Are you looking to take your Pinterest ad performance to the next level? A/B testing is one of the most powerful tools in your arsenal. By running controlled experiments, you can identify what ad elements resonate most with your target audience and optimize for your key objectives.
Pinterest has become a go-to platform for advertisers looking to connect with purchase-minded consumers. With over 450 million monthly active users and growing, the platform offers massive reach. And those users are ready to shop – 45% of U.S. consumers have made a purchase after seeing a Promoted Pin.
But in order to capitalize on this potential, you need to know how to craft ads that convert. That‘s where A/B testing comes in. In this guide, we‘ll walk you through a detailed, step-by-step process for A/B testing your Pinterest ads like a pro. We‘ll cover what to test, how to set up your experiments, and how to analyze and act on your results.
Why A/B Test Pinterest Ads?
First, let‘s talk about why you should be investing time and resources into Pinterest ad testing in the first place:
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Optimize for your specific goals. Whether you‘re focused on driving traffic, leads, sales, or another metric, A/B testing lets you identify the ad elements that best support your unique objectives.
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Learn what resonates with your audience. Different audiences respond to different cues. Testing helps you uncover what copy, creative, and targeting approaches engage your ideal customers.
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Improve ROAS. Even small improvements in click-through or conversion rates can have a big impact on your bottom line. A/B testing helps you get the most out of your ad spend.
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Keep pace with best practices. Pinterest and its users are constantly evolving. What worked last year may not work today. Regular testing keeps your finger on the pulse.
Step 1: Determine What to Test
The first step is deciding what ad variable(s) you want to test. The main components to consider are:
- Creative – The image or video in your ad
- Copy – The text in your headline, description, and CTA
- Targeting – The audiences you choose to show your ads to
- Landing Page – The post-click destination on your website
Within each of these categories, there are countless variations you could test. For example, within creative you could test:
- Image style (product shots, lifestyle photos, text-based images, etc.)
- Dominant colors
- Number of products shown
- Presence of people
Our recommendation is to start with creative and copy tests, as these tend to have the biggest impact on Pinterest ad performance. Here are some examples of high-potential variables to test:
| Creative | Copy |
|---|---|
| Single image vs. carousel | Headline phrasing |
| Lifestyle vs. product imagery | Benefit vs. feature focus |
| Color schemes | Emojis |
| Text overlay | CTA wording |
Step 2: Create Your Ad Variations
Once you know what you want to test, it‘s time to create your ad variations. For clean results, you‘ll want to test one variable at a time, keeping all other elements constant.
For example, let‘s say you want to test two different headline options for an ad promoting a new cookbook:
- Headline A: "25 Quick & Healthy Weeknight Dinners"
- Headline B: "Weeknight Cooking, Simplified: 25 Easy Recipes"
You would create two versions of the ad, one with each headline. But everything else – the image, description copy, CTA, targeting, and destination link – would be exactly the same.
Step 3: Set Up Your Campaign
Now you‘re ready to set up your A/B test in Pinterest Ads Manager. We recommend using Campaign Budget Optimization (CBO) with ad groups to give the algorithm flexibility to allocate budget to the top performer.
Here‘s how to structure it:
- Create a new campaign and turn on CBO. Set your daily or lifetime campaign budget.
- Name your campaign something clear like "Cookbook – Headline Test"
- Create an ad group for each ad variation you want to test, e.g. "Ad Group – Headline A" and "Ad Group – Headline B"
- Use identical targeting for each ad group. This ensures a fair test.
- Set the ad group budget to be split evenly, e.g. 50% to each ad group.
- Launch your ads and let them run for at least 2-4 weeks to declare a winner. Pinterest recommends 1,000 impressions minimum per ad variation.
Step 4: Evaluate Your Results
Once your test has run for a sufficient time period and gathered enough data, it‘s time to analyze the results. Pinterest Ads Manager provides a wealth of metrics to assess performance:
- Impressions – How many times your ad was shown
- Clicks – Total clicks on your ad
- Click-Through Rate – Percentage of impressions that resulted in a click
- Conversions – Number of desired actions taken
- Conversion Rate – Percentage of clicks that resulted in a conversion
- CPC – Average cost per click
- CPA – Average cost per conversion
To determine a winner, evaluate how each ad variation performed on your primary success metric, e.g. click-through rate for traffic campaigns or conversion rate for conversion campaigns.
Let‘s imagine these were your results:
| Variation | Impressions | Clicks | CTR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Headline A | 50,000 | 1,000 | 2% |
| Headline B | 50,000 | 1,500 | 3% |
In this case, Headline B would be the clear winner with a 50% higher click-through rate. You would want to update your ad copy to use this headline going forward.
But what if your results aren‘t so cut and dry? Here are a few guidelines:
- Focus on the metric that aligns with your primary campaign goal
- Make sure you have a large enough sample size to be statistically significant
- If results are very close, consider running a follow-up test
- If results are inconclusive, table that variable and test something new
Pinterest A/B Testing Best Practices
To maximize the impact of your Pinterest ad tests, keep these best practices in mind:
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Focus on mobile format. Over 80% of Pinterest traffic is mobile. Design and test for small screens.
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Align with your organic strategy. Use insights from your testing to optimize your organic pins and boards as well.
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Test broad targeting, too. Pinterest‘s user base is growing fast. Broad targeting can uncover new high-value audiences.
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Be patient. Don‘t make judgements too quickly. Give the Pinterest algorithm time to optimize with at least 1,000 impressions per ad.
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Think full-funnel. A/B tests tend to focus on upper-funnel metrics, but make sure to analyze the full impact. Use Pinterest Conversion Insights to understand down-funnel behaviors.
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Keep testing. Your work is never done. Keep experimenting to stay ahead of the curve and continue improving ROAS.
Putting It All Together
A/B testing is an essential tool for any Pinterest advertiser looking to drive meaningful results from the platform. By following the steps laid out in this guide, you can run high-impact experiments to optimize your creative, copy, targeting, and overall strategy.
Remember, A/B testing isn‘t a one-and-done tactic. It should be an always-on part of your Pinterest advertising process. Commit to regularly testing new ideas and iterating on what you learn.
With 7 out of 10 Pinterest users saying the platform is where they go to find trustworthy products, the opportunity is huge for brands who know how to connect. Hopefully this guide has given you the knowledge and tools to create Pinterest ads that engage and convert your target audience.
Now go start testing! And if you need help creating eye-catching pins for your tests, check out the templates and inspiration in our Pinterest Ads Creative Guide.
