Ad Rotation & Split Testing

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WB Ad Manager makes it easy to rotate multiple ads in a single placement and run split tests to find your top performers. Assign ads to zones, choose a rotation strategy, and let the plugin automatically cycle through your creatives — no manual swapping required.

Understanding Ad Zones

Before creating ads, you need at least one ad zone. Zones are named containers that hold your ads. Each zone can hold multiple ads and rotate through them automatically.

Create an Ad Zone

  1. Go to WB Ad Manager -> Ad Zones
  2. Click Add New
  3. Enter a name (for example, “Sidebar Banner”)
  4. Set the width and height in pixels
  5. Choose a rotation type (see table below)
  6. Click Publish

Zone Rotation Types

Rotation Type How It Works
Random A different ad appears on each page load
Weighted Ads with higher weight show more often
Sequential Ads cycle through in order
Single Always shows the same ad

Creating an Ad

  1. Go to WB Ad Manager -> Ads
  2. Click Add New
  3. Enter a title — this is for your reference only, visitors do not see it
  4. Choose your ad type
  5. Fill in the content for that type (image, code, or rich content)
  6. In the Ad Zones panel on the right, check which zone(s) this ad should appear in
  7. Set scheduling and targeting if needed
  8. Click Publish

Scheduling Ads

You can control exactly when an ad runs by setting a date range.

  1. While editing an ad, find the Schedule section
  2. Set a Start Date — the ad will not show before this date
  3. Set an End Date — the ad will stop showing after this date
  4. Leave either field empty for no restriction on that end
Scenario Start Date End Date
Always active Empty Empty
Future launch Dec 25 Empty
Limited-time sale Dec 1 Dec 31
One-day event Dec 25 Dec 25

Ad Weight and Split Testing

When multiple ads are in the same zone, weight controls how often each ad appears relative to the others. This is your built-in split testing mechanism — create two versions of an ad, assign them equal weight, and compare performance in the analytics dashboard.

  1. Edit the ad
  2. Find the Weight field
  3. Enter a number from 1 to 100
Ad Weight Approximate Display Share
Premium Sponsor 100 ~50%
Regular Sponsor 50 ~25%
House Ad A 25 ~12.5%
House Ad B 25 ~12.5%

Higher weight means more impressions. Set all ads to the same weight for equal rotation.

Analytics dashboard showing impressions, clicks, and CTR for ad performance comparison

Running a Split Test

  1. Create two or more ad variations in the same zone
  2. Give them equal weight (for example, 50 each)
  3. Let them run for at least a week to collect enough data
  4. Compare impressions, clicks, and CTR in WB Ad Manager -> Analytics
  5. Pause or remove the underperforming ad and give the winner more weight

Organizing Ads with Categories

Use categories to group ads by advertiser, campaign, or type.

  1. Go to WB Ad Manager -> Ads -> Categories
  2. Add a new category (for example, “Sponsors” or “House Ads”)
  3. Assign ads to categories when creating or editing them

Good category names to start with:
– Sponsors
– House Ads
– Seasonal Campaigns
– Affiliates

The Ads List

The WB Ad Manager -> Ads screen shows all your ads at a glance.

Ads list screen showing all ads with their status, zone, and click count

From this screen you can:
– See each ad’s status, assigned zone, and click count
– Click an ad title to edit it
– Use the Quick Edit link to change the status or zone without opening the full editor
– Filter ads by zone, category, or status using the filters at the top

Ad Statuses

Status Meaning
Published Active and showing on your site
Draft Saved but not yet live
Scheduled Will go live on its start date
Expired Past its end date — no longer showing

Bulk Actions

You can take action on multiple ads at once.

  1. Go to WB Ad Manager -> Ads
  2. Check the boxes next to the ads you want to change
  3. Open the Bulk Actions dropdown
  4. Select an action:
  5. Move to Trash — delete the selected ads
  6. Edit — change status or zone for all selected ads
  7. Click Apply

Performance Tips

  • Limit ads per page — Three to five ad placements per page is ideal. More ads can slow your site and annoy visitors.
  • Use A/B testing — Create two versions of an ad in the same zone and compare which performs better.
  • Rotate creatives — Replace underperforming ads with fresh designs to prevent ad blindness.
  • Match context — Ads relevant to the surrounding content consistently outperform generic ads.
  • Optimize images — Compress banner images before uploading to keep page load times fast.

Shortcodes

Display ads anywhere on your site using shortcodes. WB Ad Manager provides two shortcodes for ad display.

[wbam_ad] — Single Ad Display

Use this shortcode to show one ad in a specific location. If the zone contains multiple ads, WB Ad Manager automatically rotates between them based on the zone’s rotation settings.

Basic Usage:

[wbam_ad zone="sidebar-banner"]
Parameter Type Default Description
zone text — The zone slug to pull ads from
id number — Display a specific ad by its ID
size text — Override the display size, for example 300x250
class text — Add a custom CSS class to the ad container
fallback text — HTML to display if no active ads are found
lazy true/false false Load the ad only when it scrolls into view

You must provide either zone or id — not both.

Examples:

Display ads from a zone (rotates automatically):

[wbam_ad zone="header-leaderboard"]

Display one specific ad by ID:

[wbam_ad id="123"]

Add a custom CSS class:

[wbam_ad zone="sidebar" class="my-ad-style"]

Show fallback text when no ads are available:

[wbam_ad zone="sidebar" fallback="<p>Advertise here! Contact us.</p>"]

Enable lazy loading for ads below the fold:

[wbam_ad zone="footer" lazy="true"]

[wbam_ads] — Multiple Ads Display

Use this shortcode to display several ads from a zone at once, arranged in a grid or vertical list. This is ideal for sponsor walls, partner logo grids, and sidebar ad lists.

Basic Usage:

[wbam_ads zone="sponsors" count="4"]
Parameter Type Default Description
zone text — The zone slug to pull ads from
count number 3 How many ads to display
columns number 1 Number of grid columns (1 to 4)
layout text grid grid for a grid layout, list for a vertical list
class text — Custom CSS class for the container
orderby text random Order ads by random, date, or weight

Examples:

Show 4 sponsor ads in a 2-column grid:

[wbam_ads zone="sponsors" count="4" columns="2"]

Show ads in a vertical list:

[wbam_ads zone="sidebar" count="5" layout="list"]

Show highest-weight ads first:

[wbam_ads zone="premium" count="3" orderby="weight"]

Finding Your Zone Slug

Every ad zone has a slug that you use in shortcodes.

  1. Go to WB Ad Manager -> Ad Zones
  2. Find the zone you want to display
  3. Look at the Slug column
  4. Use that slug in your shortcode

Example slugs: sidebar-banner, header-leaderboard, footer-ads, in-content

Where to Place Shortcodes

Where How
Page or post content Paste into the block editor or use a Shortcode block
Sidebar widget Add a Custom HTML widget and paste the shortcode
Any widget area Use the WB Ad Manager widget and select your zone

These settings in WB Ad Manager -> Settings affect ad rotation and display:

General Tab:

Setting Description Default
Maximum Ads Per Page The most ads that can appear on a single page 10
Disabled Post Types Post types where no automatic placements will appear None

Performance Tab:

Setting Description Default
Lazy Load Ads Ads below the fold only load when the visitor scrolls to them On
Cache Ad Queries Saves ad selection database queries using WordPress transients On

Keep both performance settings enabled unless you are troubleshooting a display issue.

  • Multiple Ad Formats — Learn which ad format to use
  • 14+ Placement Options — All the places you can show ads
  • Smart Targeting — Control who sees each ad
  • Analytics & Tracking — Measure ad performance
Last updated: March 4, 2026