What is Layered Lookalike (Onion Test)?

The concept of Layered Lookalike, often referred to as an Onion Test, was born out of the need to scale advertising campaigns in a strategic and effective manner, specifically on social media platforms like Facebook.

This strategy allows businesses to target people who closely resemble their existing customer base to secure traffic that will most likely be interested in their offerings.

Layered Lookalike technique is a method of testing different levels of lookalike audiences on Facebook, moving from a small, highly similar audience (1%) outward to a larger but less similar audience (3% and above), excluding the smaller audiences at each step — much like peeling layers off an onion. By doing this, businesses can determine where their campaign performance starts to decrease, hence helping marketers optimize their ads for the best results.

Why Layered Lookalike (Onion Test) Is Beneficial for Traffic

When a business’s marketing objective is to increase traffic, the Layered Lookalike method becomes particularly beneficial. It enhances the reach of your campaign by targeting audiences similar to your existing customers, hence attracting quality traffic that is more likely to become customers. Importantly, it helps businesses to identify where the audience volume-expansion affects the campaign performance negatively, which aids in fine-tuning their Facebook campaigns for maximum returns.

Examples of Layered Lookalike (Onion Test)

1. A fashion brand wants to attract an audience for their newly launched handbag collection. They could use a Layered Lookalike strategy on their existing customer email list to target people with similar preferences.

2. A software company could use the Layered Lookalike technique to specifically target potential customers who resemble current users of their platform, thereby increasing their likelihood of attracting interested and high-intent visitors.

3. A car dealership could employ this approach to reach potential car buyers who mirror their current customer's profiles, increasing the likelihood of securing test drives and sales.

4. An online book store could use this tactic to target individuals with reading habits and preferences similar to their existing customer base, thus increasing their traffic and potential sales.

5. A vegan restaurant trying to expand its customer base could apply a layered lookalike strategy to entice people who share similar dietary habits and food preferences with its current patrons.

Marketing Tactics Similar to Layered Lookalike (Onion Test)

1. Retargeting: This involves re-engaging users who've previously interacted with your brand, but haven't yet made a purchase.

2. Segmentation: This strategy involves dividing customers into groups based on shared characteristics, and targeting each group effectively.

3. Affinity Audiences: This refers to a group of people with shared interests or lifestyles that can be effectively targeted in advertising campaigns.

4. Custom Audiences: Tailoring your marketing campaign toward a predefined set of audiences based on their interaction or relationship with your brand.

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