Analytics & Tracking
Meta Pixel Setup Perth
I'm Brad Farleigh, a Perth developer who sets up and repairs the tracking that ad platforms depend on. Most "pixel problems" are not pixel problems. They are missing events, wrong values, duplicate fires or a consent banner quietly blocking everything.
Email hello@bradfarleigh.com or use the live chat. I don't take phone calls, so everything is in writing from the start.
What pixel setup actually involves
Installing the base code is the easy part. The work is in deciding what to send and making sure it arrives once, with the right values attached.
- One dataset, one owner. Your business portfolio owns the dataset, not an agency account you cannot access.
- Standard events that match your funnel. View content, add to cart, initiate checkout, purchase, lead. Not a wall of custom events nobody reports on.
- Values and currency on commerce events. A purchase event without a value teaches Meta nothing about revenue, and every ROAS number built on it is guesswork.
- Event IDs from day one. Even before server-side tracking exists, unique event IDs cost nothing and make deduplication possible later.
- Consent before the first fire. The pixel waits for advertising consent, and the banner is tested rather than assumed.
The events most stores get wrong
Purchases are the usual mess. A store fires purchase on the thank you page, the plugin fires its own purchase event, and a tag manager tag fires a third. Meta sees three sales for one order.
Leads have the same problem in a different shape. A form submits, the page reloads, and the event fires twice. Or the form is handled by a third-party script that never tells the pixel anything.
Both are fixable, and both are worth fixing before you spend more on ads.
When you also need the Conversions API
The pixel runs in the browser and cannot see what the browser blocks. If Meta's purchase count is well short of your actual orders, the Conversions API Gateway is the usual fix: the same events sent from a server, deduplicated against the browser ones.
You do not always need it. The diagnostic compares Meta, GA4 and your order data first, then tells you whether server-side events are worth the work.
If you sell products, the catalogue matters too
Pixel events and a product catalogue have to agree on product IDs. If the catalogue calls a product SKU-1042 and the pixel sends 1042-blue, Meta cannot match the view to the purchase, and dynamic ads underperform for reasons that look mysterious in the ads manager.
I set up and repair catalogues as a separate job: Meta product catalogue setup.
What usually goes wrong
- Duplicate purchase events from a theme, a plugin and a tag manager all firing.
- No value or currency, so revenue reporting is wrong by a fixed factor.
- Old pixel, new site. The base code survived a rebuild but the events did not.
- Consent banner blocks everything, including the events you thought were server-side.
- Test events pass, live fails. Usually an environment switch or a domain mismatch.
- Agency-owned dataset. You lose access and history when the contract ends.
What does it cost?
Every job starts with the diagnostic: a focused review of your current events against your real orders and enquiries, usually delivered within 3 business days. After that you get a fixed quote in dollars, not hours, and no GST is added. Work starts on a deposit.
There's more on how a job runs on Working With Me.
Why work with me
- 17+ years of web and analytics work, from Universal Analytics through to GA4 and server-side tagging.
- I audit the whole stack. Pixel, data layer, tag manager and server events get reviewed together, not in isolation.
- I build the sites as well as the tracking. WordPress, WooCommerce, Next.js and Payload, so the fix happens in the code rather than in a plugin stack.
- Diagnostic first. If the pixel is not the problem, you hear that before you pay for work you do not need.
- Remote and in writing. No phone calls.
Ready to fix your Meta tracking?
Email hello@bradfarleigh.com or use the live chat, and tell me what Meta reports versus what you actually sold. I'll book in the diagnostic.
FAQ
Do I need a new pixel if my old agency set one up?
Often yes, or at least a new dataset. The pixel usually sits in an account or business portfolio the agency controls, so you cannot see the events or keep the history if the relationship ends. Setting up your own dataset takes an afternoon and means the data is yours from then on.
What is a Meta dataset, and is it the same as a pixel?
Meta renamed pixels to datasets in Events Manager. A dataset holds the browser pixel, any server-side events and the settings that apply to both. You can have several pixels sending into one dataset, which is often how messy setups end up double counting.
Why does Meta report fewer purchases than my shop back end?
The browser pixel only sees events that reach it. Ad blockers, tracking prevention, cookie banners and checkout redirects all drop some. That gap is normal and it is what the Conversions API exists to close. The diagnostic measures the size of the gap before anyone changes anything.
Should I use standard events or custom events?
Standard events wherever one exists. Meta optimises and reports on them consistently, and the names are already understood by its systems. Custom events are for things Meta has no equivalent for, and they carry less weight.
Will fixing the pixel improve my ad results?
Better event data gives Meta a better picture of who converts, which usually helps delivery. It does not fix a weak offer, a bad landing page or a campaign aimed at the wrong audience. I fix measurement, not campaign strategy.
Does the pixel work with a consent banner?
It has to be configured to. The pixel should only fire after consent for advertising cookies, and your consent platform needs to control that before the first event goes out. Sending events early is a privacy problem, and Meta may disregard the data anyway.
Can you set it up on WordPress, WooCommerce or Next.js?
Yes. On WordPress and WooCommerce that is usually a tag manager container or a small plugin with server events wired in. On Next.js and Payload I place the events in the app itself, which gives cleaner values than scraping the DOM.
Do you manage Meta ads as well?
No. I set up and validate the tracking your ads rely on, including catalogues and the Conversions API. I do not run campaigns or manage ad spend.
How long does a pixel setup take?
A clean install on a small site is quick. Repairing years of inherited tags, duplicated events and missing values takes longer. The diagnostic gives you a real scope and a fixed quote before any work starts.