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Academy · Static ads

Testing static ads on Meta and TikTok

Static ads are the cheapest way to find out which message sells. The advertisers who grow fastest test new creatives every week, and images let you do that without a shoot.

18.8 a week

Large advertisers tested 18.8 new creatives a week on average (Motion, 578,750 creatives, Sep 2025 to Jan 2026).

2 to 5 variants

Meta's Creative Testing tool runs 2 to 5 variants with even delivery, capped at 20% of the account budget.

Your baseline

Published CTR and CPA benchmarks contradict each other. Judge every ad against your own last 7 to 30 days.

The testing routine

  1. Pick one angle: the reason to buy you are testing (price, the comparison with the usual option, the problem it fixes). One angle per test.
  2. Make 2 to 5 variants of that angle: in CartViral, select the layouts that fit (price offer only with a real discount, us vs the usual way when you beat a common alternative, problem and solution when it fixes a clear pain).
  3. Launch small: Meta's Creative Testing tool (Highest Volume bidding) or a manual ad set per variant, at up to 20% of your daily budget.
  4. Wait for data: do not judge on day 1 or 2. Meta's learning phase works around 50 conversion events per ad set.
  5. Scale the winner: move it into your main Advantage+ or CBO campaign, then test the next angle against it.
  6. Refresh weekly: watch weekly frequency; when the same people see the ad 3 to 4 times a week in prospecting, results drop. Have the next set ready before that.

Sizes and placements

Do
  • 4:5 (1080x1350) for Facebook and Instagram feeds
  • 9:16 (1080x1920) for Stories, Reels and TikTok, with text away from the top and bottom where the app's buttons sit
  • 1:1 for right column, marketplace and anywhere square is the default
  • Upload all three sizes of the same banner to one ad so each placement gets its native size
Avoid
  • A countdown that resets or an invented "only X left": Meta and TikTok treat it as deceptive
  • A claim the landing page does not back up: both platforms check the page against the ad
  • Running 12 combinations on a small budget: spend goes to the early leader and the rest never get a fair read

What to look at

Click-through rate tells you if the image stops people, cost per click and cost per purchase tell you if it sells, weekly frequency tells you when it is tired. Compare with your own account's average, keep the winners running, and kill an ad when it trails your average after enough spend to judge.

Questions

Statics or video?

Both. Statics are fast and cheap to test, so they are the best way to find the angle; then make the winning angle into a video ad. No reliable study proves one beats the other for every account.

How many layouts should I pick in CartViral?

The set costs the same however many layouts you pick, so pick every layout that is honest for your product. Each layout comes in 3 sizes.

Can I show a discount?

Only a real one. CartViral shows an old price and a percent only when your store has a real compare-at price.

Sources

Make it with Static ads

6 proven layouts (price offer, us vs the usual way, benefits, problem and solution, sticky note, feature close-up), each in 1:1, 4:5 and 9:16. 4 credits a set.

Open Static ads