Catalog Match Rate Checker for Meta (Pixel content_ids vs Catalog)

How to check your catalog match rate

A low catalog match rate means Meta can't find the products from your pixel events in your catalog, so Advantage+ catalog ads have less to work with. This checker compares the two lists using Meta's rule that the catalog id must exactly match the pixel's content_ids (product data specifications), and names the pattern that breaks it.

1. Add your catalog. Use the file your catalog is fed from, or an export of the items. The tool reads id and item_group_id, and optionally another ID column such as the SKU.
2. Add the IDs your pixel sends. Load an events export with a content_ids column (counts make the rate more accurate) or paste IDs copied from test events, the Pixel Helper or a dataLayer log.
3. Check the columns. Make sure the catalog id column is the one your catalog really uses as id.
4. Read the diagnosis. You get the match rate for your sample, the main reason IDs don't match, and the catalog id each wrong value should have been.
5. Download. Get the full report and a lookup table from sent ID to catalog id.

ID patterns that break the match

• Parent instead of variant — the pixel sends the product's group ID while the catalog lists each variant.
• Prefix formats — IDs like shopify_US_8012345678901_44012345678901 in the catalog, but only the variant number in the pixel.
• Another identifier — the pixel sends the SKU, the catalog uses a numeric ID, or the reverse.
• Small differences — capital letters, spaces, lost leading zeros, or an extra prefix on one side.
• Duplicate ids — Meta's catalog fields page says that when an ID appears more than once, all instances are ignored.

What to do next

1. Fix the main pattern first. It usually explains most of the gap. Change the pixel's content_ids or the feed's id so both use one format.
2. Check content_type. Send product with item IDs, or product_group with group IDs, as Meta's pixel reference describes.
3. Test one product. View a product page with Events Manager's test events open and compare the content_ids with that product's catalog id.
4. Check the connection. The catalog must be connected to the pixel or app that sends the events, or nothing can match.
5. Watch the trend. Re-check over the following weeks with fresh events from your pixel.

Catalog match rate problems in Meta's diagnostics

Meta's catalog diagnostics name these issues for events and catalogs.

“Catalog not connected to Meta Pixel or app SDK”

The catalog has no event source, so no event can match. Connect the pixel that runs on your site to the catalog.

“Invalid content IDs”

Meta's advice is to check that content IDs are formatted correctly with no extra numbers or symbols. That is exactly what the prefix, zero and spacing patterns above find.

“Missing content IDs”

Events arrive without any ID. Meta asks you to include one or more unique IDs for each item or product group in the code.

“Deleted items still interacting with website”

Shoppers still view products you removed from the catalog. Meta suggests adding them back to raise the match rate; the checker lists them as “not in the catalog”.

Catalog match rate 0 with variants

When every event carries the parent number and the catalog only has variants, nothing matches. Send the variant id, or send group IDs with content_type set to product_group.