CBO (Campaign Budget Optimization) and ABO (Ad Set Budget Optimization) are two ways to manage budgets in Facebook Ads, each with its own characteristics. In practice, CBO is usually more effective for affiliate marketers.
Why CBO is Often Better
The main advantage is simple: if an app or ad gets banned, you can just create a new ad set, and the campaign-level optimization remains intact. With ABO, the optimization is tied to the ad set itself — if you duplicate it to a new app, you lose all previous learning.
CBO allows Facebook to collect data across all ad sets in a campaign, adjust audiences, and allocate the budget more efficiently. As a result, cost per conversion is often lower, and results are more stable over time.
Managing Non-Performing Ads
If you have enough ad sets and ads, don’t rush to turn off “unprofitable” ads. Facebook’s algorithm automatically identifies which creatives aren’t delivering results and adjusts spending accordingly. The same logic applies at the ad set level when campaign optimization is enabled.
When ABO Makes Sense
ABO is useful mainly for large-scale campaigns with big geos, where you want to manually control budget allocation. For smaller geos, it’s usually better to let the system optimize and focus on selecting effective creatives and strategies.
Practical Tip
Create 5–10 ads per ad set and use CBO. This approach balances control with efficient budget distribution.