7 A/B Testing Best Practices To Drive Greater Ad Performance
Until you test it, whatever's in your mind is just your assumption.
This statement encapsulates the essence of A/B testing. It's crucial to discover what really works and what doesn’t.
Here are 7 A/B testing best practices to help you boost ad performance, drive efficiency, and get more from your paid media budget.
1. Test One Variable At A Time
While it might seem tempting to test EVERYTHING all at once, consider this:
The fewer ad variables you have, the faster you'll get relevant test results.
Moreover, testing a single ad variable per experiment will make it easier to track and evaluate the result.
A highly recommended strategy is to test which factors most significantly affect ad performance. For example, you can experiment with different ad images first, then go with headlines, and call-to-action phrases to determine which combination yields the best results.
As Michael Stelzner, the Founder of SMExaminer once shared:
We tend to change too many things at once or lose sight of the one specific adjustment that might make the biggest difference in their results. In either instance, it helps to be both strategic and systematic about testing Facebook ads.
2. Use The Right Facebook Campaign Structure
When you're testing various Facebook ad designs or other elements within your ads, you have two ways to organize your A/B testing campaigns:
- A single ad set — all your ad variations are within a single ad set
- Multiple single-variation ad sets — each ad variation is placed in a separate ad set
If you put all your tested Facebook ad versions in one ad set, Facebook will automatically optimize your ads, making it hard to get accurate test results.
It's better to choose the second option, where each ad variation is placed in its own ad set.
3. Set A Sufficient A/B Testing Budget
So, how much does it cost to run a successful Facebook ad test?
To get reliable A/B test results, Aaron Zakowski, Fractional CMO & Marketing Advisor recommends allocating about 10%– 15% of your budget to testing. The rest of your budget should be allocated to scaling your profitable campaigns.
For instance, if your marketing budget for a new product launch is $100,000, Aaron suggests dedicating $10,000 to $15,000 specifically for A/B testing different marketing strategies or variations.
The game-changer lies in how quickly you can identify the winners . To determine if a new test is profitable, spend at least two times the value of your target Cost per Conversion. For example, if your target CPC is $50, allocate at least $100 to the test.
If you worry about spending too much on each new test, consider alternative metrics. For instance, if past successful ads achieved a click-through rate (CTR) of 1% or better, or a cost-per-click (CPC) below $1, use these metrics to identify poor performers.
Turn off ads that don't meet these metrics, ensuring they receive enough impressions to reach statistically relevant conclusions on CTR or CPC.
Further Reading
4. Make Ideal Time Frames
Remember, when you're setting up your A/B test, you get to pick how long it runs. You can run it for up to 30 days. Facebook's Business Center recommends at least 7 days, which gives the algorithm enough time to give you accurate results.
5. Increase The Budget For Your Profitable Ad Sets
When you're raising your budget, take it slow. As a rule of thumb, increase it by about 20% every 24-48 hours. Avoid changing it more often because each time you do, the algorithm needs to readjust.
This advice comes directly from Facebook:
It takes our ad delivery system 24 hours to adjust the performance level for your ad. It can take longer when you edit your ad frequently. To fix it, let your ad run for at least 24 hours before you edit it again.
6. Duplicate Ad Sets And Change To Different Objectives
If your ad is doing well with conversions, try a small test focusing on engagements or website traffic to the same audience. Facebook shows your ad to different people based on different goals. So, sometimes you can reach more people and get more conversions by changing the goal.
You can apply this same idea to optimize for a different conversion event higher or lower in the
conversion process, like adding items to the cart instead of making purchases
7. Duplicate Ads To Additional Audiences
If you have an ad that's performing great, you'll want to reach as many relevant people as you can. So, if it's working well for Lookalike audiences, make copies of the ad and show it to different groups like other Lookalikes, Interest groups, people you're retargeting, fans, and so on.
It’s Time For Happy Testing
A/B testing is a powerful tool for improving your Facebook ad performance. By following those 7 practices, you can effectively test and scale your best-performing creatives.
Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or need further assistance. Bye for now!
Founder of TrueProfit & eCommerce Profitability Expert
Harry Chu is the Founder of TrueProfit, a net profit tracking solution designed to help Shopify merchants gain real-time insights into their actual profits. With 11+ years of experience in eCommerce and technology, his expertise in profit analytics, cost tracking, and data-driven decision-making has made him a trusted voice for thousands of Shopify merchants.
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