A/B Testing should be thought of as Always Be Testing.
A/B testing isn't necessarily difficult, it just requires being careful to test one thing at a time and the follow through of analyzing results. Then of course it's on to testing another aspect and comparing results. It can truly never end, but it takes a while to reach the point of diminishing returns.
What does A/B testing or split testing really mean?
In marketing, you never know what advertising is going to work. Of course you can run an ad and see if it generates traffic or purchases. But no matter the results, there's always the question of what could have produced better results. That's why experienced marketers always run multiple variations of ads to see what differences work better.
Split testing ads is about more than just creative elements.
When many people think about A/B testing they think of the 'creative' elements: headlines, calls to action, and the ad copy itself. But the Facebook ad system is so complex (a good thing) that you can test so much more than just the creative. There's the type of ad, placement of ad, objective of ad, demographic targeting, days/times of the ad, and more!
Rule of thumb when A/B testing Facebook ads.
When split testing any set of ads, you want to limit the differences to ONLY one thing at a time. If you want to compare the clicks of a video ad to an image ad, and you also want to see if a different call to action improves results, those are separate tests. You would want to run 4 different ads to compare the effect of changing two different elements.
Facebook advertising requires careful analysis, iteration, and patience. But it's worth it.
Everyone wants to get the best results from their advertising, so it's easy to want to take shortcuts and change too many things at once. You can run more than two tests at a time, just be strategic about what you're testing and careful enough to know why one Facebook ad has better results than another.
Experienced Facebook ads managers know what to test first to get faster results.
Anyone can launch a campaign. But not everyone knows whether they should first test creative elements or demographics. And not everyone wants to. That's why we manage Facebook ads for businesses, so they can get better results for less money. If you want to see if Facebook advertising could boost your business, click the Get Started button below for a free consultation or call (844) 634-3300 today.
