Day 211: Meta Wasted £648 Targeting the Wrong Country.

Sometimes the biggest lessons on this journey don't come from smart decisions — they come from the platform you trust with your money making decisions that defy all logic.

That's exactly what happened between 27th and 30th March, and it's cost me dearly.

Key Takeaways

- Meta redirected 42% of my ad budget to South Africa — a market that generates less than 0.5% of my sales over the last three months.

- The CPM for South Africa was £126, compared to just £3.69 for the US — 36 times more expensive for a market with virtually no return.

- I spent over £648 targeting South Africa and made zero sales from it, resulting in a catastrophic few days for my March figures.

- Meta's response? The ads delivered as expected and everything is working as it should. No refund, no acknowledgement of the issue.

What Triggered the Problem

It started when I duplicated an ad set to introduce some new creative into the mix.

That should be a routine move — something most Facebook advertisers do regularly.

But for reasons I still can't fully explain, that action caused Meta's algorithm to completely shift its targeting and budget allocation strategy.

Instead of continuing to focus on the audiences and markets that have been delivering results, Facebook decided to redirect almost half of my entire ad budget toward South Africa.

Why South Africa Makes No Sense as a Target

Let me give you the full context here. Over the last six years and more than 10,000 purchases, South Africa has accounted for just 1% of my total sales. And looking more specifically at the last three months, it's less than half a percent.

So for Meta to decide that 42% of my budget should go toward a market responsible for under 0.5% of sales is not just puzzling — it's indefensible. There is no algorithm logic that should arrive at that conclusion.

The CPM Numbers That Tell the Real Story

Here's where it gets even more staggering. The CPM (cost per thousand impressions) Meta was charging me to target South Africa was £126.13. My typical CPM for targeting the United States — the most competitive English-speaking market in the world — is £3.69.

That means Meta was charging me 36 times more to reach audiences in South Africa than in the US. Not 36% more. Thirty-six times more. And they were doing this with 42% of my total budget.

The Financial Damage to March

Between 27th and 30th March, I spent £648.92 targeting South Africa and generated zero sales from that spend. During those same days, my total sales dropped to around $143–$145, meaning I brought in roughly $250 in sales while spending well over $1,000 on ads.

It's gutting. March has been a month where I've genuinely put in the work, and to see the figures decimated by something completely outside my control is deeply frustrating.

My Conversation With Meta Support

I reached out to Meta this morning hoping for at least some acknowledgement that something had gone wrong. The conversation is ongoing, but their current position is clear: "The ads have been delivered and everything is working as it should."

That's their final answer. No refund offered, no investigation into the CPM anomaly, no explanation for why South Africa was prioritised. Just a blanket statement that the platform did its job.

I find that quite appalling, frankly — but I also know that's the reality of what we're dealing with when we rely on Meta's infrastructure.

What I've Done to Stop the Bleeding

The immediate fix was straightforward: I've now explicitly excluded South Africa from my targeting to ensure the algorithm can't repeat this. It's frustrating that I even have to do this manually, but it's the only lever I have available right now.

I'm also keeping a close eye on today's performance to see whether things start to stabilise and recover now that the targeting is corrected.

Performance Snapshot

- Ad spend on South Africa (27–30 Mar): £648.92

- South Africa CPM: £126.13

- US CPM (normal): £3.69

- Sales during that period: ~$143–$145 per day

- South Africa sales generated: £0

- Estimated total wasted spend: $1,000+

What's Coming Next

Despite how difficult these past few days have been, we keep moving. I'm working on a new landing page with a fresh hook concept that I'm genuinely excited about, and I plan to share that with you around Thursday.

The March summary is coming in the next couple of days too — it won't be the prettiest picture given what's happened, but transparency is the whole point of this journey. You'll see all of it, good and bad.

Closing Reflection

This is one of the harder posts to write, because this loss wasn't the result of a bad creative decision or a poorly structured funnel — it was the platform behaving in a way that makes no logical sense and refusing to take any accountability for it.

That's a risk we all carry when we run paid ads.

What I can control is how I respond: tighten the targeting, keep testing, and build toward something more resilient. We've come 211 days on this journey and we're not stopping now.

Resources & Next Steps

Free Top 10 Split-Tests: https://www.jonathanhowkins.com/split-testing

Join the Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/coursecreatorads

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