Event Match Quality (EMQ): What It Is and How to Raise Your Score

What Is Event Match Quality?

Event Match Quality (EMQ) is a Meta metric (scored 0-10) that indicates how effectively Conversions API events can be matched to Meta user accounts. A higher EMQ means more of your server-side events are successfully attributed to Meta users, enabling better ad delivery optimisation and more accurate conversion attribution.

EMQ is visible in Events Manager → your Pixel → the "Match quality" column for each event.

How Meta Matches Events to Users

Meta uses "customer information parameters" — hashed personally identifiable information — to match your CAPI events to Meta user accounts. The more matching signals you provide, the higher the match rate:

Steps to Raise Your EMQ Score

1. Send Email and Phone (Top Priority)

Email is Meta's strongest matching signal. If your ecommerce or lead form collects email, pass it with every purchase or lead event. Hash it with SHA256 before sending:

import hashlib
hashed_email = hashlib.sha256("user@example.com".lower().strip().encode()).hexdigest()

In PHP:

$hashed_email = hash('sha256', strtolower(trim($email)));

2. Pass Both _fbc and _fbp Cookies

The _fbc cookie (Facebook Click ID) is set when a user arrives via a Meta ad. The _fbp cookie is Meta's browser identifier. Both improve matching significantly. Capture them in the browser and pass to your server with the purchase data.

3. Include Name and Address

First name, last name, city, and postal code from the shipping address improve matching even further. These are typically available on the order confirmation page.

4. Send External ID

The external_id parameter (your internal user or customer ID, hashed) is a stable identifier Meta can use across events from the same user. Pass it if you have authenticated users.

EMQ Score Benchmarks

• 7-10: Excellent — most events are being matched successfully
• 5-6: Good — passing email and/or phone but missing some signals
• 3-4: Fair — limited customer information, likely missing email/phone
• 0-2: Poor — only passing IP and user agent, minimal matching

Summary

EMQ score is directly tied to how much customer information you pass with each CAPI event. Email is the single highest-impact parameter — passing hashed email alone typically moves EMQ from 2-3 to 6-7. Add phone, name, address data, and the _fbc/_fbp cookies to reach 8-10. Higher EMQ means better conversion attribution and more efficient ad delivery.

See our Facebook CAPI Setup service for EMQ optimisation.

Need to improve your CAPI Event Match Quality? Contact Adslytics.