Paid ads: test before you scale

An ad magnifies what is already there: a page that sells well will sell more, and a weak page will lose more. So we start ads only after the store and message are ready, and we start small.

A small test plan

1. Set your break even point from lesson three.
2. Choose a daily budget you can afford to lose entirely, and a test of only a few days.
3. Try three ads that differ in idea, not just in colour.
4. Log the cost per click and per purchase in the ad test log template.
5. Stop the loser, and raise the budget gradually on the winner only.

How you judge

Compare the cost of one purchase with your order margin. If acquisition cost is below the margin (32 in the example) you profit on the first order. If it is higher you can only accept the loss if your customers genuinely come back, and you measure that from your own data, not from hope.

A warning

Advertising, privacy and conversion measurement rules change between platforms and countries. Read the platform’s official page before you spend, and never start with money you cannot afford to lose.

Exercise

Prepare three ad ideas and log them in the test log with your break even point and the budget you can afford to lose. Spend nothing before you have written the conditions for stopping and for scaling.