How to Improve ROI With Creative Testing

Creative testing is a nightmare for affiliates. Not only should we generate ideas for each targeting, but also it is frightful to merge the budget. But, if you will be able to find the right strategy, the results will not keep you waiting. ROI will be mushrooming. So, get on with splits!

Why do you need to test creatives?

Testing is used for:

• search for profitable bundles;
• optimisation of advertising campaigns.

It is necessary to understand that creatives are created taking into account the needs of the target audience. Do not try to adapt the targeting under promo – it doesn’t make sense.

How to find out the downsides of the targeted audience?

The most effective pattern in advertising is an appeal to the downsides of the targeted audience. You will find out what bothers potential customers, and you will be able to offer solutions to their problems.

How to define the needs? Quite simply. All the downsides lead to:

• lack of material or physical resources – "no money", "not enough time";
• laziness – "I don’t want to do anything, but I want to get results";
• low efficiency of existing methods of solution – "tried all means – nothing helped";
• lack of knowledge on the topic – "I'm not sure that pharmaceuticals are harmless, so I'm looking for an alternative";
• dissatisfaction with yourself – "I'm fat";
• a passion for results – "I want to achieve more.”

The needs of customers are divided into 3 levels:

1. Technical – that leads to environmental factors that create a problem. For example, a person can not find shoes suitable for his size. As a result, every night his legs swell.
2. Financial – it means that large amounts of money go to the solution, but no effect is observed. The user spends hundreds of dollars on treating acne, and rashes do not go away.
3. Personal – that is an internal motivation, prompting to seek a solution to the problem. The girl wants to lose weight, so that her friends will be jealous of her body.

True downsides can be determined in the following ways:

• to conduct interviews with representatives of the targeted audience;
• to find in the open sources the results of marketing research;
• to look through social networks in which the targeted audience is brought in;
• independently put forward hypotheses and test them on a split.

Let's say, that you promote the cream from wrinkles. The first age changes appear after 25 years. Women are more concerned about their appearance than men. The logical conclusion is that the offer should be targeted at women 25+.

Here is an example of typical downsides for a designated targeted audience. Every woman dreams:

• to look better than contemporaries;
• to delay aging with safe methods;
• to be attractive to men;
• to care for the skin and do not spend at the same time fabulous amounts;
• to increase self-esteem;
• to save on cosmetologists.

The needs of the targeted audience are reduced to the formulation: "What to do to become beautiful?”

KPI for creative testing

You have figured out the downsides of the targeted audience, identified ideas for creativity. What is next?

Before testing, you need to install a clear KPI. Control the following:

• CTR is click-through rate;
• CR is the conversion rate;
• ROI-return on investment;
• CPC – cost of a click;
• the cost of attracting the user;
• the indicator of failures (actual for contextual advertising).

When conducting a split, watch not only the changes in KPI, but also analyse the cause-effect relationships. This will help determine what influenced the effectiveness of the advertising campaign.

Methods for creative testing

Split testing

Checklist for conducting split testing:

1. Create a start ad.
2. Split it into parts (image, title, description, call button to action).
3. For each component, come up with 5-10 options.
4. Run sequential testing of items in order to reduce the impact on the user:

• test pictures (with the same headers, descriptions, buttons). Identify 2-3 successful images;
• test different headers for each of these pictures. Select ads with high KPI;
• test the descriptions for ads from the previous step. Select 2-3 successful;
• test action buttons.

A moment of entertaining mathematics. How many options will have to be tested? Let's count it in stages using the example of Facebook advertising.

At the start – 1 announcement.

1. It consists of: picture, title, main text, button.
2. Test 5 images or 1 * 5 = 5 ads for split. Choose 2 with the highest KPI. They move on to the next stage.
3. We make 5 headings. Total run – 2 * 5 = 10 ads. Leave 2 leaders.
4. We write 5 texts. Again, run 2 * 5 = 10 ads. 2 best pass to the final.
5. We choose 3 suitable action buttons for the product. We test 2 * 3 = 6 ads. We eliminate obviously improper, we launch a full-fledged campaign for 2 creatives.

For the whole split on Facebook, we have to check (5 + 10 + 10 + 6) = 31 ads. When each element of the creative is tested, you will get only 2-3 profitable options. They need to be untwisted to the full budget.

Split is a rather laborious technique, but it has proved its effectiveness.

Multi-variant Testing

In this case, not individual components pass through the testing, but a series of bundles: target audience + copyright + image.

Check list:

1. Select the target audience.
2. Think of several approaches, for example: an indication of the benefits of using the product, the use of "magic words", shock-content.
3. Create 5-10 ads for each format.
4. Test the ligaments.
5. Select from each group one of the most effective bundles.
6. Run campaigns for the full budget.

How many ads do I have to check? We will calculate step by step with the example of teasers.

1. Target audience – women 25+
2. We take 3 approaches – "laziness", "save money", "do as you like".
3. For each we make 5 variants of declarations: 3 * 5 = 15 teasers.
4. Test it.
5. To start, choose 3 options.

In total, 15 creatives will take part in the multivariate testing. On one hand, it is much smaller than in the split. On the other hand, what affects KPI is still unknown.

This technique can be used when you know exactly what the target audience will like.

Back testing

In practice, periodically there are "explosive promo". For some reason, one of the creatives shows high efficiency. In this case, it is advisable to conduct the reverse testing:

1. Identify a successful ads.
2. Break it into components.
3. We test in turn on the principle of a split test: pictures, titles, descriptions, buttons.
4. Find 2-3 workers creatives.
5. Launch the campaign.

Reverse testing will help raise the ROI for a specific offer.

The Causes of Low CR And ROI

If you went through all the possible options, and creatives still do not convert, you need to identify the cause. The most common factors are:

1. Bot traffic.
2. The ad does not match landing page.
3. The targeted audience is incorrectly selected. For example, funds from alcoholism are bought mostly by women, while men drink it at the same time.
4. Advertising does not resonate with the interests of consumers.
5. Traffic source exhausted.
6. Creative is created without taking into account the mentality of users.
7. The old offer.
8. Incorrect links work.
9. А Long ping.
10. The ad format was incorrectly selected.

It remains to clarify a few points:

• the duration of testing will depend on: CPC, availability of blacklist, type of offer, specificity of the advertising network;
• if you test it during low competition hours, for example, at night, then the CTR may be higher, but CR is lower;
• it is important to understand that the effectiveness of even the most profitable promo decreases with time.

Success in testing 🙂