How can you test the effectiveness of your search ad copy?

1 Choose a goal and a metric

Before you start testing your search ad copy, you need to define what you want to achieve and how you will measure it. For example, do you want to increase your click-through rate (CTR), your conversion rate (CVR), your return on ad spend (ROAS), or your brand awareness? Depending on your goal, you need to choose a metric that reflects it. For example, if you want to increase your CTR, you can use the CTR metric from your Google Ads account or a third-party tool. If you want to increase your CVR, you can use the CVR metric from your landing page analytics or a conversion tracking tool.

2 Create different versions of your search ad copy

Once you have a goal and a metric, you need to create different versions of your search ad copy that you want to test. You can use the same headline and change the description, or vice versa. You can also change both the headline and the description, or add extensions, such as sitelinks, callouts, or structured snippets. The idea is to create variations that highlight different benefits, features, offers, or emotions that might appeal to your target audience. Try to limit the number of variations to two or three, as too many can make the test confusing and inconclusive.

3 Run a split test or an experiment

After you have created your search ad copy variations, you need to run a split test or an experiment to compare their performance. A split test is a method of randomly assigning your ads to different segments of your audience and measuring the results. You can run a split test using the Google Ads Drafts and Experiments feature, which allows you to create a draft of your original campaign and make changes to it, such as changing the ad copy. Then, you can launch an experiment that splits your traffic between the original campaign and the draft, and shows you the difference in performance.

4 Analyze the results and implement the changes

Finally, you need to analyze the results of your split test or experiment and decide which version of your search ad copy is the most effective. You can use the Google Ads interface or a third-party tool to see the metrics for each version, such as CTR, CVR, ROAS, impressions, clicks, conversions, and cost. You can also use statistical significance calculators to determine if the difference between the versions is meaningful or not. Based on the analysis, you can choose the winner and implement the changes to your original campaign. You can also repeat the process with new variations to optimize your search ad copy further.

5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?