Increasing Your Pay Per Click Profits Through Testing
As a Internet marketing expert, Andrew Goodman is one of the best, and his special report ,"21 Ways to Maximize Your ROI from Google AdWords Select", has sold thousands of copies. In case you haven't yet purchased it, Goodman's invaluable report emphasizes how pay per click (PPC) advertisers would see better returns by mining the huge volumes of unsold keyword inventory available across the pay per click search engines.
It's hard to argue the excellent suggestions Goodman offers on doing one's keyword homework. And while he also spends some time in the report on the virtues of good copywriting, I don't think he emphasizes enough the value of testing your copy for better returns. I'm talking about the benefits of scientifically testing the titles and the descriptions used in your pay per click buys.
There are many articles and professional copywriters that can help you craft different variations of ad copy. However, there's really only one way to know for sure which one ads will yield you GREAT results. Only your target market and testing can tell you which is most effective. That's because creating the most effective ad copy is really a process - it involves systematic, scientific testing, revising and eliminating results until the results are conclusive. Testing your copy lets your target market TELL YOU exactly which ads will make you the most money.
If you've been around advertising for some years you'll recognize that the idea of scientifically testing ad copy isn't new. Claude C. Hopkins, author of "Scientific Testing" and "My Life in Advertising" are considered to be two of the best ever written on advertising. Hopkins was preaching the virtues of scientific testing two decades ago. As a business pioneer, he is also credited with inventing (or substantially forming) the advertising models which are considered the norm today: the coupon, the "free gift" with a purchase, direct mail, and much more. Like it or not, much of what we see around us today was initiated by Hopkins.
One firm, Lasater e-Properties, which conducts testing and optimization of web-based advertising, has taken to applying Hopkins' scientific testing principles and methodology to modern day pay per click advertising. They outline the outline the basis for split-run testing (also called A:B testing) as the best and most scientifically valid testing methods for ads. For a modest fee, Lasater will conduct a test cycle using a split-run test of various titles and descriptions for ad campaigns. Amazingly, they offer that even 200 clickthroughs can often yield statistically valid results when they are tracked and evaluated.
How does split-run testing work?
Depending on your objectives, the test design may be one of these four combinations of titles and descriptions:
(Where A - D are titles; and 1 - 4 are description copy.)
1:4 - 1 title: 4 descriptions (A1:A2:A3:A4)
2:2 - 2 titles: 2 descriptions (A1:A2:B1:B2)
4:1 - 4 titles: 1 description (A1:B1:C1:D1)
4:4 - 4 titles: 4 descriptions (A1:B2:C3:D4)
Lasater's service includes recording the clickthrough ads results into a daily spreadsheet. This may be supplemented with analysis of the visitor's activities after they hit your pages (through tracking urls). The ultimate goal being that test results will reveal which titles and descriptions will pull, ultimately convert, and make you more money.
Among the pay per click engines we know of, none will do split-run testing for you. However, the good news is that Google's AdWords Program actually has split-run testing capability built into it. This often overlooked feature of Google has the ability for you to test your own ad copy by automatically rotating the copy as it's displayed across your specific keyword buy. Thousands of people can look at your ad copy each time the keyword is typed into Google search , Google will then track the impressions and clickthroughs on the fly, and even tabulate the results for you as to their effectiveness.
Lasater isn't alone in discovering this power in Google. MarketingExperiments.com is a firm which conducts research focused on discovering what works in online marketing. Their experiments range from three to eighteen months, and budgets from $4500 to $50,000. They also admitted to underestimating the power of Google's new features, which allow for rapid testing feedback. They point out how the savvy marketer at Google, who delivers more clickthroughs (and is deemed more relevant) is additionally rewarded with higher rankings -- even when their bid is lower than competitor's. Thus, even small changes in ad copy and its clickthroughs can have a dramatic effect on results there.
In conclusion, while making changes to and testing your ad copy may seem like extra work, you might consider these added benefits:
1.You can lower your bid (and position) and maintain or even improve your number of clickthroughs.
2.You can avoid the costly bid wars and void the unscrupulous acts of competitors who would drain your account.
3.You'll have copy that you might possibly use in other PPC engines, incorporate into web pages, banner and classified ads, or into direct mail letters.
4.You can take advantage of the large gaps that often exist between the first and lower bid positions.
5.You will start seeing a better return (that's profits) from your pay per click and marketing efforts. Targeted and tested words do have tremendous power!
The results in testing your titles and descriptions in your ad copy, and its effect to your bottom line can be dramatic. For example, if the #1 listing at Overture or Google costs 40% more than the #3 listing, and it could be made to perform equally as good as the #1 ad, you would have saved 40%! From testing titles and descriptions, you might even go so far as to decide to test variations of landing pages that your visitors click through to. Not to worry though -- we'll save that discussion on how to improve your landing pages for another day! Until then, good clicking to all of you!
It's hard to argue the excellent suggestions Goodman offers on doing one's keyword homework. And while he also spends some time in the report on the virtues of good copywriting, I don't think he emphasizes enough the value of testing your copy for better returns. I'm talking about the benefits of scientifically testing the titles and the descriptions used in your pay per click buys.
There are many articles and professional copywriters that can help you craft different variations of ad copy. However, there's really only one way to know for sure which one ads will yield you GREAT results. Only your target market and testing can tell you which is most effective. That's because creating the most effective ad copy is really a process - it involves systematic, scientific testing, revising and eliminating results until the results are conclusive. Testing your copy lets your target market TELL YOU exactly which ads will make you the most money.
If you've been around advertising for some years you'll recognize that the idea of scientifically testing ad copy isn't new. Claude C. Hopkins, author of "Scientific Testing" and "My Life in Advertising" are considered to be two of the best ever written on advertising. Hopkins was preaching the virtues of scientific testing two decades ago. As a business pioneer, he is also credited with inventing (or substantially forming) the advertising models which are considered the norm today: the coupon, the "free gift" with a purchase, direct mail, and much more. Like it or not, much of what we see around us today was initiated by Hopkins.
One firm, Lasater e-Properties, which conducts testing and optimization of web-based advertising, has taken to applying Hopkins' scientific testing principles and methodology to modern day pay per click advertising. They outline the outline the basis for split-run testing (also called A:B testing) as the best and most scientifically valid testing methods for ads. For a modest fee, Lasater will conduct a test cycle using a split-run test of various titles and descriptions for ad campaigns. Amazingly, they offer that even 200 clickthroughs can often yield statistically valid results when they are tracked and evaluated.
How does split-run testing work?
Depending on your objectives, the test design may be one of these four combinations of titles and descriptions:
(Where A - D are titles; and 1 - 4 are description copy.)
1:4 - 1 title: 4 descriptions (A1:A2:A3:A4)
2:2 - 2 titles: 2 descriptions (A1:A2:B1:B2)
4:1 - 4 titles: 1 description (A1:B1:C1:D1)
4:4 - 4 titles: 4 descriptions (A1:B2:C3:D4)
Lasater's service includes recording the clickthrough ads results into a daily spreadsheet. This may be supplemented with analysis of the visitor's activities after they hit your pages (through tracking urls). The ultimate goal being that test results will reveal which titles and descriptions will pull, ultimately convert, and make you more money.
Among the pay per click engines we know of, none will do split-run testing for you. However, the good news is that Google's AdWords Program actually has split-run testing capability built into it. This often overlooked feature of Google has the ability for you to test your own ad copy by automatically rotating the copy as it's displayed across your specific keyword buy. Thousands of people can look at your ad copy each time the keyword is typed into Google search , Google will then track the impressions and clickthroughs on the fly, and even tabulate the results for you as to their effectiveness.
Lasater isn't alone in discovering this power in Google. MarketingExperiments.com is a firm which conducts research focused on discovering what works in online marketing. Their experiments range from three to eighteen months, and budgets from $4500 to $50,000. They also admitted to underestimating the power of Google's new features, which allow for rapid testing feedback. They point out how the savvy marketer at Google, who delivers more clickthroughs (and is deemed more relevant) is additionally rewarded with higher rankings -- even when their bid is lower than competitor's. Thus, even small changes in ad copy and its clickthroughs can have a dramatic effect on results there.
In conclusion, while making changes to and testing your ad copy may seem like extra work, you might consider these added benefits:
1.You can lower your bid (and position) and maintain or even improve your number of clickthroughs.
2.You can avoid the costly bid wars and void the unscrupulous acts of competitors who would drain your account.
3.You'll have copy that you might possibly use in other PPC engines, incorporate into web pages, banner and classified ads, or into direct mail letters.
4.You can take advantage of the large gaps that often exist between the first and lower bid positions.
5.You will start seeing a better return (that's profits) from your pay per click and marketing efforts. Targeted and tested words do have tremendous power!
The results in testing your titles and descriptions in your ad copy, and its effect to your bottom line can be dramatic. For example, if the #1 listing at Overture or Google costs 40% more than the #3 listing, and it could be made to perform equally as good as the #1 ad, you would have saved 40%! From testing titles and descriptions, you might even go so far as to decide to test variations of landing pages that your visitors click through to. Not to worry though -- we'll save that discussion on how to improve your landing pages for another day! Until then, good clicking to all of you!
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