This guide walks you through setting up a geo-based incrementality lift test for Meta Ads using the WorkMagic platform with Automatic and manually configuring exclusions on Meta Ads.
Step 1: Create a New Lift Test in WorkMagic
Navigate to the Lift Test in the WorkMagic platform.
Select "Create new lift test".
Choose your primary metric (e.g. Orders or New Customers).
Select test country (currently we supported US, UK and Canada)
Under Test channel, select Meta Ads.
Click Continue.
Step 2: Select Test Level
Select Platform level, if you want to applies lift test in account level.
Select Tactic level, if you prefer to apply in tact tic such as "Awareness", "Conversion", or any custom tactic. If you don't have one, you can create one.
Select Campaign level, if you only want to apply lift test on selected campaigns.
❗ Note:
If your platform isn’t linked, you’ll see a prompt to connect (Only platforms with native integration).
For those platforms without native integration (Universal Ads, MNTN, Vibe, etc), you won't be able to select tactics or campaign level and you require to setup manually on the ad platform). You can either connect now or skip continuing with manual setup.
Step 3: Select a Geo Pairing
WorkMagic automatically recommends geo-pairs for your lift test. You’ll see two test methodologies:
Pause-to-Measure (PTM) – Ads run for most of your audience, but paused for a small holdout group. Best for campaigns with larger, established budgets.
Launch-to-Measure (LTM) – Ads only run for a small exposed group, while most of your audience remains as holdout. Best for new channels or smaller budgets.
Both methods measure incremental lift with the same confidence; the difference is how they split your audience and the budget required.
❗Note: We only support Manual Holdout for Launch to Measure (LTM) tests for now. You will need to manually implement the holdout on selected ad-platform.
For each geo pair, WorkMagic displays:
Holdout vs. exposed group size
Estimated test period
Estimated daily budget (marked Sufficient or Insufficient)
Click into a geo pair to see region details, alternative budget options, or set a custom test period (14–35 days).
Select one pairing that best matches your campaign scale or performance distribution.
Click Continue.
Step 4: Configure Setup Method
3.1 Automatic Setup for Meta Ads
Automatic setup is recommended. (Unavailable if the platform only supports manual setup, isn’t connected, or if you selected launch-to-measure).
Holdout API Limitations:
For Meta Ads:
WorkMagic will alert you if any ad creatives use deprecated sizes (e.g., 191x100), which may cause delivery issues during the holdout. You must correct these on Meta Ads before proceeding.
When you choose to apply holdout on specific campaigns, WorkMagic can't implement holdout to Advantage+ Shopping Campaign due to API limitation of Meta Ads. You can still apply holdout to ASC if you choose dynamic apply holdout, since it applies on account-level setting.
3.2 Manual Setup for Meta Ads
WorkMagic will provide the following setup steps:
Go to the Meta Ads Manager and locate all campaigns included in the test.
At the Ad Set level, click Edit.
In the Audience controls section, go to the "Locations" field. Choose "exclude". Then click "Add locations in bulk".
Click Copy Geo List from the WorkMagic setup window or export list.
(The exported geo list is based on recent platform data; minor updates may have occurred since then on the ad platform.)
In the new window,
If your test country is "United States", choose location type as "DMA". Then, export or copy the Geo list and paste it into the location field. Click "Match locations".
If your test country is "United Kingdom" or "Canada", choose location type as "Postal codes" and default country as your test country. Then, export or copy the Geo list and paste it into the location field. Click "Match locations".
In the review step, click "Add locations"
Confirm the excluded regions appear under the location list.
Click Publish.
Go back to WorkMagic interface and click Finish and continue.
Step 5: Define Your Test Schedule
Set the start and end dates of your lift test.
Testing period (e.g., 21 days) -> you can customize this by clicking edit button. You can choose different test period and budget combinations from test estimator.
Cooling period (e.g., 7 days after testing ends) -> you can customize the cooling period by editing (duration must be between 1 and 7 days)
Click Continue.
Step 5: Review and Finalize
The Test Name is automatically defined (e.g., 20250901 - Meta - 30% DTC Orders - PTM), you can edit the name if needed.
Review all configurations:
Purpose
Primary Metric
Test Country
Test Level
Geo Pairing (PTM or LTM)
Setup Method
Scheduling
If all looks correct, click Schedule now.