Want to improve the effectiveness of your website’s marketing efforts, but unsure how to evaluate whether the changes will be successful or not?
The solution to your problem is A/B testing.
A/B testing involves running an experiment between two web designs (A and B). By comparing the two versions against each other, you’re able to determine- via statistical evidence – which web page performs or converts the best.
From this, you’re able to gain an insight into the behaviour of the visitors accessing your web page and adjust your website accordingly to maximise conversion rates.
Not only does A/B testing help you understand the impact you’re making, but it also gives you a much fuller understanding about your customers’ behaviour and preferences.
Starting point:
Once you have determined your goal – perhaps to increase conversion rates, reduce bounce rates or increase sales – you then need to decide what it is you wish to test on your landing page.
What can you test?
A/B testing can look at anything on your website that affects visitor behaviour.
However, try focus on aspects which are most likely to have a large impact. For instance;
- Headlines
- Call to Action text
- Call to Action Button
- Any graphics used in direct correlation to sales efforts
By focusing on the aspects which have the greatest impact on your customers, you’re less likely to get caught up on minute details which may only have a minimal impact.
How A/B testing works:
In an A/B test, you take a web page and modify it to create a second version of the same page. This change can be as simple as a single headline or button, or be a complete redesign of a page.
This leads to half of your traffic being diverted through the original version of the page (known as the control, or A) and the other half through the modified version of the page (the variation, of B).
Visitors are then served either the control or variation, and their engagement with each is measured, collected and analysed through a statistical engine. As a result, you are able to determine whether changes made to the web page had an impact on visitor behaviour – positive, negative, or no effect at all.
The benefits of using an A/B test:
A well planned A/B test can help improve your bottom line by allowing you to better understand what works and what doesn’t. This means when it comes to deciding what marketing strategies to use, decisions can be made quicker with a result that’s guaranteed to be effective as the evidence found from the A/B tests will help you better understand what your customers are responding to.
A/B Testing process:
When running an A/B testing experiment, you should treat the process in a scientific manner.
- Study your website data
- Observe user behaviour
- Construct a hypothesis
- Test your hypothesis
- Analyse test data and draw conclusions
- Report results to all concerned
For more information or guidance on A/B testing, please contact us on 02 8399 2223 or email us.
