This guide walks you through setting up a geo-based incrementality lift test for TikTok Ads using the WorkMagic platform with Automatic and manually configuring exclusions on TikTok 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 TikTok 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", "Shopping", 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 Setup Custom Audience on TikTok Ads
To successfully implement geo-based lift tests on TikTok Ads, you’ll need to create a Premium Audience that defines your Control group using DMA (Designated Market Area) targeting. This audience is used to exclude specific regions from campaign delivery during the test period.
❗ Before applying the Custom Audience for holdout, your ad account must be whitelisted for Premium Audience. Contact your TikTok Ads Account Manager to request access.
💡 For more details, follow this article: How to Set Up a Premium Audience on TikTok Ads for Lift Testing
3.2 Automatic Setup for TikTok Ads
Create control audience on TikTok Ads (See 3.1 for instructions).
Once you set up the audience on TikTok Ads. Click I have already finished.
Select control audiences for all the accounts you want to include in the test
Make sure the audience that you select matches the Geo-pairing in the previous step, otherwise you will see an error.
❗ Holdout API Limitations:
For TikTok Ads:
WorkMagic can't implement holdout to Reach & Frequency Campaign due to API limitation of TikTok Ads.
3.3 Manual Setup for TikTok Ads
Create control audience on TikTok Ads (See 3.1 for instructions).
Click Copy Geo List or Export Geo List
After custom audiences created:
Go to the TikTok Ads Manager and locate all campaigns included in the test.
At the Ad Group level, click Edit.
In the Targeting section, go to the "Audience" field. Choose Exclude.
Choose the Custom tab and select the custom audience you just created in the previous step.
Confirm the changes and click Save.
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 6: Review and Finalize
The Test Name is automatically defined (e.g., 20250901 - TikTok - 30% DTC Orders - PTM), you can edit the name if needed.
Review all configurations:
Test Design
Test Level
Geo Pairing
Setup Method
Scheduling
If all looks correct, click Schedule now.