Facebook Ads: Why Was My Ad Shown Next to This Content?

If you’re wondering why your Facebook ad appeared next to any specific type of content, the answer has to do with how Facebook delivers ads.

Ad Placement Is Influenced by Viewer Behavior

Facebook’s ad delivery system is dynamic. It places ads based on each individual user's browsing activity, searches, and engagement on the platform. That means the same ad may appear in very different contexts depending on who is seeing it. The content your ad appears next to is not explicitly determined by Adwerx or by your specific targeting choices—it’s shaped by the behaviors and preferences of the people viewing the ad.

Because of this, your ad may occasionally appear next to content that seems unrelated to your brand or messaging. This is a normal part of Facebook’s ad ecosystem.

Facebook Controls Content Placement—With Limited Advertiser Input

Facebook offers advertisers limited control over where ads appear, using a system of Inventory Filters with three settings:

Expanded Inventory (least restrictive)
Moderate Inventory
Limited Inventory (most restrictive)

These settings determine how sensitive the surrounding content must be. However, to deliver the impressions you’ve purchased and maintain campaign performance, Adwerx uses Facebook’s default setting for ad delivery.

Ensuring Maximum Impressions

To ensure optimal ad delivery, Adwerx uses Facebook’s default content filtering setting. We do not explicitly choose Expanded, Moderate, or Limited settings—this is determined by Facebook’s current platform default.

This default was updated by Facebook in early 2025 and may have impacted where your ads appeared:

Before February 2025: Facebook’s default was Moderate Inventory.
As of February 24, 2025: Facebook began changing the default to Expanded Inventory for many parts of their ad network. You can read Facebook’s announcement here.

As a result of this change, some ads delivered through Adwerx on Facebook are now shown using the Expanded Inventory setting.

Can I Request a Different Setting?

Yes. If you prefer your ads use the Moderate Inventory setting, we can update this on a request basis. Please reach out to your Adwerx account manager or contact our customer support team and we’ll be happy to assist.

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