Are Lookalike Audiences Still Effective in 2025?

Once upon a time, Lookalike Audiences were the holy grail of Facebook Ads.
You could upload a list of your best customers, set a 1% range, and boom — instant ROAS.

But a lot has changed.

iOS privacy updates, reduced signal accuracy, and Meta’s push toward broader targeting have left many advertisers wondering:

Are Lookalikes still worth using in 2025?

Let’s break down the reality — what still works, what doesn’t, and how smart advertisers are adapting their audience strategy today.

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What Are Lookalike Audiences (and Why They Were So Powerful)

Lookalike Audiences allow you to create a new audience of people who "look like" your existing customers based on behaviors, demographics, and interests.

You’d typically build them off a source like:

• Website purchases

• Email subscribers

• Add-to-cart events

• High-value customers (LTV lists)

And for years, this was a go-to for scaling cold traffic with low CPAs.

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What Changed?

In a word: data.

Thanks to:

• iOS 14.5+ privacy opt-outs

• Browser restrictions on cookies

• Users opting out of tracking

• Platform changes in how Meta collects and processes data

Your source data is less complete. And Meta’s ability to match that data to new users is weaker than it used to be.

The result?
Lookalikes built from weak or outdated sources no longer perform like they used to.

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Are Lookalikes Dead? Not Quite.

While Lookalikes aren’t the “silver bullet” they once were, they’re far from dead.

They just need to be used differently.

In our work at QuickAds’ Facebook Ads Agency, we’ve seen Lookalikes perform incredibly well — when paired with:

• High-quality source data

• Proper segmentation

• Fresh creative that speaks to the audience’s intent

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How to Make Lookalikes Work in 2025

Let’s get practical. Here’s how to build Lookalikes that still perform today.

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1. Use High-Quality, First-Party Data

Garbage in = garbage out.

Your source audience should be:

• At least 500–1,000 people

• Based on purchases (not just site visitors)

• Ideally filtered by high value (repeat buyers, LTV > ₹5,000, etc.)

Avoid using:

• Old pixel events from 2021

• Email lists full of non-buyers

• 1-day site visitors (too cold)

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2. Try Value-Based Lookalikes

Instead of just “people who bought,” Meta now allows value-based LALs — built off your top revenue-generating customers.

This tells the algorithm: “Find people not just likely to convert, but likely to spend more.”

Best for:

• High-ticket D2C products

• Subscription brands

• B2B lead generation with long LTV cycles

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3. Test Beyond the 1% Bubble

1% LALs are precise, but small. As you scale, go broader:

Important: broader LALs need better creative to catch attention and filter buyers from browsers.

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4. Pair With Broad Campaigns

Don’t put all your spend into Lookalikes. Pair them with:

• Broad interest stacks

• Advantage+ Shopping campaigns

• Dynamic creatives with modular copy

Then compare results week over week. Often, LALs convert better per click, while broad campaigns drive cheaper reach.

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Real Data: Lookalikes vs Broad in 2025

We recently ran a test for a custom furniture brand.

Key insight:
Lookalikes still win on ROAS — but require stronger signals and tighter creative match.

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How to Test Lookalike Audiences Without Burning Budget

Want to experiment without risking performance? Here’s how:

• Create a testing campaign with 3–4 ad sets

• Use same creative, CTA, and copy across all

• Test:

  • 1% LAL (purchases)

  • 3% value-based LAL

  • Broad interest stack

  • Advantage+ auto audience

Run them with equal budgets for 5–7 days.
Measure on:

• Cost per add-to-cart

• Cost per landing page view

• Cost per conversion (if volume is high enough)

Scale the winner. Rotate out the rest.

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When to Skip Lookalikes Entirely

There are situations where Lookalikes just don’t make sense:

• You’re a brand-new store with < 100 sales

• You’re targeting ultra-niche audiences (e.g. surgical devices)

• Your source data is weak, outdated, or poorly segmented

• You have zero access to first-party customer lists

In that case: broad targeting with great creative > shaky LALs.

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Final Thoughts: Lookalikes Aren’t Dead — They’ve Evolved

If you're relying on the same lookalikes you used in 2020, they probably don’t work anymore.
But that’s not Meta’s fault — it’s the ecosystem.

The advertisers winning in 2025 are the ones who:

• Update their source data regularly

• Pair LALs with creative that mirrors customer intent

• Combine lookalikes with broader, AI-optimized campaigns

• Track results in the context of a full funnel — not just front-end performance

Want to unlock new scaling potential using lookalikes, Advantage+ campaigns, and smart audience layering? QuickAds’ Facebook Ads Agency helps brands build performance-driven campaigns that adapt to Facebook’s evolution — not get buried by it.