At the heart of every successful Google Adwords campaign is A/B testing.A long-time marketing technique of direct mail advertising, it’s even more perfectly suited for Web advertising because it’s a snap to set up, results are easily and quickly tracked, and it is free.
An A/B split test allows you to compare two different versions or elements of an Adwords ad or landing page (we’re going to address ads here but the same principles apply to landing pages). Marketers have long known that subtle, sometimes tiny, changes in a page can make a big difference in Click Through Rate (CTR) and Conversion Rate (CR).
If the thought of trying to figure out how to split test is frightening, or you think you are. . . too mathematically challenged, don’t worry, be happy!It’s easy (and, of course, Google will help).
Typically, the A/B test involves changing a single element, perhaps a headline or even a word in a headline or a single change in ad copy. As one outperforms the other, the loser is discarded and another ad substituted.Mindvalley Labs published data showing that seemingly inconsequential changes can have dramatic results.We’ll show you some ideas for your Adwords campaign and illustrate them with Mindvalleylabs ads and results.
1.Unleash Power Words
Let’s start with two ads, identical in all respects except this:one headline includes the power word “secrets”; one headline does not.Look at the amazing results that can be achieved:
Notice that the addition of only one power word---Secret--- in the above ad (and presumably in its corresponding landing page) resulted in a Conversion Rate increase of more than 200%.
A/B Testing Tip: Power Words.Split test different “power” words in your Google Web advertising (headline or elsewhere in ad copy):
We've all received mail that want us to do something. Typically, we see calls to action like this:
Act now
Hurry, supplies are limited
Limited time offer
This offer expires soon
Once in a lifetime opportunity
Sale ends Thursday
You need to
You must act now
Calls to action have proven to be effective in direct mail solicitations and also when Web advertising on Google.For example, look at how three little words, “you need to” doubled the Conversion Rate on this ad:
3.Add a Little Encouragement to Learn More . . .
Sometimes the tiniest change can evoke an emotional response.In the following test, the ads were identical except that at the end of one of them the marketer tested whether the use of ellipsis (3 dots. . . )at the end of the ad might have a positive, though subtle, effect.As you can see, it did!
We are a species responsive to subtle, psychological influences, and a successful Google Adwords professional uses A/B testing to identify or appeal to core emotions or stimulants.
Using A/B Testing to Advertise on Google
For optimal results in your Google Adwords campaign, you’ll need to:
A. Research highly relevant, highly targeted keywords with decent daily traffic (100+/day), low number of competing pages, and weak strength of your Google competitors who’ve made it to the first page of Google.
B. Create Adwords Ads with compelling headlines and ad copy that use targeted keywords---the idea being to appeal as closely as possible to what your Google searcher is seeking
C. Build landing pages that are keyword optimized for each ad leading to it and that are highly relevant and responsive to the needs or desires of the Google searcher.
D. Combine a bit of art with lots of science in your ads (and landing pages).
The art will be in creating compelling ads that connect emotionally or psychologically and compels a positive response:power words combined with calls to action.
The science is A/B testing.
Testing one element, one word, perhaps even the order of words of an ad, against a control ad.The ad that produces the highest response lives to fight for another day (becoming the next control ad); the losing ad is discarded and replaced with a new challenger.
Theoretically, there may be no end to the number of A/B experiments but, realistically, you’ll reach the point of diminishing returns for any ad group (5-10 highly relevant keywords), so rinse and repeat with another ad group.
A word of caution:Don’t start out A/B testing on lots of different combinations.It’s better to be deliberate: a small number of Adwords groups, each with just a few highly relevant keywords, and split testing to reach your goals (i.e., more clicks, higher conversions, whatever).
