• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
  • Company
    • Mission
    • Core Values
    • Leadership
    • DE&I
    • Careers
    • Distinctions
  • Products
    • Ad Formats
    • Data Solutions
    • Exchange Traded Deals
    • Inventory Packages
  • Technology
  • Resources
    • Blog
    • Research
    • Privacy & Identity Blog
    • Press
  • Contact Us
  • Login
  • Company
    • Mission
    • Core Values
    • Leadership
    • DE&I
    • Careers
    • Distinctions
  • Products
    • Ad Formats
    • Data Solutions
    • Exchange Traded Deals
    • Inventory Packages
  • Technology
  • Resources
    • Blog
    • Research
    • Privacy & Identity Blog
    • Press
  • Contact Us
  • Login

A/B Testing With Images Versus Words

February 24, 2015

It’s been commonplace for marketers to apply A/B testing to identify changes that will increase or maximize engagement or interest with a particular piece of marketing or advertising.  As the name implies, two versions of advertising (A and B) are compared, which are identical except for one variation that might affect a user’s behavior. Marketers usually focus on testing the copy, but it’s time to focus on the images.

Optimizing the copy on a website, in an email subject line, or specific words in an ad is one of the most popular ways to A/B test.  But compelling copy can only get you so far. If you really want to reach new customers, you need to optimize the images to drive maximum engagement.  Why?  Because, as human beings, we are wired to respond to images over text – 90 percent of the information sent to the brain is visual. What’s more, according to a recent 3M study, images are processed 60,000 times faster than text.

So don’t you think it would make more sense to spend time testing the images versus the words?  We do; so we tested optimizing the images in many of the native advertising campaigns we launched over the past 12 months.  In A/B tests, we noticed that ad engagement increased by 65 percent when a new image was tested versus simply changing and testing the ad copy.

This is not to discount the power of words, but at the end of the day, subtle changes to an image will have more of an impact then fretting over what words to use.  Think about using different images to test with your content depending on your audience and see which images perform best.

 

Related Posts

How Marketers Make the Most of Native Advertising for a Successful Media Mix Strategy

March 9, 2023

In the Face of An Economic Downturn, Programmatic May Be Well-Positioned

In the Face of an Economic Downturn, Programmatic May Be Well Positioned

March 17, 2020

The Future of Storytelling: Industry Thought Leaders Reveal What’s Next for Video Advertising

November 25, 2019

Footer Two Area

Our industry moves fast.

Sign up to stay up-to-date on the latest news,
trends and upcoming events.

Connect with us!

Footer

Policies

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Creative Ad Policies
  • Exchange Supply Policies

Resources

  • Our Careers
  • Company
  • DE&I
  • Privacy & Identity Blog

Certifications & Affiliations

Copyright © 2023 All Rights Reserved TripleLift

53 W. 23rd St., 12th Floor New York, NY 10010