A/B testing on Facebook is an incredibly common practice for any digital marketing expert today. Given how widely used A/B testing is, it can be easy for anyone to assume that you’ve already mastered using it for your pay-per-click (PPC) ad campaigns.
But it’s just as easy to make rookie mistakes with any A/B test even if you are an experienced PPC management professional. And while this is typically welcome when operating with an experimentation-focused mindset, it’s not ideal when campaigns are launched. With algorithm updates and a slew of ads from competitors making it more difficult (and costly) to compete, it’s more important than ever to avoid mistakes with campaigns.
That is why a key element to succeeding in Facebook Ads is testing.
What is A/B testing and why should you do it for your Facebook Ads?
A/B testing allows you to refine by comparing two versions of an ad, each with its own setup and parameters. This type of comparison helps you understand which components of your ad are the most effective in bringing customers to your page.
As you prepare to run an A/B test on your ads in Facebook, there are some essential tips and tricks that you’ll want to keep in mind. From audience selection to budgeting and beyond, understanding the basics can help you get off on the right foot.
Learn how to do A/B testing on Facebook Ads the right way. Take a look at this guide to discover the seven rookie moves you can avoid in your PPC ad campaigns today.
Running too many comparisons at once.
One common mistake digital marketers make is that they tend to run too many comparisons at once in a single split test.
There’s a reason why it’s called A/B testing. After all, you’re simply pitting two variables – a control variable, or a “version A,” against a challenger variable, or a “version B” – against each other.
If you plan on testing more than two variables, then that’s what you call a multivariate test, which we won’t talk about right now.
For now, it’s important that you remember to define a specific control variable and challenger variable for an A/B split test. Specificity in this regard can be a difference in the copies of the test variables while they share the same visual aesthetic. In aiming to be as specific as possible, there can be no doubt about which elements specifically worked and didn’t work in the campaign you’re testing.
Moreover, this specificity will provide you with more insights on how to improve your Facebook Ads and its succeeding iterations.
Running it too short or too long.
When planning anything digital marketing, you always need to account for time. One mistake that digital marketers make is to run a split test with the wrong duration in mind, leading to unreliable results and wasted resources in the long run.
For example, you might be tempted to run a split test too short because you don’t want to “waste” time and money on a single comparison. But by running an experiment too short, you’ll produce inconclusive results that will definitely be a waste of resources overall.
If you run an experiment for too long, then you’ll obviously use up your resources ineffectively as well. Depending on the needs of your campaign, Facebook suggests a minimum of seven days and a maximum of 30 days for any experiment like this.
Whatever duration you choose, remember to root it in a realistic hypothesis, in historical data, and on specific variables that really matter to your digital marketing needs.
A/B testing on Facebook Ads too late.
You may have noticed that this digital marketing process takes a lot of time, effort, and money to execute correctly. Yet many digital marketing experts still make the mistake of conducting these experiments too late in the ad campaign game.
Let’s establish this right now: you need to plan your process in advance if you want to ensure increased returns on your Facebook Ads. By strategizing and executing your split testing early, you gain a better chance at returning results that will help you optimize your campaign again and again.
Again and again? Yes, you read that right. This will lead you to the last common mistake that digital marketers make when it comes to A/B testing on Facebook.
Only doing one split test.
If you think you’re just conducting one split test for your campaign, then think again. This final mistake that digital marketers make is often the most overlooked in the optimization process: doing things over and over again until you get results that really matter
Your overall process isn’t just a one-and-done deal. With every A/B test, you gain more insights that will help you improve your Facebook ad campaign over time. To truly optimize your campaign, you need to undergo several split tests and revisions to get the best results from your Facebook ad.
A/B testing is one of the most common practices in digital marketing today. However, this practice often intimidates marketers because it’s easy to make costly mistakes. Not sure where to start on your split testing journey? You can always reach out to us for a free consultation.