Marketers will only pay for clicks or taps that drive consumers to websites or apps.

Facebook Inc. is changing the way it charges marketers.

The social network has overhauled its definition of a click so that advertisers only pay when an ad drives users to a website or app. Facebook previously charged when users clicked to like, share or comment on posts.

The move aims to help marketers optimize their ad buys to a specific goal, such as driving traffic to an e-commerce site. That means a retailer who previously paid for ads designed to drive sales will no longer be charged when a shopper likes the ad but doesn’t click through to the site.

The change is the latest step by the social network to shift from a platform that advertisers use strictly for branding to one that drives a direct response, such as a shopper clicking to buy a product or install a retailer’s mobile app. While likes and shares are important, those actions are not most advertisers’ end goal, the social network writes in a blog post.

“Over the last few years, Facebook’s ad offerings have become increasingly tailored to helping advertisers meet specific business objectives,” the social network states in the post, which does not include the name of the author. “This update is part of that effort: It’s designed to provide measurement that’s more closely aligned with how advertisers are bidding so they can better optimize their campaigns against their stated goals.”

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The change may lead advertisers’ cost per click to rise, Facebook warns, before noting that those clicks also will be more valuable because Facebook will only charge for clicks that are in line with the advertisers’ objectives.

The new definition will help advertisers, says David Zelniker, product manager for digital marketing vendor Kenshoo Ltd. “This change allows our clients, focused on performance marketing, to pay for the action they care about most,” he says.

The change also aligns Facebook with industry standards, says Yaniv Makover, CEO of content marketing startup Keywee Inc.

“This is another step in Facebook’s move from a social platform measuring social clicks to a premium platform for advertisers,” he says. “By changing the CPC to this new definition, it is more aligned with the rest of the industry, and it shows that Facebook is confident it can deliver.”

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The social network says it will roll out the ad changes in the next few weeks.

 

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