How does the Meta ads auction work?
Short answer
Each time Meta can show an ad, it runs an auction. The winner is the ad with the best mix of bid, predicted action rate and ad quality, not simply the highest bid.
Meta describes the auction as choosing the ad that creates the most value for both the advertiser and the person seeing it. In practice, that means your bid, how likely the person is to take the action you are optimising for, and the quality of the ad all count.
Because millions of advertisers compete, prices respond to demand. When many brands target the same audience, the cost to reach it rises.
Pomera takes a different approach: a fixed rate per 1,000 verified views. See why Meta costs rise during Diwali.