5 Ad Copy Test Ideas for the Holiday Season & Beyond

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If you’re an e-commerce business that runs a lot of promotions in December to capture additional holiday traffic, this is a great time to take advantage of the high volume to test out ad copy variations and gain new insights into what users respond best to. Here are a few that I have tried this year that could be beneficial to try with your own e-commerce business, or keep in mind for any time of year that works best for you:
First, it’s a good idea to test a promo ad vs. the non-promotional copy you always have running. If the ad wins, it proves that running a promotion will actually make a difference to users and get them to click through to your site for often. You want to make sure that running a promotion is effective.


 
 
 
Test promo code inclusion in the copy vs. no promo code. Including the promo code usually improves CTR because the code stands out to grab attention.

 
 
 
Test using “Black Friday” (or any relevant holiday that your sale is running during) in the copy vs. just the promotion without a holiday callout. Calling out the holiday typically performs better because the user understands it’s a fresh ad with an offer that’s likely only available for a limited time.


 
 
 
Test using “Sale” in the title vs. a generic title. Depending on your business, using “sale” may grab more attention from users.

 
 
 
Test including the promotion end date vs. not including an end date. Including an end date typically instills a sense of urgency.

 
 
 
By running tests like these, you can learn how your promotions are working. You can also learn which promo strategies work best. What do consumers like to see when they choose which ad to click on? Is it a promo code? A holiday call out? Maybe an end date gives them more of a sense of urgency to purchase and you obtain more transactions due to that. These tests will help you learn more about your audience and create better-performing ads in the future.
Now that you know which tests to run, get the most out of your promotions with more tips included in my recent post entitled How to Succeed with Holiday Promotions in PPC Ads.