What are lookalike audiences?
Nicklas Segatz Mortensen · Growth Hacker · Fractional CMO · Meta Ads Nerd · 8 July 2026 · 3 min.
Definition
A lookalike audience is an audience Meta builds by finding new users who statistically resemble a seed audience you provide — for example your buyers or your most valuable customers.
Also called: Lookalike Audience, LAL, Similar audience
Sådan virker det
En lookalike audience finder nye mennesker, der ligner dine bedste kunder. Du giver Meta et seed (fx købere eller høj-CLTV-kunder), og algoritmen udvider til et bredt, lignende publikum. Kvaliteten af seedet afgør kvaliteten af lookalike’en.
01The seed decides everything
A lookalike is only as good as the seed it's built on. Feed Meta all your visitors and you get a broad, blurry audience. Feed it your most valuable customers — high CLTV, repeat buyers — and the algorithm goes looking for more of exactly those people. The quality of the data in determines the quality of the audience out.
As Meta's broad automation (Advantage+ audience) has grown stronger, classic lookalikes are used less as hard targeting and more as a signal the algorithm can factor in. But a clean, value-based seed is still one of the best signals you can give it.
Frequently asked questions
What's the best seed for a lookalike?+
Your most valuable customers — high CLTV, repeat buyers, large orders — rather than all visitors. The sharper and more value-based the seed, the more precisely the algorithm hunts for similar people.
Are lookalikes still relevant with Advantage+?+
Yes, but more as a strong signal than as hard targeting. Meta's broad automation handles much of the expansion itself, but a clean, value-based seed helps it find the right people.
Related terms
Glossary
What are custom audiences?
A custom audience is an audience you build from your own data: customer lists, website visitors (via pixel/CAPI), app activity, video viewers or engagement on Meta.
Read the entry →Glossary
What is prospecting?
Prospecting is top-of-funnel advertising aimed at new, cold audiences that have had no prior contact with the brand. The purpose is to build awareness and win entirely new customers.
Read the entry →Glossary
What is CLTV?
CLTV (Customer Lifetime Value) is the total gross profit an average customer contributes across their entire lifetime as a customer — from first purchase to last.
Read the entry →
Nicklas Segatz Mortensen
Growth Hacker · Fractional CMO · Meta Ads Nerd at Oaksmond
Growth hacker and fractional CMO with 10+ years' experience and hundreds of millions in managed ad spend behind him. Background from larger Danish and international scale-ups, and from the agency world.
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