If you’ve ever tried scaling Meta Ads with a decent-sized budget while juggling multiple audience segments, you’ll know it’s not as straightforward as Meta’s dashboard makes it look. Middle of the Funnel (MOF) and Bottom of the Funnel (BOF) audiences are crucial to converting prospects into customers – but getting the structure right can feel like spinning plates.

Here’s the thing: Meta’s optimisation doesn’t always play nicely when you break out campaigns by detailed audience segments. But there’s a way to harness its strengths while maintaining control – and it starts with thinking like a strategist, not just a media buyer.

Let’s talk about the Hybrid CBO & ABO approach – a framework we’ve used across multiple client accounts to drive better data, better decisions, and ultimately, better results.

The Common Challenge: Segmented Audiences vs Meta’s Optimisation System

It’s a balancing act. You want to segment your MOF and BOF audiences (think: product page viewers, add-to-carts by value, past purchasers, newsletter subscribers, etc.) to serve hyper-relevant creatives and messaging. But Meta’s Campaign Budget Optimisation (CBO) doesn’t always allocate spend evenly across ad sets. That often means some high-potential segments don’t get the attention they deserve.

The result? A campaign that feels underwhelming – not because the audience isn’t right, but because the structure’s off.

The Smarter Play: Hybrid CBO & ABO Campaign Structure

Here’s the structure we recommend when you’re working with segmented MOF/BOF audiences and want to make the most of your budget.

1. Start with CBO to Gather Data Fast

Kick things off with a CBO campaign. Group your MOF and BOF segments into separate ad sets – for example:

• Viewed Product A
• Abandoned Cart – High Value
• Added to Wishlist
• Past Purchasers in the Last 30 Days

This phase is all about discovery. Let Meta’s algorithm run with it and do what it does best – collect engagement and conversion signals at speed. It’s the quickest route to understanding which audience segments are engaging, converting, and scaling well. Plus, you’re less likely to get stuck in the dreaded ‘Learning Limited’ status.

Pro Tip: Set minimum spend limits on very warm audiences (like recent purchasers or high-value abandoners) to make sure they’re not underfed by Meta’s automation.

2. Analyse Performance and Spot the Winners

After a decent amount of spend – usually 3-5 days depending on volume – dig into the data. You’ll often find that one or two segments are outperforming the rest. Maybe your high-value cart abandoners are driving cheap conversions, or your product-specific page viewers are smashing CTRs.

Whatever the insight, this is where you move from reactive media buying to proactive strategy.

3. Shift to ABO for Granular Budget Control

Now it’s time to double down. Spin out an ABO (Ad Set Budget Optimisation) campaign and take the top-performing segments from your CBO test. Allocate budgets manually to each ad set based on what the data tells you.

This gives you total control over where your money goes – and it ensures no high-intent audience gets overlooked due to Meta’s algorithm favouritism.

At the same time, you can keep testing other segments under a separate CBO campaign, feeding the funnel with fresh data without interfering with your scaled performers.

Why This Approach Works

You’re combining the best of both worlds:

Speed and Efficiency (CBO)

• Ideal for getting campaigns out of the learning phase quickly
• Allows Meta to surface high-performing segments rapidly
• Low effort, high insight at the start

Control and Precision (ABO)

• Gives you manual control over budgets once you’ve identified winners
• Enables more strategic testing and scaling
• Avoids wasting spend on underperforming audiences

Instead of choosing between CBO or ABO, the hybrid method lets you use both exactly where they shine.

What to Watch For

• Keep Monitoring Performance: CBO is dynamic, but that doesn’t mean it’s always right. Keep an eye on spend distribution and performance across ad sets.
• Adjust Budget Caps as Needed: Particularly in ABO campaigns, don’t just “set and forget” – reallocate budgets as new data comes in.
• Creative Alignment Matters: If you’re segmenting your audiences, make sure your creatives and messaging speak directly to where those users are in the funnel. It’s not just about structure – it’s about relevance.

Rounding UP: Campaigns That Learn and Earn

If you’ve ever felt like your Meta campaigns are under-delivering despite solid audience segmentation, the problem might not be your targeting – it might be your structure.

This hybrid CBO/ABO strategy gives you the agility to explore and the precision to scale. It’s not just theory – we’ve seen this approach cut CPAs by up to 30% in some of our ecommerce accounts, while improving ROAS and conversion rates across the board.

Running large-scale paid campaigns means thinking like a pilot: automate what can be automated, but always keep your hand on the controls. This is one of those frameworks that allows you to do both.

Have you tried blending CBO and ABO? We’d love to hear what’s worked (or not) for your campaigns.