your ad delivered.

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It’s important to pay attention to the fact the relevance number is based on Facebook’s expectations, and not the actual performance of the ad. The relevance number is generated in two ways; in one, Facebook estimates how many actual conversions you’ll make as a result of your ad – the higher their estimate, the higher your relevance number will be, and the less you’ll pay. There’s a second method used to compute the relevance scores of brand building campaigns, apparently based on reach rather than conversions.

Relevance scores don’t matter if you’re paying for guaranteed reach and delivery; Facebook is going to honor their commitments and you’re paying a premium that excludes you from the relevance score issue. However, if you’re just buying advertising without paying for guaranteed reach and delivery the relevance score really does matter.

What’s frustrating right now is we don’t know how much it matters. Without seeing some numbers, it’s difficult to say what impact having a relevance score of 9 means to your advertising budget compared to a relevance score of 6. Facebook is touting the relevance tool as an effective way for marketers to test different campaigns, which could lead one to believe the cost impact would be relatively minimal – but we don’t know that for sure.

Facebook has cautioned that the relevance number is not meant to be the be-all, end-all of advertising metrics. If a campaign is delivering the results you’d like it to, there’s no reason to change it in hopes of achieving a higher relevance score. However, if you’re not seeing the results you’d like to, the relevance score may indicate where the problem is, giving you a starting point from which to adjust your campaign.

Watch for more information on the Facebook relevance score as we learn more and more about this tool and how it works. We’ll keep you posted so you can get the best possible results from your digital marketing campaigns.