How to Test 30+ YouTube Ads Creatives per Week
(and scale your winners)
there are three main ways of using YouTube Ads as a primary testing platform:
#1 - Official YouTube Experiment
#2 - Evergreen Farming Campaign
#3 - Single Ad Campaigns (SACs)
each has their pros and cons, I'll list them below
#1 - Official YouTube Experiment
#2 - Evergreen Farming Campaign
#3 - Single Ad Campaigns (SACs)
each has their pros and cons, I'll list them below
YouTube Ads Test #1 - YouTube Experiment
The What
• this is an official campaign tool inside the dashboard
• you can use up to 4 videos and split them against the same traffic in a controlled manner (by giving them each the same % of the budget, and they will get the spend evenly)
The Pro
• clean test and allows you to split spend evenly WHILE not competing against each other in the auction
The Cons
• since you can only do four at a time, you will have to have multiple of these created per week
• very time-consuming to create due to Google's interface/UX
• if you have policy issues and a few get disapproved, it defeats the purpose of this budget % split since only 1 or 2 would be left active
The What
• this is an official campaign tool inside the dashboard
• you can use up to 4 videos and split them against the same traffic in a controlled manner (by giving them each the same % of the budget, and they will get the spend evenly)
The Pro
• clean test and allows you to split spend evenly WHILE not competing against each other in the auction
The Cons
• since you can only do four at a time, you will have to have multiple of these created per week
• very time-consuming to create due to Google's interface/UX
• if you have policy issues and a few get disapproved, it defeats the purpose of this budget % split since only 1 or 2 would be left active
YouTube Ads Test #2 - Evergreen Farming Campaign
The What
• create a normal video action campaign, targeting your best performing audience and rotate new videos 1-2x per week (depending on your budget) while getting rid of past winners/losers
The Pros
• fast implementation and Google will try to find a winner for us
• policy-wise, this is the cleanest since if we're testing 20+ new ads a week, it doesn't matter if 10-30% of them are disapproved since we still have the volume of creatives to test against each other
The Cons
• not even testing since Google will find 1 or 2 and push 80% of the budget toward them (so it won't be an even split test)
• continuing the above, you will have to retest many older batches that weren't given a fair shot
• performance will be unstable with always rotating new creatives and getting rid of winning ones --> so can't expect great performance even though it has historical data
The What
• create a normal video action campaign, targeting your best performing audience and rotate new videos 1-2x per week (depending on your budget) while getting rid of past winners/losers
The Pros
• fast implementation and Google will try to find a winner for us
• policy-wise, this is the cleanest since if we're testing 20+ new ads a week, it doesn't matter if 10-30% of them are disapproved since we still have the volume of creatives to test against each other
The Cons
• not even testing since Google will find 1 or 2 and push 80% of the budget toward them (so it won't be an even split test)
• continuing the above, you will have to retest many older batches that weren't given a fair shot
• performance will be unstable with always rotating new creatives and getting rid of winning ones --> so can't expect great performance even though it has historical data
YouTube Ads Test #3 - Single Ad Campaigns (SACs)
The What
• launch new campaigns with one new creative at a time
The Pro
• fast implementation and will control spending across each creative
The Cons
• you will be competing against each other since using the same targeting method (could have "uneven" placements or spend)
• dependent on creatives in each campaign getting approved for them to run
The What
• launch new campaigns with one new creative at a time
The Pro
• fast implementation and will control spending across each creative
The Cons
• you will be competing against each other since using the same targeting method (could have "uneven" placements or spend)
• dependent on creatives in each campaign getting approved for them to run
which option do I prefer?
at scale I believe #2 is the best way since you can add 10+ new creatives at a time and it keeps things pretty organized
if you're only getting 2-8 new creatives a week, I think using the official experiment tool is underrated and a great way to keep track of results
so how do you find a winner?
at scale I believe #2 is the best way since you can add 10+ new creatives at a time and it keeps things pretty organized
if you're only getting 2-8 new creatives a week, I think using the official experiment tool is underrated and a great way to keep track of results
so how do you find a winner?
How to Find Your YouTube Ads Winning Ad?
you have two options
#1 - Cheaper x Front End
#2 - HIgher Cost x Back End
let's break them down:
you have two options
#1 - Cheaper x Front End
#2 - HIgher Cost x Back End
let's break them down:
How to Find Your Winner #1: Cheaper x Front End
How to Find Data Significance?
• via leading indicators (CTR and View Rate being the two main metrics)
Why Leading Indicators?
• this shows us the ads are engaging enough to keep/hold viewers' attention + the offer is engaging enough for them to take action and click on the ad
How Can We Reach Data Significance?
• i want to get at least 100 views per day over a 3-7 day time period (can be longer if the sales cycle is)
• if you have account data then use your average cost per view (CPV) to create a budget, if not $0.10-$0.15 is usually a good estimate to use
Example - 4 New Creatives
• if average CPVs are $0.10, we will need a budget of at least $10 per day per creative
• why -> $10 per day per creative will get us >100 views per day
• total cost testing 4 creatives over 3 days = $120
--> $10 per creative @ 4 creatives = $40 per day x 3 days
How to Find Data Significance?
• via leading indicators (CTR and View Rate being the two main metrics)
Why Leading Indicators?
• this shows us the ads are engaging enough to keep/hold viewers' attention + the offer is engaging enough for them to take action and click on the ad
How Can We Reach Data Significance?
• i want to get at least 100 views per day over a 3-7 day time period (can be longer if the sales cycle is)
• if you have account data then use your average cost per view (CPV) to create a budget, if not $0.10-$0.15 is usually a good estimate to use
Example - 4 New Creatives
• if average CPVs are $0.10, we will need a budget of at least $10 per day per creative
• why -> $10 per day per creative will get us >100 views per day
• total cost testing 4 creatives over 3 days = $120
--> $10 per creative @ 4 creatives = $40 per day x 3 days
How to Find Your Winner #1: Higher Cost x Back End
How to Find Data Significance?
• via lagging indicators, so conversions and ROAS (volume and efficiency metrics)
Why Lagging Indicators?
• this shows us how the audience responds to the creatives + the offer, so it's not a direct test of the creative but a combination of the system as a whole with the new creative(s)
How Can We Reach Data Significance?
• I want to get at least 100 clicks per day (ideally more)
• if you have account data then use your average cost per click (CPC) to create a budget, if not $1-$2 is usually a good estimate to use
Example - 4 New Creatives
• if average CPCs are $1, we will need a budget of at least $100 per creative per day
• why -> $100 should get us our 100 clicks per day
• total cost testing 4 creatives over 3 days = $1,200
--> $100 per creative @ 4 creatives = $400 per day x 3 days
How to Find Data Significance?
• via lagging indicators, so conversions and ROAS (volume and efficiency metrics)
Why Lagging Indicators?
• this shows us how the audience responds to the creatives + the offer, so it's not a direct test of the creative but a combination of the system as a whole with the new creative(s)
How Can We Reach Data Significance?
• I want to get at least 100 clicks per day (ideally more)
• if you have account data then use your average cost per click (CPC) to create a budget, if not $1-$2 is usually a good estimate to use
Example - 4 New Creatives
• if average CPCs are $1, we will need a budget of at least $100 per creative per day
• why -> $100 should get us our 100 clicks per day
• total cost testing 4 creatives over 3 days = $1,200
--> $100 per creative @ 4 creatives = $400 per day x 3 days
How to Test 30+ YouTube Ads Creatives per week While Scaling your Winners:
Choose 1 Testing Method:
1. Official YouTube Experiment
2. Evergreen Farming Campaign
3. Single Ad Campaigns (SACs)
Find data significance with:
1. Front-End Relevance KPIs (CTR/VR)
2. Back-End Performance KPIs (Conversions/ROAS)
Then take your winner(s) and add to existing winning campaigns, while removing poor-performing old creatives
Choose 1 Testing Method:
1. Official YouTube Experiment
2. Evergreen Farming Campaign
3. Single Ad Campaigns (SACs)
Find data significance with:
1. Front-End Relevance KPIs (CTR/VR)
2. Back-End Performance KPIs (Conversions/ROAS)
Then take your winner(s) and add to existing winning campaigns, while removing poor-performing old creatives
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