Testing your ad copy is a crucial step in ad development and execution. The best way to determine whether the work and research you have put into ad copy creation will succeed is to run tests and see how it compares to already verified ads. We will walk you through the important steps to attend to as you test your ad copy.

Figuring out just where to start can be tricky. You will want to choose a high yield area of the account. Start by looking at how the spend varies across different ad groups, and choose the one that has the highest amount of spending. Then, using the keywords associated with this ad group, select about half of those that are really driving the group and develop your ad copy. This protects the ad group’s overall volume while you are running your test.

The most important detail of creating an ad copy to test is to not alter too many details at one time. If you create too many variables within your test, it will become impossible to determine what actually drove the success of a particular ad. Also, you will want to compare your test ad copy to a control. Using an already existing successful ad can be a great choice of control because it very clearly shows whether or not your new ad is an improvement. Make sure that when you run your test you use the “Rotate: Show ads more evenly” setting in AdWords. This ensures that each ad has an equal chance of being displayed throughout the duration of your test. Choosing the correct abandonment point will protect you from spending resources on ad copy that is not holding up. However, you will want your ads to run long enough that a meaningful difference in CTR can occur.

At the end, look at the data and find your new ad copy! If there were versions that were more or less successful than you predicted, it might be worth making minor adjustments and running a subsequent test. Knowing that the ad copy you decide on will succeed is important to making sure you utilize your resources efficiently. Every good ad program is supported by a well-run test of the ad copy.

To learn more check out Champ’s Advertising Services.