5 Elements to Starting A/B Testing on Your Google Ads

We’ve all heard of the importance of testing ad copy (also called split testing), but what do you actually test? The purpose of a creative test is to improve conversion rates by trying out different versions of your ads to find one that works better than the the other. Once you figure out what works, you can try different versions of it.

We found that Flowin.so wrote a great article on the subject of creative testing in digital advertising, but the following article will be focused on the specific elements to test.

To help you in your upcoming creative tests, here are five ad elements you should test in every single Google ad marketing campaign you’re currently running:

1. Call To Action

Every ad has a call to action. Whether it’s a button to click on, a number to call, or a form to fill out, there needs to be a clear call to action. Without one, your ad won’t perform well.

Test your CTA. Is there a better wording? Do people notice it more than others?

2. Headline

A headline is the first thing people see in an ad. If it doesn’t grab attention right away, then people may skip over your ad. Make sure your headline stands out. Be specific and use keywords.

Test your headline. Does it stand out? Can people understand it easily? CTAs and headlines are the two elements that will have the largest impact on your ads’ performance.

You’ll notice that when testing different headlines, the results will fluctuate a lot more than when testing different body copy. This is normal and simply has to do with the fact that the audience will not always notice the difference in ads if they are very minor. On the other hand, a different headline will always be noticed.

3. Body Copy

Body copy describes what happens next after clicking on your CTA. Test your body copy. Does it match your CTA? How does it describe your offer?

The purpose of the body copy is to offer additional details about the benefits of your product and about what makes your product unique compared to those of your competitor. Since the body is longer you’ll have more opportunities to add make many more changes to this section than the others

Is it compelling? Does it tell a story? Does your body copy sell the benefits of your product? If you think you could improve any of these facets don’t hesitate to create an a/b test with the different versions.

4. Visuals

Visuals are images that illustrate your message. They’re important because they capture attention.

Test visuals. Are they relevant? Do they convey the right message? Since visuals are much more difficult to change we recommend testing headlines and other elements first.

5. Audio

Audio is another tool used to communicate a message. It’s often overlooked. But it’s crucial to any ad.

Test audio. Is it crisp? Does it match your message? These days many users have their phones muted when scrolling different feeds and it can be pretty difficult to be sure whether or not the audio has an impact.

It’s for this reason that we recommend making audio testing part of your testing process.

Conclusion

These are just a few examples of elements to test in your ad tests. If you’re testing emails then subject lines and elements of social proof can also be tested. Naturally, there are many more. And don’t forget to test different combinations of these 5 elements.

What kind of results did you find? Let us know below!