Split-Test AdWords Ads for a Higher CTR

Running Two Ads at Once Guarantees a Better CTR & a Lower CPC

Oct 22, 2009

Split-testing ads through Google AdWords will improve click-through-rates and lower the cost per conversion for any AdWords campaign.

Split-Testing two Google ads in the same AdWords campaign, a process that takes only a few minutes a day, can make a huge difference in an ad's CTR (click-through rate) and the cost of each conversion that the ad produces.

Google offers discounts on bid prices to ads with higher CTR. It's the reward system at its finest. By writing better ads, they will appear higher on search results without any increase in the bid price.

Split-Testing Google Ads Is Simple and Takes Less Than Five Minutes

To split-test two ads in a Google campaign, first create a campaign and write two different ads that use similar keywords but are slightly different from each other.

By default, AdWords will display the ad with the better click through rate more often than the one with the inferior one. However, this setting can be changed by following these steps:

Now AdWords will disregard the performance of each ad and show each an equal number of times. Now how does this translate into higher CTRs and lower costs per conversion?

Achieve Higher CTRs and Lower Costs Per Conversion by Split-Testing Ads

To achieve the highest CTR possible, always run two similar ads at the same time. Make sure the AdWords software is set to show each ad an equal number of times, and then let the ads run for a few days.

Once each ad accrues around 50 clicks, look at the statistics for both of them side by side. Some people wait for 100 clicks each, and while a larger sample enhances the reliability of the statistics, waiting for that many clicks can waste valuable time that could be better spent running more ads.

There is an effective tool at SplitTester.com that will calculate the odds that the winning ad won by pure dumb luck or actual statistical superiority.

Go to the campaign tab and click the ad tab and look at the CTR and the Cost Per Conversion (Cost/Conv) of each ad. If the Cost Per Conversion information is not displayed, then the Google Tracking code is not installed in the ad's landing page.

Choose the Better Ad, Delete the Inferior Ad, and Write a New One

Once this is done, look at the two ads. Whichever one has the higher CTR is the better performing ad. Keep that one, delete the other one, and write a new one to compete with the previous winner. That's it.

Some people base their decision solely on the respective CTRs of the ads. An experienced advertiser will also look at the cost per conversion, since this shows how much money is spent for each sale the ad generates.

There is another method of split testing that involves running tests with multiple copies of a campaign's top performing ad along with a new ad to neutralize the advantage an existing ad has by way of its performance history and produce more objective results. To learn how to run this kind of split test, read Stop Split Testing AdWords Ads the Wrong Way.

There are many online resources that delve deeper into some of the more intricate aspects of slit-testing. These resources help fine tune an ad campaign and an experienced advertiser would do well to utilize them.

AdWords Rewards Higher CTRs with Higher Ad Placement

If an ad has a higher CTR than competing ads, the AdWords software automatically gives it a higher ad placement without any increase in its CPC. It does this because not only does the advertiser make more money with better ads, Google does also.

Each ad variation should be saved so previous mistakes are not repeated. Writing the same ad twice is nothing but a waste of time. Keep writing new ads to replace inferior ones, and over time the CTR of the winning ads will rise and the cost per conversion will fall.

Sources

Split-Test AdWords Ads in 2 Minutes or Less. 22 Oct 2009. www.netbusinessblog.com/split-test-your-adwords-ads-in-2-minutes-or-less/

Perry Marshall and Brian Todd. Ultimate Guide to Google AdWords. Canada: Entrepreneur Media, Inc., 2007.

The copyright of the article Split-Test AdWords Ads for a Higher CTR in SEO Tools is owned by Matthew Miller. Permission to republish Split-Test AdWords Ads for a Higher CTR in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.