Perfect A/B Testing for Google Ads
Pay-per-click advertising, formerly known as PPC, is a key component of many online marketing campaigns. It is much easier than any other kind of A/B test. However, it is quite expensive. Therefore, you should test your ads regularly and make sure that you do not let any conversion slip. Perfect A/B testing for Google Ads includes:
Making decisions about what to test:
PPC testing kits help in testing four things:
The Headlines
This is that part that shows up as a link in search results, it should be short and have keywords. It appears in blue whenever someone searches for a particular keyword.
The Body
It describes what your page is all about. It gives searchers an idea about what you are offering, and the output they will get when they click your link.
The Link
Your ad link has a great impact on conversion as the ad itself. You should note that your ad should link to a landing page or a product page, not to your home page.
Keywords
Make a list of keywords or ad combinations that gets you the best results.
What are you testing?
A/B testing for PPC ads is done for various reasons. When people sign up for your newsletter using PPC, it can lead to more conversions down the road, particularly for higher-end products. You should make a clear decision if you are only going to focus on click-through or if you want to focus on the entire conversion process. For instance, some keywords have high click-through rates but low conversion rates. The reason behind it is that people searching using those specific keywords are not yet ready to buy and are only collecting information.
Track and analyze the results
Analyze your results correctly. First, how many click-throughs you are getting, and second, how many conversions do they lead to. If your click-throughs and conversion rate both are high, then you will get high ROI (return on investment).
In case you do not get high results, say if on one ad, there are a good number of click-throughs, but the other has a much higher conversion rate, then you should run more tests, and change the variables slightly until you find the best combination.
The consistency between your ad and the page searchers land on is essential. It can result in poor conversions and ads with a higher click-through rate.
Perfecting A/B testing for Google Ads
By following some of the simple guidelines, you can have better results for conducting A/B tests on your pay-per-click ad campaigns. These guidelines include:
- To minimize time-based factors, test your ad variations concurrently because these short time-based issues might alter your result.
- You can check what is affecting your ad success by testing only one thing at a time.
- Test frequently and early.
- Instead of following your gut instinct, stay glued to the hard data that you collect.
- Run your test from time to time and for a longer duration so that you can collect sufficient and detailed results. It requires only a few thousand impressions to get any data. However, you are paid when people click, not for the ideas.
Conclusion
For Google Ads, PPC testing is quite easy compared to other A/B testing. However, it does not mean that you should pay less attention into preparing and executing these tests.
