How To Split-Run Test Your Ads

Successful advertising is a combination of art and science. One of the most common mistakes I see among new advertisers is that they seem to think that if they just throw up any old ad, people should begin flocking to their offer. When that doesn’t happen, they blame the advertising service, the company they’re advertising, their business partners, etc… Most of the time, they never really address the actual problem. The problem may very well be that the ad simply isn’t working and needs to be changed.

How can you tell if your ad is working? Ask yourself a few important questions:

Is your ad being placed in front of the right people?
If your company offers nutritional supplements, you want to be sure your ad is being put in front of people that have an interest in nutrition. The local pie eating group may not be the best place to advertise for your offer!

Is your ad being shown repeatedly to your market?
I watch a lot of people run an ad for a day or two, maybe a week. When they don’t see results right away, they give up. Think about the ads that you see over and over again? Why are those ads being repeated? If they weren’t making money for the advertiser, they would be gone. Repetition is a big key to advertising success.

If you can answer “yes” to these questions and your ad still isn’t producing solid responses, then the problem may very well be the ad itself. And this brings me to the point of this article which is:

How To Split-Run Test Your Ads

When it comes to text ads, there are basically 3 components:

1. Your Subject Line or Headline: This appears at the top of your text ad.
2. Your Ad Copy: This is where you describe your offer.
3. Your Call To Action: This is where you tell the reader what to do. For example: Click Below For Free Details.

Each of these 3 components needs to be tested thoroughly so that you can find the perfect combination to excite your prospects to click the ad so they go to your landing page.

What I would do is create 3 ads that have identical ad copy and call to action lines. The only difference between the 3 ads would be the Headline.

Then I would run the ads so that they are all 3 getting a good amount of exposure. You want to run at least a few thousand exposures on each ad before you start trying to analyze the results.

Then check the stats for all 3 ads. The one that has the most clicks is the winner. This tells you which headline is most effective. Let’s say Ad 1 has the winning headline.

Next, I would test the call to action.

Using the SAME 3 ADS, I would start by making sure that they all now have the effective headline. I would then create a new call to action for Ad 2 and Ad 3. (We already know Ad 1 was working better than the other 2).

Depending on your offer and your value proposition, your call to action might be variations of “Click to Learn More!”, “Click For Details”, “Click For Free Details”. “Click for Free Sample”, etc… whatever makes sense for your offer.

After running these new versions for a while, check your results. Again, the ad with the most clicks is the winner and that ad should be left as-is. Let’s say Ad 2 is the winner, this time. So we leave Ad 2 as it is and we change the ad copy for Ad 1 and Ad 3.

The changes may be dramatic or subtle. Run the new ads again. After a few thousands exposures on each one, you should be left with a clear winner.

What next? Delete the ads that aren’t as effective so that all of your exposures can be used on the ad that has proven to be the most effective!

Large marketing firms spend tens of thousands of dollars (or more) on split-run tests before they ever launch the full advertising campaign. With The Online Ad Network, you can run split-run tests for just $19.95 per month. At the end of the process, you will be left with the most effective ad you can create! That’s how successful advertisers get such great results! They are willing to go through the process of testing their ads.