A/B Testing – Facilitating Higher Conversion Rates

It has already been established time and again that search marketers are required to strike an effective balance between a high Click-Through-Rate with the help of appealing ads; and a high conversion rate – by driving relevant and qualified traffic. Considering that the relationship between these two elements is inverse- the process of achieving this balance is a lot more challenging than one can imagine.

Here are some insights into how search engine optimization experts can effectively test multiple ad copy and landing pages to enhance the effectiveness of one’s PPC initiative –

1. Preparing your Ad & Campaign Groupr
After you have successfully identified a keyword list that works, you should be able to further shortlist the top cost keywords that have a quality score lower than 7/10. There is sufficient statistical and experiential evidence that suggests that generic keywords with scores under 7 tend to perform well in CPC initiatives and first-page bid estimates.

Isolating these keywords into specific ad groups to fine tune the quality of your ads and landing pages is highly recommended before you venture into an A/B testing initiative.

Furthermore, use this test as a valuable opportunity to dissect your successful campaigns by device or geo so that you can acquire relevant data on your best campaigns based on your to keywords as well as location and device.

Also, remember to optimize the use of the ‘rotate evenly’ feature with an aim to equalize the exposure levels of all your currently active ad groups.

2. Keep an Eye on your Competition
In spite of all the sophisticated tools available, it isn’t always possible to draw accurate data to determine the best ad copy. In addition to studying historical information, combination of headlines, display URLs, descriptions and landing pages; it is important for you to also keep an eye open towards what your competition is up to.

On a regular basis, search for your top keywords on popular search engines and assess the results in brings with respect to your competition. Watch out for your competition is doing in SEM and SEO. This is how you can identify opportunities in quality, promotion, price, shipping offers, etc as well.

3. Setting up New Ads and Landing Pages
With a 90 day limitation from AdWords, it is evident that your PPC initiative isn’t a onetime project, but in fact, an ongoing process. Here is how you can continue to develop a successful PPC strategy –

a. Start by creating an entirely different ad copy. Make sure that each copy should highlight a unique differentiator in the form of quality, price, value ads, etc.

b. Now that you have identified the best axis for your communication, work towards polishing your headline without making any changes to your description and display URL.

c. Continue with this process by polishing each aspect of your ad once at a time to determine the best descriptions and display URLS consequently.

Remember that these tests will influence your click-through-rates, your quality score, rankings and average CPC. This will also have an influence on your conversion rates. The key is to keep your test as crisp and clean as possible. This is well achieved by working on one component at a time.

This is a great way to isolate each element and identifying the factors that have the maximum positive influence on your PPC ads.