---
title: Meta value rules — bid more for people worth more (instead of restricting targeting)
slug: meta-value-rules
summary: How to use Meta's value rules (Advertising settings → value rules → rule set; bid +X% by age, gender, location, placement, device…) to feed information Meta can't see — repeat-purchase rate, lead-to-customer conversion, LTV — instead of hard age/gender/placement exclusions, and the common mistake of copying data Meta already has.
domain: marketing
tags: [meta-ads, value-rules, targeting, bidding, ltv, lead-quality]
related: [meta-optimization-event-and-lead-quality, meta-targeting-broad-vs-interests, meta-strategy-by-spend-level, meta-audience-segments-and-remarketing, meta-new-account-low-volume-setup]
sources: [yt:6TRy9eUAPVg, yt:du6rDgRf06g, yt:S-F3yxya2WE, yt:Ha0gOItSZaU, yt:tcQ_1mm_bHU, yt:C0R5YJiWpig]
updated: 2026-10-24
---

# Meta value rules

## TL;DR
- Value rules tell Meta that certain audiences, placements or conversion locations are worth more or less to you. Meta adjusts bids, for example **+70% for age 35+**, without restricting delivery.[^1]
- **Use them only for information Meta can't see** (Ben Heath, Jon Loomer):
  - repeat purchases after the attribution window
  - lead-to-customer conversion rate
  - LTV differences between segments[^2][^3]
- **Mistake:** building rules from where your purchases or leads already come from. Meta sees that and already targets those people.[^2]
- **Use value rules instead of hard restrictions.** Loomer's list of fixes for proven problems: women buy but have lower LTV; 65+ subscribe but are low-quality leads; Audience Network sends cheap low-quality clicks. Restrict outright only for age-restricted products.[^4][^5]
- Base the percentage on **your own customer data**, not guesses. If a segment is worth 60% more, bid +60%.[^1][^6]

## Details
**Setup** (Ben's walkthrough, Aug 2026):
1. Go to Ads Manager → All tools → **Advertising settings** → *Value rules* → **Create a rule set**.
2. Pick criteria: audience (age, gender, location), placement, device or conversion location.
3. Set *increase/decrease bid by X%* and name the rule.
4. At the **ad set** level, under *Value rules*, select the rule set. You can apply different rule sets per offer, campaign or ad set.[^1][^7]

**Examples Ben gives:**
- 35+ converting from lead to customer at a higher rate
- women buying twice as often as men
- under-25s or a particular location with higher repeat-purchase rates
- one group converting from call to client at a higher rate[^3][^8][^9]

**When.** Ben places value rules in the $100K/month toolkit, because you need customer data to set them. Sophisticated advertisers "leave the rest of the targeting asset level alone and do it through this instead".[^6][^10] Loomer: they are rarely needed when optimising for a purchase, unless you have information Meta doesn't. You are deliberately changing bids in the auction, so prove the problem with breakdowns first.[^5][^11]

## Disagreements / caveats
- **How widely to use them.** Ben is enthusiastic; Loomer is cautious and prefers proof first. Both reject hard demographic and placement exclusions as the default fix.
- Value rules adjust bids, so they raise costs for the up-weighted segment. Check blended CPA and LTV afterwards.
- The interface path is from mid-2026 screen recordings and may move.

## See also
- [[meta-optimization-event-and-lead-quality]]
- [[meta-targeting-broad-vs-interests]]
- People: [[people/ben-heath]], [[people/jon-loomer]]

[^1]: yt:6TRy9eUAPVg @ 08:44 — Ben Heath
[^2]: yt:6TRy9eUAPVg @ 10:16 — Ben Heath
[^3]: yt:S-F3yxya2WE @ 13:37 — Ben Heath
[^4]: yt:tcQ_1mm_bHU @ 04:49 — Jon Loomer
[^5]: yt:Ha0gOItSZaU @ 02:21 — Jon Loomer
[^6]: yt:du6rDgRf06g @ 05:08 — Ben Heath
[^7]: yt:6TRy9eUAPVg @ 10:16 — Ben Heath
[^8]: yt:6TRy9eUAPVg @ 07:37 — Ben Heath
[^9]: yt:du6rDgRf06g @ 05:08 — Ben Heath
[^10]: yt:6TRy9eUAPVg @ 11:09 — Ben Heath
[^11]: yt:C0R5YJiWpig @ 03:23 — Jon Loomer