💰 Launch Facebook Ads in GoHighLevel in Under 5 Minutes (Step-by-Step Guide)
Okay, so today's guide shows you how to launch Facebook and Instagram ad campaigns using GoHighLevel's integrated Ads Manager.
Facebook ads, IMO, are the best paid ads platform for local lead gen. They're particularly effective for services that cannot be instantly purchased online and have longer sales cycles. This includes professional services, property management, and local trades like HVAC and Roofing. Works exceptionally well for businesses with high customer lifetime value (over $500).
You can get seriously granular with zip codes, audience lookalikes, and demographic data. Extremely powerful. Even as ROAs have increased, Meta ads (FB + IG) are the best for finding and retargeting your leads.
Setting up ads usually is a PITA because the platforms have a ton of settings, and they take a lot of time. What I like about GoHighLevel is that they hide unnecessary settings. You'll be able to launch campaigns quickly. And they have a ton of templates you can use and a straightforward UI to make this much more intuitive.
Key Benefits
Simplified, User-Friendly Experience: GoHighLevel's Ad Manager is a much more straightforward and intuitive interface compared to Meta's own platform. It makes campaign setup infinitely easier. Everything from building out the landing pages in a drag-and-drop editor, creating lead forms, setting up the audiences, retargeting, conversion tracking, and more.
Direct Lead Integration & Automation: When someone fills out a Facebook lead ad, their data is instantly pulled into your GoHighLevel CRM. This means leads are automatically tagged and are sent automated follow-up messages, nurturing them, and eventually pushing them to book an appointment.
No-Code Conversion API (CAPI) Integration: This is huge! Pixel management and setup are not intuitive. GoHighLevel allows you to use the Facebook Conversion API (CAPI) within its workflow builder to send conversion data directly back to Meta. No coding or engineers needed. By feeding conversion data back to Meta via CAPI, you're training Facebook's algorithm to find more people who are "ideal" leads, based on your definition of a conversion. This feedback loop leads to a flywheel effect, continuously increasing lead quality and reducing costs. Thus lowering your costs and improving your conversion rate.
With a more straightforward setup that only focuses on the key drivers of success, you'll be able to move faster, achieve better conversion rates, and have more targeted reach.
Industry Use-Cases
Home Services: A local HVAC company running a Facebook lead generation campaign in HighLevel can set up custom audiences targeting homeowners who engaged with their Facebook page in the last 60 days.
Property Managers: A property management company can set up lookalike audiences based on their existing tenant list to find new prospective renters or OwnerClients. The lookalike audience is derived from existing tenants and clients, allowing you to target a similar demographic. Facebook is GREAT for this.
Vacation Rental Operators: If you are running ads or getting website traffic to specific property funnel pages built in GoHighLevel, you can set up retargeting on those website visitors who viewed properties but never ended up booking. Retargeting is a must-have in successful paid ads. Set up a 7-day window where you retarget website visitors who visit your highest value pages. You can do this so easily in HighLevel by setting up custom audiences for website visitors.
Targeting and Retargeting Strategically
Before getting started, you should know the 3 main ways of targeting on Facebook:
Custom Audiences: These are great for engaging people who already know your business. People who have visited your website, engaged with your Facebook page, submitted a lead form, or are on your customer lists. This leads to higher conversion rates.
Lookalike Audiences: This setting is super powerful for expanding your reach to new people who share similar characteristics with your existing best customers or highly engaged audiences.
Interest-based and behavior-based targeting: Great for finding people based on their location, demographics, interests, and online activities.
These settings are why Facebook is still excellent for local lead generation.
TOOL REQUIREMENTS
Here's the Breakdown & Tool Requirements:
GoHighLevel Account – All-in-one marketing platform for managing leads, CRM, funnels, and now, Facebook/Instagram Ads Manager.
Meta Business Manager Account – Required to manage your Facebook/Instagram pages, ad accounts, and collaborators. This is a free platform provided by Meta.
Meta Ads Account -- Used to create and manage ad campaigns.
Total cost: ~$100 per month + Ad Spend for GoHighLevel Ads Manager
Step 1: Connect Meta
First, get your Meta house in order:
Business Manager at business.facebook.com
Create an Ad Account inside Business Manager
Verify your domain (non-negotiable for iOS tracking)
Add payment method (they'll test charge $1)
Now in GoHighLevel:
Sub-account → Marketing → Ad Manager
Click "Connect"
Log in to Facebook
Select your Page and Ad Account
Common issues:
"Invalid permissions" = You're not an admin on the Business Manager
"No ad accounts found" = Create one in Business Manager first
"Connection failed" = Clear cookies, try incognito mode
Step 2: Build Your Campaign
2.1 Start Campaign
Click "Create Campaign"
Lead Generation: Uses Meta's instant forms. People never leave Facebook. Higher volume, sometimes lower quality.
Website Traffic: Sends to your landing page. Lower volume, usually higher quality.
For local businesses, I recommend starting with Lead Generation. You'll get data faster.
2.2 Placements
Keep it on "Auto" unless you have a specific reason not to. Meta's AI optimizes placement better than you can manually.
2.3 Create Your Ad
Primary text (keep it punchy)
Upload creative (image/video)
Clear CTA
Creative Tips:
Specific value prop upfront
Create urgency ("today only")
Use contrasting colors
Add captions to videos (most play silently)
Test multiple variations
Step 3: Audience & Budget
3.1 Budget
Set daily budget OR
Set total budget with start/end dates
Use Campaign Budget Optimization (CBO). This lets Meta distribute budget across ad sets
3.2 Geographic Targeting
For local businesses, you need to put in the exact zip codes. You can target "living in" vs "recently in" location.
3.3 Demographics
Age 22-45 typically converts best
Don't get too narrow unless necessary
3.4 Advanced Audiences
Custom Audiences:
Website visitors
Facebook page engagers
Lead form submitters
Takes 1-6 hours to populate
Lookalike Audiences:
Based on a custom audience or a Facebook page
0-1% = closest match
0-5% = good balance
Let the custom audience populate first before creating a lookalike
Step 4: Launch & Optimize
4.1 Review & Publish
Verify ad creative and copy
Double-check targeting settings
Confirm budget settings
Name your campaign something meaningful
Review all settings before publishing
4.2 Meta Review
All ads get reviewed. Takes 24-48 hours.
4.3 Ongoing Optimization
Test creatives constantly
Monitor thumb stop rate (below 10% = change the hook)
Watch CTR, cost per result, frequency
Kill underperformers fast
4.4 Workflow Integration
In GoHighLevel:
Automations → New Workflow
Add trigger: "Facebook lead form submitted"
Add filter for specific form
Trigger actions: emails, SMS, tasks, pipeline movements
Step 5: Conversion Tracking with CAPI
This is what most people forget. They launch ads without proper tracking. Here's how to set up the Conversions API to train Meta's AI on your actual conversions.
5.1 Create Your Facebook Pixel
First, you need a pixel to send conversion data back to Meta:
Open Facebook Ads Manager in a new tab
Click the menu (three horizontal lines) → Event Manager
Click "Connect Data Sources" → Choose "CRM"
Create a new pixel (name it something like "GoHighLevel CRM Pixel")
5.2 Connect CRM to Meta
Link your GoHighLevel account to your Meta pixel:
In Event Manager, go to your new pixel → Settings
Scroll to "Choose your CRM"
Type "Lead Connector" (this is GoHighLevel's name in Meta's system)
Select it and save
5.3 Set Up Lead Event Workflow
This workflow sends lead data to Meta when someone submits your form:
In GoHighLevel: Automations → Workflows → Create New
Trigger: "Facebook Lead Form Submitted"
Add filter for your specific form if needed
Action: "Facebook Conversion API"
Event Type: Lead
Connection Type: Ad Manager (if using Ad Manager)
Select your pixel from dropdown
Access Token: Get from Facebook Events Manager
Pixel ID: Auto-populated if using Ad Manager
Event Name: "Lead" (or custom name)
Add Lead Value (your average ticket price)
Save and Publish"
Step 6: Monitor & Adjust
In the beginning, don't touch anything. Let it run for at least 48 hours.
Day 3-7: Check these metrics:
CTR under 1% - Ad creative sucks. Change images around.
CPM over $50 - Audience might be too small or really competitive.
Cost per lead over $30 - I would check the landing page.
Week 2: Remove any ads that are not performing. Increase the budget on those that are converting.
Month 1: Test new audiences and offers.
The Bottom Line
Facebook ads through GoHighLevel remove 80% of the complexity while keeping 100% of the results. You focus on offers and creativity. The platform handles the technical nonsense.
Just start with one campaign. Put in a small budget. Start learning how it works.
I cannot reiterate this enough, though. Speed to lead!!!!! It is more important than the ads when it comes to local lead gen. For the ads, just put up a good offer with a good landing page. That part is really not hard.
Set up those automations to respond instantly. Your ROI on every lead will jump at least 25%. I know it works. The business that calls back in 5 minutes wins because the lead stops searching for another service provider. It is not a battle for the prettiest ads.
As always, hand this guide to your VA. It's written as a step-by-step SOP they can follow.
I hope this is thought-provoking!
Contact Us - GoHighLevel Virtual Assistants
Our GoHighLevel VAs help property managers, vacation rental operators, home service companies, coaches, and solopreneurs with local lead generation.
The team helps operators set up paid ad campaigns, automated outreach campaigns (Direct mail, Email, SMS, Voicemail Drops), set up workflows & automations, build smart websites, skip-trace homeowners, manage social media, and perform other digital marketing tasks.
Check us out: https://www.csoutsource.com/why-cs-outsource/
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