Split Testing Facebook Ads: A 6-Step Guide

Facebook advertising is one of the most powerful tools available for marketers. When utilised correctly, promoting on this social media platform can generate a boatload of new leads, sales, and visibility for your brand.  

However, the key part of that previous sentence is “utilised correctly”. When your ads are not functioning as expected, they fail to hit the mark, which means flushing your marketing budget down the drain. Fortunately, there is a method to successfully assess Facebook ad efficiency: split testing.  

If you’ve heard of Facebook split testing but are unsure how it works, this guide is here to help. We’ll explain what split testing is, the reasons to use this feature, and easy-to-follow instructions on getting it up and running.  

What is split testing? 

Known as A/B testing, split testing is a strategy that takes two marketing-related elements, matches them against each other, and sees which one produces the best results. A split test is not only applicable for Facebook Ads. It can also be utilised for aspects such as landing pages, headlines, social media posts, and email.  

There are no restrictions in terms of the variables you are able to test. It may feel a little silly to test even the smallest design or copy elements but doing so has the ability to significantly improve the performance of your marketing efforts. It’s true: even a switch up to your call-to-action button’s colour can yield positive results.  

As for the types of split testing you can perform, here are numerous common examples:  

• Audience testing: Performing marketing campaigns with a focus on different demographics, locations, and audiences. 
• Placement testing: This involves testing out different placement types. For instance, this could be specific vs. automatic.  

• Delivery optimisation: Testing where you run campaigns both with and without budget optimisation.  
• Product set testing: Taking different product sets and comparing their respective performance. 
• Creative testing: Where you try out different design elements. This can be fonts, images, CTAs, copy, colours, etc.  
• Custom variables: Any other elements you want to test with your marketing campaign? This is where custom variables come into play.  

The benefits of A/B testing Facebook ads 

Facebook Ads are a fantastic marketing tool. You can create an ad within a matter of minutes, post it, and sit back while it does the work. However, it’s important you don’t simply set an ad and then forget about it. A launched campaign isn’t going to run consistently – success is only maximised when you check on performance, analyse the statistics, and test out different tactics for optimisation.  

As for other benefits gained from A/B testing, here are a few to keep in mind: 

• Facebook is notoriously fussy: The Facebook Ads algorithm is not something that stays still. It is constantly evolving and throwing in random changes unpredictably. As a result, even if your adverts are performing well over a sustained period of time, results can suddenly fall off a cliff due to that pesky algorithm changing the game.  
• Maximise visibility: The main aim is to get those Facebook Ads to your entire audience. However, your ad style and content might captivate a certain audience segment but push away another. Due to this, you need to run tests and make sure your ads are appealing to as many people as possible, maximising your brand’s visibility in a positive way.  
• Lower costs: You have to splash the cash to use Facebook Ads. Even so, you don’t have to spend as much money as you think when utilising this marketing formal. This is possible when constantly testing your ads. You can gain valuable insights, learn more about your audience, and understand what type of content resonates with them. The result: your ads become more effective, you don’t have to spend as much to generate the conversions you expect, and you ultimately lower your costs.  

How to split test Facebook Ads successfully 

You know what split testing is and why it’s beneficial. Now it’s time to learn how to perform this action successfully. Ultimately, if you’re unsure how to perform testing effectively, this means issues will crop up that will hamper its effectiveness.  

To avoid this from happening, here are 6 steps to follow when performing split tests for your Facebook Ads: 

1. Select your goal 

The first step is to decide on the overall goal for your Facebook Ads. Ultimately, the general concept of A/B testing is setting a goal, trying out different variations, and seeing which one accomplishes the goal best. Here are a few examples of goals you might decide to test with your Facebook Ads: 

• Improve website traffic 
• Increase leads 
• Enhance click-through rate 
• Boost video views 

The goals follow the same general theme: improving performance while maximising expenditure. Yet it’s vital you specify your goal before proceeding forward. 

2. Select your variables 

This is one of the trickier aspects when performing A/B testing for Facebook Ads. Why? The reason for this is simple: there are many variables available for you to consider. With such a deluge of variables, it means there are various areas you’ll have to test and tweak before you strike gold with your Facebook Ads.  

These variables cover:  

• Audiences  
• Campaign objectives 

• Ad level elements (CTA, headline, copy, creative, etc.) 
• Optimisation  

To test your ads successfully, you’ll have to go through each variable, one by one, to see what works best.  

3. Start the testing phase  

Now you might be wondering why it’s essential you test out each variable individually. Simply put, if you test out one type of ad, then try out another which has changed all of the elements, how will you know what actually made the difference in terms of performance? For instance, you could change the CTA, image, and copy all at the same time and boost the click-through rate, but you won’t know which specific element caused this to happen.  

With this in mind, you have to go with a single element each time you perform A/B split testing. Say you want to test out the headline for your Facebook ad. First, begin by launching 2 or 3 ads that are exactly the same, with the only difference being a variation to the headline.  

It’s a slow, rudimentary process – but it’s one that gets results. If you start seeing increased performance for a specific ad you’re testing, this demonstrates the headline is hitting the mark and resonating with your audience. The result: you can move forward with this headline in the future for your optimised ad campaign.  

4. Utilise the available data 

To gain a full understanding of how your ad tests are performing, it’s essential you pay close attention to the data. You cannot simply go off, say, an increased viewership for your website. You have to analyse all of the statistics available to gain the full picture of your Facebook Ads.  

It’s also not a case of only using the data Facebook makes available. You also have to utilise your own data. As an example, Facebook might recognise one of your ads is receiving fewer impressions than normal. Yet your data is demonstrating that, despite fewer people seeing the ad, it is producing a higher CTR – even with it costing less to run!  

Also, before you tweak and optimise, ensure your ad has exited Facebook Ads’ ‘Learning Period’. This can skew the results, where Facebook pushes your ads based on algorithmic favouritism – the type of favouritism that’s unlikely to exist down the line.  

5. Moving forward with variable testing 

After you’ve run your test ads long enough, you should possess the necessary data to make a decision. You should know which variable variation delivers the best results for your audience. If that’s the case, it is time to disable your test ads – you don’t want to be paying more for these than is necessary.  

At this stage, it’s time to move on to the next variable on your list for testing. For instance, if the first variable you tested was the ad’s headline, you might decide to next move on to the copy.  

When doing so, you can keep in the winning headline from your previous testing. This helps with building up the perfect ad in real-time. Just remember all of the elements have to remain the same across the test ads – other than the variable you’re testing.  

6. Repeat, repeat, repeat 

Once you’re in the groove, it’s a case of repeating the procedure as you test out other elements. Once you build a list of elements that are performing well, you have the parts to put together a winning ad strategy. 

It’s a lengthy process, yes, but the results are worth it at the end of the day. As you continue to test, test, and test some more, you’re in a position to discover variable gold – aka elements that grab your audience and don’t let go until they’ve performed the desired action.  

When the objective is to improve your ROI with Facebook Ads, it’s essential you perform split testing to fully understand your audience and know what they require most.