Optimization Events

Landing Page Views Optimization vs ThruPlay Optimization: Page Loads or Video Watch Time

In short: Both are cheap, high-volume options used before real conversion data exists, but they optimize toward opposite kinds of behavior. Landing Page Views, in the Traffic objective, predicts who will click a link and wait for a page to load; ThruPlay, in the Engagement objective, predicts who will keep watching a video, with no click or website required at all. Landing Page Views needs a webpage and a link-based ad format; ThruPlay needs only a video and never leaves Meta's apps. Use Landing Page Views when the point of the campaign is actually getting someone to a webpage, and ThruPlay when the point is testing or building attention around video creative itself.

By the AdFlint research team · Fact-checked against current Google and Meta platform behavior · Last reviewed July 2026

Landing Page Views Optimization

Tells Meta to find people likely to actually load your page, not just tap the ad and abandon it mid-load.

The pixel fires only once the destination page finishes loading, so Meta learns to avoid accidental and impatient clicks. Advertisers reach for it when a site is slow, or when conversions are too sparse to optimize on directly but link clicks are producing junk traffic. The common error is stopping here permanently, since it optimizes for page loads, which still correlate weakly with revenue.

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ThruPlay Optimization

Buys video views that run to completion, or to at least fifteen seconds on longer cuts, instead of counting brief glances.

Meta charges on impressions but delivers toward users predicted to watch through, which filters out feed scrollers. It fits awareness, brand storytelling, and creative testing where watch depth is the signal you care about. The misread is treating ThruPlays as intent. A completed view costs little and predicts almost nothing about purchase, so never judge a conversion campaign by video metrics alone.

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Side by side.

The differences that actually change what happens in your account.

 Landing Page Views OptimizationThruPlay Optimization
What has to happen for the event to fireThe destination page finishes loading after a click.A video plays through, or reaches fifteen seconds on longer cuts - no click required.
Objective it lives underTraffic objective, alongside Link Clicks.Engagement objective, alongside video and messaging goals.
Creative it requiresAny format with a link - image, carousel, or video.Video only - there is nothing to watch through otherwise.
Does it need a websiteYes, always.No - it is a fully on-platform behavior.
What Meta predictsWho will click and wait for a page to load.Who will keep watching a video rather than scroll past.
Best fitAny campaign whose real goal is a webpage visit, even pre-conversion.Brand storytelling, awareness lifts, and creative watch-through testing.
Failure modeJudging awareness campaigns by page loads undersells video-only creative that never asked for a click.Judging a conversion campaign by ThruPlay counts, a cheap, high-volume metric with no bearing on sales.

What actually separates them.

01

ThruPlay optimization requires video creative and cannot run at all on static image or carousel ads, while Landing Page Views works across any format that carries a link.

02

ThruPlay never requires a person to leave Meta's apps, so it can succeed completely independent of your website's speed, design, or existence; Landing Page Views fails entirely if the page is slow or broken.

03

The two events measure orthogonal behaviors - watching versus clicking-and-loading - so a creative that wins on ThruPlay can underperform on Landing Page Views and vice versa, and neither predicts the other.

04

Billing is impression-based for both, but the prediction target differs enough that switching a campaign's optimization from one to the other can change which people see the ad, even with identical creative and audience settings.

05

ThruPlay data is most useful paired with a separate conversion test, since watch-through alone cannot validate that a video sells; Landing Page Views at least confirms the destination works, a smaller but real piece of funnel validation.

Which one should you use?

Use Landing Page Views Optimization when

  • Your real goal is getting a person to a specific webpage, even one that is not yet a conversion event.
  • You are running static image or carousel creative with no video to test.
  • You need the visit to happen off-platform so you can measure it with your own site analytics.
  • You are validating that a new or redesigned page loads well and holds people once they click.

Use ThruPlay Optimization when

  • You are testing whether a video creative holds attention before spending on a conversion campaign built around it.
  • Your goal is brand storytelling or awareness lift, not an immediate click or visit.
  • You do not need or want the viewer to leave Meta's apps at all.
  • You want a cheap, high-volume signal on which cuts of a video people watch through.

Common questions.

Can I optimize for ThruPlay and still send people to my website?

Yes, you can add a link or CTA to a ThruPlay-optimized video ad, but Meta is still delivering to people predicted to watch through, not to click. Expect lower link-click and landing-page-view rates than a campaign actually optimized for those events.

Why is my ThruPlay cost so low compared to my conversion campaigns?

Watching a video through is a far easier, more common action than clicking to a site or converting, so the algorithm has a much bigger pool of qualifying users to buy cheaply. Low ThruPlay cost says nothing about purchase intent.

Should I use ThruPlay data to judge if my ad creative will convert?

Use it only to judge whether the creative holds attention, not whether it sells. Pair a ThruPlay test with a separate conversion-optimized test before drawing conclusions about performance.

Or stop choosing between them.

AdFlint picks the setting, writes the ads, and keeps optimizing inside the Google and Meta accounts you already own.

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