# Rhyming-poem search ad vs plain ad: CTR 1.1% to 2.13%, same CPA

- Outcome: Won
- Page type: Ad (SaaS)
- Elements: Copy
- Date shared: 2006-08
- Test run by: [Patrick McKenzie](https://liftarchive.com/practitioners/patrick-mckenzie/)
- Commentary by: LiftArchive (our analysis, not theirs)
- Original source: https://www.kalzumeus.com/2006/08/11/update-on-ad-experiments/
- Page: https://liftarchive.com/test/patio11-bcc-adwords-poetry-ad/

Patrick McKenzie ran a deliberately campy rhyming search ad against a well-optimized plain ad for Bingo Card Creator, and click-through rose from about 1.1% to 2.13% at roughly the same cost per trial download. Conversion per click dipped slightly, from 22% to 19%. The test was published on the Kalzumeus blog in 2006.

## Result

**CTR 1.1% to 2.13%, same CPA**

- Click-through rate: about 1.1% for the plain ad vs 2.13% for the poem, roughly double the clicks.
- Conversion to trial download: 22% vs 19%. The poem ad converted slightly worse per click.
- Cost per trial download: about 32 cents vs about 31 cents, essentially flat. The win is more volume at the same cost.
- The full experiment, including a third ad, cost $4.61 in clicks over about a week.

## Control

A plain AdWords ad, refined over a month, headed "Sight Words Bingo" with the text "Don't prep for an hour. Be ready in minutes with our software."

## Variant

A rhyming ad headed "Dolch Sight Word Bingo" that read "Roses are red, violets are blue, Bingo makes students love you." It used the same keywords, ad group and landing page.

## Why it likely won (our reading)

- Most ads on the page looked alike, so a playful poem stood out to people scanning results.
- The rhyme spoke to teachers' goals (students enjoying class) rather than listing features.
- A clever ad can attract curious clickers who are slightly less ready to act, which fits the small drop in conversion rate.

## Caveats

Tiny spend and about one week of data, so sample sizes are very small, and this is a 2006 AdWords rotation rather than a page test. Bingo Card Creator was downloadable desktop software at the time, not SaaS.

## How to run this test

- Hypothesis: If we run a distinctive, playful ad alongside our standard ad on the same keywords and landing page, then click-through will rise without raising cost per sign-up because it stands out from similar-looking competitors.
- Primary metric: Cost per trial or sign-up
- Guardrail: Conversion rate per click
- Guardrail: Click-through rate
- Guardrail: Trial-to-paid rate from each ad
- Who should test it: SaaS and lead-gen businesses on search ads where competitors' ads all look the same. A jokey tone may not suit high-trust or enterprise buyers, so judge on cost per qualified lead, not clicks.

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Credit: Patrick McKenzie ran this test and owns the result. Summary and commentary by LiftArchive (https://liftarchive.com/test/patio11-bcc-adwords-poetry-ad/).
Usage: Free to use, quote and build on, with credit and a link: name the practitioner or organization that ran the test and link to its LiftArchive page. The results belong to the practitioners who ran and shared them; the summaries and commentary are LiftArchive's.