Google and now Yahoo, with the new Sponsored Search, allow advertisers to run multiple ads for the same keyword. With various messages reaching potential customers, advertisers are able to see which ads attract the most visitors and more importantly which ads attract higher revenue.
Ad rotation gives the advertiser great insight into the mind of the customer. For instance, do customers click more on ads that offer “Free Shipping” or “Free Item with Purchase?” Another example, do discount mentions convert better than guarantees?
To get accurate measurements on ads, it is important not to let the search engines optimize the rotation of the advertiser’s ads. By default, search engines will serve the better performing ads more often. However, the problem is search engines measure “better performing” as ads with higher click-through rates (CTRs) and quality scores. Although, that may work for some advertisers, the real test of an ad is what happens after the user clicks on the ads.
It is important to monitor conversion over clicks. In the example above, Variation C generated the least clicks. However, it also brought in the most conversions.
By delivering all ads evenly within a given time, advertisers should be able to define which ads generated a higher conversion. With knowledge from strong ad testing, off-line campaigns can be tailored to meet those discoveries. Thus, pay-per-click becomes a testing ground for all marketing campaigns.
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