Under-testing kills growth. Over-testing wastes cash. Here are the rules we use across 200+ accounts. Related: cro.
The 3x CPA rule
Kill a new creative after spending 3x target CPA with zero conversions. This is statistically meaningful at most budget levels.
The 10% testing budget rule
10-15% of monthly budget should go to net-new creative testing. Not iterations, completely new concepts.
Daily budget per test ad
- →Under $10K/mo total: $25-50/day per test ad
- →$10K-50K/mo: $50-150/day per test ad
- →$50K-200K/mo: $100-300/day per test ad
- →$200K+/mo: $300-1000/day per test ad
How many ads at once
Test 3-5 new concepts simultaneously. More than that dilutes learning. Fewer than 3 means slow iteration.
When to pause a test early
- →CPM2x higher than average, kill early
- →CTRunder 0.5% after 500 impressions, kill early
- →No link clicks after 1000 impressions, kill early
- →Hook rate under 10% on video, kill early
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