I’m back!
Firstly, I’d like to apologise for the lack of my posts. I had a break out of hives that kept me bedridden for weeks. I was forced to eat raw catfish and pea puree for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Now I’ve lost the feeling of my top lip.
I kid; I’ve just been busy.
I don't know why I used this image, just thought it looked groovy. Best excuse I could come up with was "Mr Green Ill" as in "Kim Jong Ill"...*crickets*
Let’s get down to business…
Plenty of Fish came out with a new ad format 310 x 110. I thought I’d give it a whirl and share my results with ya. To make things interesting, I decided to promote something a bit tougher than dating. Plenty of Fish recently added a new targetting option. You now have the option to target people who have pets. So I talked to some people who know people, and found a nice dog training lead generation offer, it was bitch’n (pun intended).
I presented myself four questions for this case study:
- Do 310 x 110 banner ads perform better than the 110 x 80 text ads?
- Is it better to make the 310 x 110 banners look like the 110 x 80 ads, or is it better to make the 310 x 110 banner ads stand out?
- Do cheaper CPMs mean lower CRs?
- Can I make a dog training lead generation offer profitable on a free dating website?
I gave myself an $800 budget. I have used exactly the same ad copy and imagery in all ads.
Test 1: Do 310 x 110 banner ads perform better than the 110 x 80 text ads?
As you can see I made two identical ads; the only difference was they were served as different ad formats.
Results:
Standard Ad: 3.3% conversion rate, 0.031% CTR | 310 x 110 ad: 4.6% conversion rate, 0.034 CTR.
The 310 x 110 just scrapped through. I did not expect such similar results.
Test 2: 310 x 1110 ad that looks like 110×80 vs a 310 x 110 that stands out.
Results:
110×80 look-alike: 4.6% conversaion rate, 0.034% CTR | Ad that stands out: 9.6% conversion rate, 0.17% CTR.
Uhhhhh what the truck just happened there!? DOUBLE the conversion rate, and exactly FIVE times the CTR. I like the colour green for many reasons, this is one of them. That just turned a very weak campaign into a contender
Oooweee I like where things are going. Time to turn the crank up a bit.
Test 3: low CPM vs high CPM.
I tested that lean green 310×110 marketing machine of an ad with a 0.41 CPM and 0.21 CPM.
Results:
0.41 CPM: 9.6% conversion rate, 0.17% CTR. | 0.21 CPM: 6.3% conversion rate, 0.058% CTR.
CRs and CTRs dropped heavily as I dropped the CPMs. The ROI was still better on the lower CPM but volume hit the big time. Note how important it is to play with bids. In this one test I increased my CPM by 20 cents which in turn increased the CR by 50% and double the CTR. Isn’t that just swell?
Test 4: Can I make a dog training lead generation offer profitable on a free dating website?
Hells yeah! Still running at 50% ROI.
___________________
Summary for my ADHD angels:
- 310×110 that stand out fricking rock (in the LOLmoney kind of way, not in the geology way).
- CPMs alter CTRs & CR like a boss.
- Non-dating offers STILL work on POF.
P.S. Targetting info and full creatives will be shared on the forum soon. Why? Well, I’ve been lead to believe that the lead singer from Creed has recently started reading my blog. I don’t feel like sharing the goodies with him.
Have you guys messed around with 310 ads? What results did you see? Have ya been successful with any whack non dating offers?
Quality case study.
Good Information on Plenty of Fish! Thanks
Were you direct linking or using a landing page Mr Green?
Direct linking sir.
Any idea why green works?
Other than it just stood, I'm not entirely sure. I didn't text other colours stand out so I can't really comment.
How many days did the test run?
7 days.
aha, so with $800 budget you spend around $114/day and now the campaigns is making roughly $57 per day (at 50% ROI).
great post by the way, it reminded me of ad testing basics i keep forgetting on my fb campaigns
$800 was only the testing budget. I didn't make it the limit for my campaign.
I also had awesome success using the new size. Good case study! Send me the ad copy.
Great post Mr. Kim Jong Ill
Can you show the raw numbers. You know I hate percents especially when we don't know if you're findings are statistically significant.
Love the methodology though.
Twill be disclosed in teh forums!
Any ideas when?
Most likely tomorrow.
I wonder what other non-dating campaigns can work on POF?
Auto Insurance, Daily Deals, Diet, Grants, Biz Opp.
eCigs were big on POF at one time as well targetting by Smoking Preference. – Great case study Mr G.
I've used them to promote dating since release. I treat them like mini IAB's. CTR skyrockets and ROI has never been better. I have nearly paused all my 110x80s for the moment.
Amen brother!
I too have been trying to work out some non-dating offers…been tough getting my demographics down. Didn't think of the pet thing…must try.
THANKS!!!
Mr. Green. I'm a long time lurker on your site. Another great case study! I have my own coupon code website which I was looking to advertise during the holiday shopping season. Do you think it could work well in POF?
Daily deals work, but they have a $2 + CPA and they have optimized their path down to a fine art. The potential is there it just depends how effective your website is in monteizing visitors.
Test
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That is badass!!!!
Wow, there is a lot to be made with those banners can't wait to get home and test that out!
Awesome test and thanks for posting the details in the forum. It just shows you never know which creative or which demo will really work until you expose it to the market..
[...] Mr. Green has a new case study on the 310px ads at Plenty of Fish. I ask, is there any traffic left on PoF that isn’t going to Mr. Green’s case studies? [...]
Omg, POF are really good!
More than size, what's more vital is how well the ad can catch attention. That's where planning, creativity, and enough sign making supplies will come in. A perfect combination of those will create a sign sure to turn its fair share of heads.
hey mr green im having trouble finding good banners to fit for my 310×110 do you no wher ei can find any.i tried to edit some on photoshop but its not working