Definition
Campaign testing is a feature in the Google Ads search network and display network. It allows advertisers to compare the performance of an existing campaign with a draft – like an A/B test. It tests whether and how the change affects the campaign’s performance. In order to obtain meaningful results, only one change should be made at a time in a campaign test, in order to be able to assess whether this exact change has led to an increase in performance.
To create a campaign test, you need to proceed as follows:
- Create a campaign design
- Make changes (budget, target audience, advertising schedule, locations, language, bidding strategy,…)
- Plan the campaign test
– Select test goal, e.g. increase conversions
– Determine budget allocation
– Define runtime
The test then runs for a certain period of time in parallel with the active campaign. During the runtime, the test can be viewed at any time, compared with the original campaign and terminated. For the test results, it is important to include only significant results in order to exclude random results.
Application example
One use case for a campaign test is to change the bidding strategy. For example, in the existing campaign the bidding strategy “Maximise conversions” is selected and in the draft the bidding strategy “Target CPA” is selected. After the test is completed, it is assessed which bidding strategy was able to generate more conversions at the same cost and is applied to the original campaign accordingly.
