Have you ever placed a Facebook ad or set up a boost only for it to not be approved because your ad image is more than 20% text? It’s very frustrating, especially because often you don’t find out ’til many hours after you have submitted it. The best thing to do is be sure your ad images follow Facebook’s 20% rule before you press “publish.”
Now that’s kind of tough to estimate by eye, so Facebook has provided us with a tool that tells you exactly how much area your text covers and if it will be approved for an ad (or a boost).
Through trial and error I have discovered that if I just position it a certain way, I can use the text I want and still pass the test. Here’s an example:
I created this artwork on Canva, and then I tested it with Facebook’s tool. The text covered 24%…too much.
I went back to Canva and repositioned the text. I tested it again and voilà! Now the text covers less than 20% of the artwork. No problem for an ad.
Here’s the final image:
I can’t say if the 20% rule will apply forever, especially because this week I’ve seen an ad from Progressive (Flo…urgh) in the sidebar that definitely has more than 20% text. But for you, be safe and use the tool to test before you post, until further notice.
Here’s a tip: One of my colleagues, Mike Gingerich, has discovered that if your text fits into five or fewer boxes, then it passes the test, too.
Here’s the Facebook tool: I recommend that you bookmark it: https://www.facebook.com/ads/tools/text_overlay
Canva, my favorite tool for making great artwork for the web (and it’s free!).
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