Why is A/B split testing so important for Facebook ads? This is maybe the second most important thing about Facebook ads, right behind having a disruptive ad in the first place.
I’m Jake Sheldon, co-founder of Pest Control Millionaires. I own a portfolio of service businesses and work as a fractional CMO for companies across the country. And I’m telling you right now: if you don’t test your ads, they probably won’t work.
It’s that integral to making your Facebook ads work. You have to test because you don’t know what’s going to work. And it even differs by zip code. You could have one zip code where this ad, this offer, this picture works well. And then in another zip code, it doesn’t work as well.
Testing is how you figure out what actually converts. And you never know what can hit either. It’s the same thing with any ad platform. You have to come up with new ideas, come up with new offers, come up with new pictures. It’s so integral to making these ads continue to work and convert new leads.
Even when you’re posting on social media, you should be testing. Have the audience tell you which picture they like best. You didn’t take just one picture and hope that one works. You’re choosing quite a few pictures and seeing what everyone likes.
Test Your Offer First, Then Everything Else
Which elements should you prioritize when testing? Image, copy, or CTA?
The first one, number one, is you always want to test the image or the video. That’s going to be the most important part of making the ad disruptive.
Actually, let me digress and go back. The most important thing when testing is testing the offer. Test your offer first. Then next, you’re going to test the image or the video. After that comes the headline. And then ultimately the ad copy.
So I would actually go in that order with the testing: offer, image or video, headline, then ad copy.
Starting From Scratch Takes Time
Let me walk you through what the full testing process looks like.
There are quite a few elements that you’re going to test. That’s why we suggest taking our class, because we actually just give you the ads that are already working. But if you’re going from scratch and you don’t have a program that’s going to teach you exactly what to run, you’re going to have to start from the very beginning.
You’re going to have to find out your age demographic. You’re going to have to find out if it’s male or female. You’re going to have to find out your interest targeting. You’re going to have to find out which zip codes are converting. You’re going to have to find out what offer works. You’re going to have to find out the headline, the ad copy, the message. And then also your landing page, all the elements in your landing page or your form too.
There are a lot of things you have to test and figure out if you don’t have something that is guiding you.
Cost Per Acquisition Beats Cost Per Lead
What metrics indicate a winning ad?
I don’t like to go off just cost per lead like a lot of people do. A lot of people look at cost per lead and they’re like, “Oh, this is awesome. I got a $15 lead cost.”
I’m like, okay, well, how many converted?
My most important metric I’m looking at is: what’s my cost per acquisition?
Because I could have an ad that does $10 per lead and I could have another ad that is $30 per lead. But the $10 per lead, let’s say my closing rate is 1%. But my other one is 50%. Well, of course I’m going to go with the one that’s a $30 cost per lead.
It may initially look more expensive, but look at the closing rate. That’s the most important thing you want to look at: cost per acquisition, not just cost per lead.
How Often to Run New Split Tests
How often should you run new split tests for Facebook ads?
This is an interesting question because it depends on your market size. Some markets for people watching could be smaller. So you’re going to have to adjust an A/B split test often, every few days sometimes.
But if you’re in a larger area with a larger population, you could literally go months without having to change out your ads and do a ton of split testing because your ad could just be crushing it for a long time.
So that’s going to differ by your area. But the rule of thumb is: I test at least four different ads at all times. No matter what, I’m always testing at least four.
Real Life Example: Testing Age Groups
Can I give you a real life example of split testing?
A perfect example would be testing age groups. I would test 30 to 44, 45 to 54, 55 to 64, and then 65 plus. So that would be four ad sets that you’re going to test, and that would be just testing the age group.
Same ads, same copy.
And that’s another thing with A/B split testing: you only want to test one variable at a time. This is why marketers will tell business owners like, “Hey, this is going to take some time. It’s not going to be instantaneous results.”
It’s because you have to test only one variable at a time to make sure that you know which variable it is that’s actually producing results.
The Full Testing Sequence From Scratch
So first you test the age groups. What would you test next?
This is again starting from scratch, if you don’t have one of our classes where we just give you the exact demographic and all that. But if you’re going from scratch, here’s the order:
First, I would do age group. Then I would do the radius next. Then I would do the interest targeting. I don’t like to do automatic or manual placements anymore. I just do automatic and let Facebook target that.
Then next after that, you figure out the exact targeting. The gender, you’ll be able to see it and it’ll tell you whether it’s male or female. Then I’ll check that.
And then the next thing that I’ll do is I’ll test the offer. I’ll test the image or the video. And then the next ad, I will test the headline. And then the next ad, I will test the actual ad copy.
So it’s a lot to figure out and it takes time. Usually, depending on how much you’re spending, you only want to test for three to seven days for each one of those components.
If you count that up, it’s a lot of different things that you need to test.
Winning Ads Have a Long Shelf Life
But here’s the good news. Once you figure out all those elements I just talked about, it’s called a winning ad. Once you have a winning ad, you can use that ad year after year after year after year.
I’ve used the same little coupon ad. It’s white, red, and green. I’ve used it for like six years in a row and it just keeps working every single year. It has a shelf life. It will work for a little bit and I’ll have to switch it out.
So I have like this rotation of ads that I’ve tested over the last six, seven years that work. And that’s what’s great about it. Once you figure it out, once you test it, they will continue to work year in and year out. At least from what I’ve seen.
Test Instagram in Larger Cities
Should you test Instagram or just stay on Facebook?
Meta owns Facebook and Instagram. In the audience preferences, should you choose Instagram?
Definitely test in the beginning to see what’s converting. Just from what I’ve seen testing all over the United States, I’ve seen larger cities like LA, Miami, Dallas, Houston, New York, those types of cities are going to do well on Instagram.
Now, if you’re in smaller areas or even the Midwest, like Nebraska, Des Moines, Iowa, Kansas City, they don’t really do as well on Instagram.
The great thing about when you’re doing A/B split testing is you can actually check on Facebook. They have a view chart section where you can actually see where most of your leads are coming from. Are they coming from Facebook or are they coming from Instagram more?
You’ll be able to see the breakdown of the cost per lead for those and then ultimately the cost per acquisition from both platforms too.
Use the Ads Library to See What Competitors Are Running
Here’s a little cheat code: you can see other competitors’ ads online.
There’s a site called Ads Library. I believe it’s just adslibrary.com. If you just go to Google and type in “ads library,” it’s going to pop up for you.
Every platform has an ads library. What’s nice about Facebook is you can click which category and then you actually just type in your competition in the area. You can actually just see what ads they’re running.
So it makes it really easy to see what offers are being run, potentially what’s working for other people. It’s almost like a little cheat code.
But you also want to be different. So you want to make sure your ads don’t look similar. You want them to stand out, kind of like any branding strategy. You want to have a competitive advantage. Because if everyone has the same offer, same picture, or same video, you obviously want to show up different.
The Biggest A/B Split Testing Mistake
What are the biggest mistakes when it comes to A/B split testing?
The most common one I see is people will try to test multiple variables at a time.
Let me break that down. They’ll test the age group, they’ll test the gender, and they’ll even test the offer all at the same time. And then we look at the ad and I’m like, I have no idea if it was because it was the offer or if it was because the age group that changed the result.
Or they’ll test the headline and the ad copy at the same time. We don’t even know if it was the ad copy or the headline that made the result different.
So only test one variable at a time. It’s so important because you’ll never know what’s the differentiator in making that lead convert or not convert.
Only change one variable at a time. That’s critical.
Start Testing Today
The bottom line is this: you cannot succeed with Facebook ads without split testing. It’s not optional. It’s required.
Test your offer first. Then your image or video. Then your headline. Then your ad copy. Test one variable at a time, run tests for three to seven days each, and always be testing at least four variations.
Focus on cost per acquisition, not just cost per lead. Use the Ads Library to see what competitors are running. And once you find winning ads, milk them for years.
Testing takes time. But once you dial it in, you’ll have ads that print money for your pest control business year after year.
Keep Learning and Testing
Want to connect with over 2,000 pest control business owners who are running profitable Facebook ad campaigns? Join our free Facebook group, Pest Control Millionaires. We share our winning ads, testing strategies, and results every single day.
And if you want the exact ads that are already working so you don’t have to test from scratch, check out Zip Code Kings. We give you the proven templates, demographic targeting, and offer strategies that are crushing it right now.
Now go start testing and find your winning ads.
