{"id":113270,"date":"2014-04-09T21:38:00","date_gmt":"2014-04-10T02:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dacgroup.com\/the-importance-of-sem-ad-copy-testing-lessons-from-a-simple-brand-test-2\/"},"modified":"2024-12-21T05:54:50","modified_gmt":"2024-12-21T10:54:50","slug":"the-importance-of-sem-ad-copy-testing-lessons-from-a-simple-brand-test-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dacgroup.com\/en-gb\/insights\/blog\/search-optimization\/the-importance-of-sem-ad-copy-testing-lessons-from-a-simple-brand-test-2\/","title":{"rendered":"The Importance of SEM Ad Copy Testing: Lessons from a Simple Brand Test"},"content":{"rendered":"

Writing compelling ad copy in search engine marketing (SEM)<\/a> can be one of the most important things we do. It plays a critical role in increasing your ad rank, boosting click through rates (CTR) and, most importantly, improving conversions. The desired outcome of an ad copy test is to determine what type of message delivers the highest CTR, lowest cost per click<\/a> (CPC), and ultimately what drives the most efficient cost per conversion. There are a number of elements that should be under your microscope when testing ad copy; some are CTR, ROI (return on investment), quality score, cost-per action (CPA), conversion volume, total clicks and average position.<\/p>\n

\"testing2\"<\/a>\u00a0After performing an ad copy test across a series of brand campaigns in one of our larger \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0accounts for one month, we found that a seemingly insignificant change like including the \u00a0client\u2019s brand followed by \u201cOfficial Site\u201d in the headline led to significantly better results to the tune of a 10% increase in CTR and traffic; a 12% increase in conversions; and a 22% lower CPC throughout all brand campaigns. Looking back, it shouldn\u2019t be surprising that the experiment ad with the official site messaging outperformed the control, which only included the brand name in the headline, but had we not tested, we never would have realised these meaningful performance gains.<\/p>\n

In addition, when users\u2019 search queries contain the brand, the user is most likely to be brand loyal and generally further down the conversion funnel. Therefore, including \u201cOfficial Site\u201d in the headline, emphasises site credibility and entices the user to click on the ad. Since the results of this test proved to dramatically increase brand performance, it brings to mind other testing ideas, like trying \u201cofficial site\u201d messaging against the brand followed by a registered trademark symbol.<\/p>\n

How to Track Your Ad Copy Test<\/a><\/h1>\n

When performing an ad copy test, it is important that you know exactly what you are going to test, to determine how long you plan on running the test and to have an effective way of tracking and reporting the results.\u00a0 If you\u2019re not organised when performing an ad copy test, then the chances of sabotaging or invalidating the test are very likely. Here is a checklist that all search engine marketers should adhere to before launching an ad copy test:<\/p>\n

Campaign Settings<\/strong> – Set ads to rotate evenly<\/p>\n

Length of Test<\/strong> – Run for at least two weeks (depending on campaign volume)<\/p>\n

Tracking Performance<\/strong> –\u00a0Document conversions, CPA, CTR, CPC, clicks & position prior to launching test<\/p>\n

Determining the Winning Ad Copy<\/strong>\n

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