Using Split Testing to Check the Usefulness of Your Ads

Split testing is a useful technique for checking the performance of your ads and campaigns. You can use this technique for testing ads and different sets of keywords. You can also use it for testing sales pages and landing pages.

To test different sets of keywords, you can create two PPC advertising campaigns in which the only difference is the keywords used. By monitoring the performance of each campaign you will be able to judge which keywords are more effective.

What are the methods involved in split testing? First you will create two ads which both promote the same product. As you monitor the efficiency of each ad you will continually make adjustments to the weaker performer until it is more effective than the first ad. You will then use other ads and repeat this process until you have an ad which you feel is the strongest performer. This will be the ad which you want to use for your campaign.

Remember that you can use split testing for more than just the ads and keywords of your PPC advertising campaign. It can also be helpful testing your sales and landing pages also.

Landing pages and sales pages can be split tested just like ads. You make two landing pages or sales pages linked with a PPC advertising campaign. Half the traffic will go to one landing page and the other half to the second landing page. You can check which landing page converts more traffic to sales. The second landing page will be adjusted so that it will outperform the first one. You can then use the highest converting landing page for your final campaign.

Why should it be part of your PPC campaign management? Split testing allows you to perfect your campaign ad so that you can get the most profits from your PPC ad campaign. A landing page or sales page should also have optimum performance or your PPC advertising campaign will be wasted.

Ads should be well constructed to do this. Usually the PPC ads will be designed like classified ads. There will be an eye catching headline, a body made up of two benefits and a strong call for action with a link to your sales page.

There is software available which can make split testing your PPC advertising campaign simpler for you. This can be a valuable tool if you are managing multiple PPC campaigns and don’t have the time to go through this process for each of them yourself. However, if you have only one or two campaigns to manage, it is recommended you follow the steps mentioned manually.

Split testing your PPC advertising campaign will take a lot of time, but the rewards are definitely worth it in the end. By changing just a few words in your ads you can possibly turn your whole campaign around. If nothing else, headlines should definitely be tested as they are one of the most important factors in pulling in potential customers.

Saving a Failing Ad Campaign

Things don’t always go as we plan them in life, and the same is true for ad campaigns. If you have a campaign which is falling short of your performance goals you will need to look at the specific areas of the campaign and make changes quickly to minimize your losses.

The 3 most likely problem areas are: keywords, bidding, and ads.

The first thing you will want to look at will be your keywords. By using the PPC engine’s tracking systems, you can track which keywords are successful and which are coming up short. Once you have identified the poor performers, something will obviously need to be done about them.

There may be a few reasons why a keyword would not be performing well. First, the keyword might not be specific enough. What this means is that while it may be bringing traffic, it is generating few leads or sales. If people are drawn to your site but not interested in your product, you may need change the keyword to something a bit more targeted.

The next reason for a poor performer could be a change in trends. What this means is that searchers have changed the keywords they use to search for a product or service. If this is the case, you will have to replace the poor performer with a keyword that is currently used more frequently.

Next we will look at bidding. Bidding is important as it will determine both the position and cost of your ad. You won’t want to waste money by bidding too highly on a poor performer. At the same time you want good positioning on stronger keywords. By increasing a bid on a strong performer in a lower position, you can improve your sales conversion performances.

By examining your sales conversions you can analyze just how effective a keyword is and establish a suitable amount for your maximum bid. By looking at the number of clicks required to make a sale and subtracting the cost of the total clicks from the value of the sale, you can determine your profit. This is very important because you want a campaign that is profitable rather than losing you money.

Finally we come to ads. If your ads can’t pull people to your site, no matter how great your keywords are your campaign will fail. You should be sure to utilize split testing with your ads in order to ensure they achieve their maximum potential.

A failing PPC advertising campaign can be fixed but you will need to go through each of the above areas to do it. Attention to detail is the key to success and you will need to go through your campaign methodically. You will need to record all adjustments and replacement keywords. This does take time but is well worth it.

Although these steps can help you turn your campaign around there is also an easier option available if you are unsure of what to do or you don’t have the necessary time to perform these evaluations. There are services which will manage your PPC advertising campaign and help return it to optimal working order. These services can save you a lot of time and the increase in profits will easily offset the price.