If you want to learn how to set up standard events and custom conversions in Facebook Pixel, the process starts in Meta Events Manager. Standard events let you track recognised customer actions such as PageView, AddToCart, InitiateCheckout and Purchase, while custom conversions allow you to define specific actions that may not fit neatly into the standard events. This tracking helps you understand what visitors do after clicking your Facebook or Instagram ads.

For an e-commerce website, simply knowing that someone visited your landing page is not enough. You also want to know whether they viewed a product, added it to their cart, started checkout or completed a purchase. The source material demonstrates this exact situation, where PageView was active but other valuable events were not showing.

What Are Facebook Pixel Events?

Facebook Pixel events are actions that happen on your website and can be tracked by Meta.

For example:

• Someone views a page.
• Someone adds a product to a cart.
• Someone begins checkout.
• Someone provides payment information.
• Someone completes a purchase.
• Someone registers for an account.

These actions give your advertising system more information about what people do after interacting with your ads.

The source explains that the Meta Pixel can track valuable actions people take on a website and allow advertisers to optimize campaigns around those actions.

Standard Events vs Custom Events

The difference is relatively simple.

Standard events

Standard events are recognised actions with established meanings.

Examples include:

• PageView
• AddToCart
• InitiateCheckout
• Purchase
• AddPaymentInfo
• CompleteRegistration

The source describes AddToCart as a standard event because adding an item to a shopping cart generally has the same meaning across typical e-commerce websites.

Custom events

A custom event is useful when the action you want to track does not correspond neatly to a standard event.

For example, a particular website may have a button called “Buy Now”, but clicking that button might actually take the visitor to checkout.

In the source example, the “Buy Now” action was treated as InitiateCheckout because that was what the button actually represented on that website.

The important principle is to track what the action actually means—not simply what the button is called.

Why You Need More Than PageView

PageView tells you that someone visited a page.

That’s useful, but it doesn’t tell you whether the visitor showed stronger buying intent.

Imagine 1,000 people visit your product page.

PageView can tell you about those visits.

But you may also want to know:

• How many added products to their carts?
• How many started checkout?
• How many provided payment information?
• How many completed purchases?

The source explains that PageView alone does not provide enough information about these deeper customer actions.

That’s why setting up appropriate events is important for conversion-focused advertising.

How to Set Up Standard Events in Facebook Pixel

Step 1: Open Events Manager

Start by accessing your Meta Events Manager and selecting the relevant Pixel.

The source demonstrates going to Event Manager and selecting the connected Pixel before setting up events.

Make sure you’re working with the correct Pixel.

Step 2: Check Your Existing Events

Before creating anything, check which events are already active.

You may find that:

PageView → Active

while other events such as:

AddToCart → Not showing

InitiateCheckout → Not showing

Purchase → Not showing

The source uses this exact type of situation as the reason for setting up additional events.

Don’t create duplicate events without first checking what’s already configured.

Step 3: Open the Event Setup Tool

From Events Manager, use the option to open the event setup tool.

The source demonstrates using the event setup tool and entering the website URL so the website can be opened for event configuration.

Depending on Meta’s current interface, the exact wording and location of these options may change.

Step 4: Enter Your Website

Enter the website you want to configure.

The event setup tool can then open the website so you can identify the actions you want to track.

The source demonstrates tracking events through either a button or a URL.

Step 5: Select the Button You Want to Track

Suppose you’re working with an online store.

You might have an Add to Cart button.

Select the button you want to track.

The source demonstrates selecting the Add to Cart button and assigning the AddToCart standard event to it.

Because AddToCart is a recognised standard event, Meta can understand what that customer action represents.

Step 6: Select the Appropriate Standard Event

Once you’ve selected the relevant button or action, choose the standard event that best describes it.

For example:

The source demonstrates mapping a Register action to AddPaymentInfo in one particular website workflow and mapping a purchase-related action to Purchase.

Always consider the actual customer action before choosing the event.

Step 7: Decide Whether to Include Value

Meta may ask whether you want to include a monetary value with an event.

For an AddToCart event, the source demonstrates choosing not to include a value because adding something to a cart does not necessarily represent a completed sale.

This distinction matters.

For example:

AddToCart: Customer intends to buy.

Purchase: Customer has completed the transaction.

The value associated with a purchase can be much more meaningful when calculating advertising performance.

How to Track InitiateCheckout

One of the most important events for an e-commerce business is InitiateCheckout.

Suppose your website has a button labelled:

Buy Now

But clicking it doesn’t immediately complete a purchase. Instead, it sends the customer to the checkout process.

In that case, the action may correspond more closely to InitiateCheckout.

The source demonstrates exactly this type of mapping, where the “Buy Now” button was treated as InitiateCheckout because clicking it moved the user toward checkout.

Don’t choose Purchase simply because the button says “Buy Now.”

Track the actual stage in the customer journey.

How to Track Purchase

The Purchase event should represent an actual purchase according to the website’s customer journey.

The source explains that a typical e-commerce purchase normally involves the customer using an online payment method and receiving confirmation or a receipt.

However, websites don’t all work the same way.

Some websites may use:

• Debit cards
• Credit cards
• PayPal
• Other online payment systems
• Forms
• Manual payment processes

Therefore, the event configuration should reflect what actually happens on your website.

What Is a Custom Conversion?

A custom conversion lets you define a conversion based on a specific action or condition that matters to your business.

This can be useful when the standard event options don’t fully describe what you want to measure.

For example, imagine you have a website where:

“Submit Application” = Completed application

There may not be a standard event that perfectly describes the action in your specific workflow.

A custom conversion can help you define the business action you want to measure.

The source distinguishes custom events from standard events by explaining that some websites require advertisers to define what actions such as “purchase” or “buy” actually mean for that particular website.

When Should You Use a Custom Conversion?

Consider a custom conversion when:

• Your website has a unique customer action.
• A standard event doesn’t accurately describe the action.
• You want to measure a particular page or action.
• You need to distinguish a specific conversion from other events.
• Your website’s buying process doesn’t follow a typical e-commerce structure.

For example, a property company in Accra might want to track:

“Book Property Viewing”

That action could be more commercially meaningful than simply tracking PageView.

A training company could similarly want to measure:

“Course Registration Submitted”

The key is to connect your tracking setup to an actual business objective.

Standard Events and Custom Conversions for Ghanaian Businesses

This setup can be particularly useful for Ghanaian businesses running Facebook and Instagram advertising to websites.

Imagine an online fashion store in Accra.

The customer journey might be:

Facebook Ad → Product Page → Add to Cart → Checkout → Payment → Purchase

Your tracking should ideally help you understand where customers are in this journey.

For a digital marketing training company, the journey might be:

Facebook Ad → Course Page → Registration → Payment → Enrollment

Different businesses have different conversion paths.

Your Pixel setup should reflect your actual customer journey rather than copying another company’s event structure.

Why Conversion Tracking Matters for Facebook Ads

If you only track PageView, you may know that people reached your website, but you have less information about what happened next.

With appropriate events, you can better understand customer behaviour.

For example:

100 people view a product

↓

25 add to cart

↓

12 begin checkout

↓

5 purchase

This gives you a much clearer picture of your funnel.

You can then investigate where potential customers are dropping off.

For example, if many people add products to their carts but very few complete checkout, the issue may not be your Facebook advert. The problem could be:

• Checkout experience
• Payment options
• Delivery costs
• Website speed
• Customer trust
• Product pricing

Good tracking helps you ask better questions.

Common Facebook Pixel Setup Mistakes

Tracking only PageView

PageView is useful, but it doesn’t capture the entire customer journey.

Choosing the wrong event

Don’t label every purchase-related button as Purchase.

Understand what happens after the click.

Creating unnecessary custom events

If a standard event accurately represents the action, use the appropriate standard event instead of creating a custom definition unnecessarily.

Ignoring the customer journey

Your event structure should reflect what customers actually do on your website.

Forgetting to test

After setting up an event, test whether it is actually being recorded.

Don’t assume that selecting an event automatically means everything is working perfectly.

How to Set Up Facebook Pixel Events: Quick Checklist

Before launching a conversion campaign, check:

• Your Pixel is connected to the correct website.
• PageView is working.
• Important customer actions are identified.
• AddToCart is configured where relevant.
• InitiateCheckout is configured where relevant.
• Purchase is configured correctly.
• Registration events are configured where appropriate.
• Custom conversions are used only where necessary.
• Event names accurately represent customer actions.
• Events have been tested.
• Your campaign is optimised for a meaningful conversion.

Final Thoughts

Learning how to set up standard events and custom conversions in Facebook Pixel is important if you want your Facebook and Instagram advertising to be based on meaningful customer actions rather than website visits alone.

Start with the customer journey.

Ask:

What happens after someone clicks my advert?

Then identify the important actions—from PageView and AddToCart to InitiateCheckout, AddPaymentInfo and Purchase.

Use standard events when they accurately describe the action. When your website has a unique conversion that needs a more specific definition, consider a custom conversion.

Most importantly, don’t track an action simply because its button has a familiar name. Track what the customer actually does.

The source demonstrates this clearly with a “Buy Now” button that represented InitiateCheckout rather than automatically being treated as a Purchase.

Need help setting up Facebook Pixel events and improving your Facebook and Instagram advertising?

GIET Worldwide can help you build a conversion-focused advertising setup that tracks the customer actions that matter to your business.

👉 Explore GIET Worldwide’s Facebook and Instagram Ads service or get professional guidance on setting up your campaigns, Pixel tracking and conversion strategy.

If you’re unsure which events your business should track, talk to GIET Worldwide about your customer journey and advertising goals.

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