ABO vs. CBO: The Official Scaling Protocol (2025)

Executive Summary

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ABO (Asset Budget Optimization): Use this for TESTING. It forces spend into new creatives to prove they work.
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CBO (Campaign Budget Optimization): Use this for SCALING. It allows Meta's AI to allocate budget to the highest performing ad in real-time.
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The Workflow: Graduate winning ads from ABO -> CBO. Never test inside a scaling CBO.

A common mistake we see in audits: Founders running CBO campaigns with 50 different ads inside. The algorithm will only spend on the one ad it "likes," starving the others. You aren't testing; you are gambling.

Phase 1: The ABO Laboratory

When you launch a new concept (e.g., a new video angle), you need to force the system to spend money on it. If you put it in a CBO against a proven winner, the winner will eat all the budget.

The ABO Testing Structure

Campaign Objective: Sales (Conversions).
Budget Type: Ad Set Budget (ABO).
Budget Amount: 1x your Target CPA per Ad Set.
Ad Sets: 1 Ad Set per Creative Concept (Broad Targeting).
Ads: 3 variations of that concept (3:2:2 Method).

The 48-Hour Kill Rule

Do not get emotional. Math decides.

If Spend > 1x CPA and 0 Sales: KILL immediately. The creative failed.
If Spend > 1x CPA and 1+ Sale (Profitable): Let it run another 24h. It might be a winner.
If Spend > 3x CPA and ROAS < Target: KILL. It is too expensive.

Phase 2: The CBO Scale Campaign

Once an ad proves itself in the ABO (it has sales and good CPA for 3-5 days), you duplicate it into your "Scaling CBO" campaign using the "Post ID" method to keep the likes and comments.

Why CBO for Scaling? Because ad performance fluctuates daily. On Tuesday, Ad A might be best. On Wednesday, Ad B might be best. CBO auto-adjusts the budget hour-by-hour to capture the cheapest conversions. Humans can't react that fast.

The Graduation Phase: Moving Ads

This is the most critical step. How do you move an ad without breaking it?

Identify the Winner: Look for an ad in ABO with >3 purchases and ROAS > 3.0.
Get Post ID: Go to "Page Posts" -> "Ad Posts". Copy the ID.
Duplicate to CBO: Go to your CBO Campaign. Create new Ad. "Use Existing Post". Paste ID.
Pause ABO? NO. Keep the ABO running as long as it is profitable. Now you have two streams of income from the same ad.

Advanced: Cost Caps vs. Bid Caps

Once you are spending >$500/day, you can start using Manual Bidding.

Lowest Cost (Default): "Spend my budget no matter what." Good for consistency.
Cost Cap: "Only spend if you can get me a sale for under $20." Good for protecting profit, but spend might stop.
Bid Cap: "Don't bid more than $30 in the auction." Advanced tool for bullying competitors.

Horizontal vs. Vertical Scaling

Vertical Scaling: Increasing the budget of the CBO by 20% every 2-3 days. This is the safest method. If you scale more than 20%, you reset the "Learning Phase."

Horizontal Scaling: Creating new CBOs for different offers or countries. Do not overcomplicate it. Vertical scaling usually wins until you hit $5k/day.

Sources & References

1. Meta Blueprint. "Power5 Framework: Simplified Account Structure."
2. Charley T. "Disrupter School: The 3:2:2 Method."
3. Meta Engineering. "Liquidity and the Value of Automation."