Digital advertising lift tests measure the actual impact of advertising campaigns by comparing the behavior of users exposed to ads versus those who were not.
This helps you understand whether your ads are actually driving additional conversions, or whether those conversions would have happened anyway.
From analytics firms to previously undervalued prospecting campaigns, incrementality testing benefits a range of people, campaign types and ad formats (we’ll call them winners) and uncovers bad actors and overvalued campaign types above (we’ll call them the losers). ).
We will remove the curtain.
Winners of incrementality tests
Advertisers with effective campaigns
Businesses that run effective upper or lower funnel advertising campaigns will benefit the most from lift testing.
If their ads are actually generating incremental influence and/or conversions, these businesses will be able to further demonstrate their value and increase their marketing budget as a result.
Data analysis companies
Incrementality testing relies heavily on sophisticated data analysis techniques to accurately measure advertising impact.
Those offering these services can take advantage of the growing demand for reliable measurement methods such as geographic elevation testing and media mix modeling.
Platforms with transparent attribution models
Platforms that offer transparent attribution models and robust measurement tools stand to win.
Advertisers are increasingly looking for platforms that provide clear insight into the effectiveness of their ads, and platforms that can offer reliable incremental testing capabilities will attract more advertisers.
Advertisers running multi-channel campaigns
Campaigns that run across multiple channels such as social, search, display and email can benefit from incremental testing to assess the overall impact of advertising across the entire journey of the client
While measuring the lift of single-channel campaigns can be valuable, understanding how different channels contribute to conversions and whether they generate an incremental lift helps advertisers allocate their budgets more effectively across channels.
Advertisers launching or promoting new products
When introducing a new product or running a promotional campaign, advertisers often want to know whether their ads lead to incremental sales or whether customers would have bought the product anyway.
Incremental testing provides valuable insight into the effectiveness of these campaigns and allows advertisers to optimize their messaging and targeting to maximize impact.
The losers of incrementality tests
Ad scammers
Increment testing poses a significant threat to ad fraudsters who engage in activities such as click fraud or fake impressions.
As advertisers become more adept at measuring the real impact of their ads, they are likely to shift their budgets away from channels with high levels of fraud.
Platforms with low measurement capacity
Platforms that lack robust measurement capabilities and transparency in their attribution models may miss out.
With advertisers becoming increasingly picky about where they allocate their ad budgets, platforms that cannot provide accurate information about campaign performance may see a decline in advertiser trust and investment.
Traditional advertising models
Incremental testing often challenges traditional advertising models that rely on last-click attribution or other simplistic measurement approaches.
As more advertisers demand more sophisticated methods of evaluating ad effectiveness, traditional models that cannot be adapted may become less relevant in digital advertising.
Deepen: efficiency vs. volume in PPC: 4 tips to achieve a balance in incremental conversions
From an incremental perspective, the valuation of prospecting and remarketing campaigns can vary based on their ability to generate incremental conversions and engagement.
Here’s a general assessment of what types of campaigns tend to be undervalued or overvalued:
underrated
Prospecting campaigns
These campaigns target new audiences that have not previously interacted with the brand, with the goal of expanding brand awareness and reaching potential customers who are in the early stages of the purchase funnel. While prospecting campaigns don’t always lead to immediate conversions, they’re crucial to driving incremental brand exposure, audience growth, and consideration over time.
Upper funnel campaigns
These campaigns, which include prospecting campaigns focused on brand awareness and consideration, may not always lead to immediate conversions. Still, they help build brand equity, foster customer relationships, and influence purchasing decisions down the line.
overrated
Remarketing campaigns
Although remarketing campaigns target users who have previously interacted with your brand or visited your website, their incremental impact may be limited compared to prospecting campaigns. In some cases, remarketing ads can only remind users who would have converted anyway rather than driving truly incremental conversions.
Funnel campaigns
These include remarketing campaigns focused on generating conversions and sales. While they may achieve immediate results in terms of conversions, their incremental impact on overall revenue and customer acquisition may be less significant compared to upper-funnel campaigns that focus on building awareness and consideration of the brand
You should carefully evaluate the scale of your prospecting and remarketing campaigns based on your specific goals, target audience, and desired results.
By understanding the true incremental impact of each campaign type, you can optimize your advertising strategies to maximize ROI and effectiveness.
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Different ad formats
The value of different ad formats can vary based on their ability to drive incremental conversions, engagement and brand lift.
Here’s a general assessment of which ad formats tend to be undervalued or overvalued:
underrated
Native Ads
They blend seamlessly with surrounding content, making them less intrusive and more likely to drive incremental engagement and conversions than traditional display ads. You’ll want to try this and draw your own conclusions.
Interstitial ads
Interstitial ads, which appear between content transitions, can be perceived as interruptive. However, they have the potential to capture users’ attention during natural breaks in their browsing or app use, generating incremental clicks and conversions.
In-app ads
These ads provide opportunities to reach users in a highly engaged environment. Users spend a large amount of time on mobile apps, and ads displayed within these apps can effectively drive incremental actions and conversions.
overrated
Search ads
Paid search ads typically capture users who are actively searching for a specific product or service. While search ads can drive conversions, especially for high-intent queries, their incremental impact may be limited compared to other ad formats that target users earlier in the funnel. There’s also a big difference in the lift of branded search ads and non-branded search ads, which I’ll explore in a minute.
Ads on social networks
These ads can reach a large audience, but the incremental impact on conversions and revenue may vary based on factors such as ad targeting, messaging, and creative.
Rich media ads
Ads with interactive elements such as video, audio, and animations can provide a visually engaging ad experience. However, their incremental impact on conversions and brand lift may not always justify the additional investment compared to simpler ad formats.
Evaluate the lift of different ad formats based on your specific campaign goals, target audiences, and desired results. You should test different ad formats and make your own calls.
Dig deeper: Search incrementality: How paid and organic work together for better performance
Branded versus unbranded search
The value of prospecting and remarketing campaigns can vary based on their ability to drive incremental conversions and engagement.
Here’s a general assessment of what types of campaigns tend to be undervalued or overvalued:
underrated
Unbranded search campaigns
These campaigns target generic or industry-related keywords that do not include the advertiser’s brand name, with the goal of engaging users who are in the consideration or research phase of the purchase journey . While non-branded search campaigns don’t always drive immediate conversions, they’re vital to driving incremental brand exposure, audience growth and consideration over time.
overrated
Brand search campaigns
These campaigns target keywords directly related to the advertiser’s brand name or the brand’s products/services, with the goal of capturing users who are already familiar with the brand or who are actively searching for products or specific services offered by the brand. While branded search campaigns may yield immediate results in terms of conversions, their incremental impact on overall revenue and customer acquisition may be less significant compared to non-branded search campaigns that target new audiences and generate consideration.
Incremental research often reveals that non-branded search campaigns have a bigger impact than our clients realize, while branded search lift is less impressive than the metrics suggest traditional performance.
Digital advertising incremental testing: a long-term game
Learning Increment Testing is a long-term play that will work today.
Be sure to add it as a priority to your measurement toolkit so you’re ready when Google decides to turn off cookies once and for all.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.
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