What Is A/B Testing

The practice of A/B testing is performed to compare two versions of websites or apps to check which version performs better. It is an experiment where a company presents two or more variants to users to determine which version is more popular.

It is also called ‘split testing’ or ‘bucket testing’, and the two variants are called A and B respectively. The variant that provides a better conversion rate is considered superior. It uses the two-sample hypothesis testing, which is used in statistics. An online promotional tool and preferred marketing strategy for businesses, A/B testing combines a company’s multiple marketing efforts to pursue the best way of advertising. It is an efficient and effective method of promotion that guarantees success.

This form of testing is scientific and removes guesswork. Results are accurate, helping companies make quick decisions. Although A/B testing has become popular recently, not many organisations make use of it. This is because it is expensive to run tests, but in the digital era, the costs have been minimal. This type of testing provides a clear picture of consumer behaviour.

A/B Testing and How It Works

SEO companies in Mumbai encourage small and medium enterprises to use A/B testing for comparison. Web pages or apps are modified to create a second version. Half the visitors to a website or app are shown the original version, whereas the remaining are shown the modified version.

Visitor engagement with each experience is calculated on an analytical dashboard. It is easy to determine which version had a positive or a negative impact on consumer behaviour. All websites present on the World Wide Web have common goals. Ecommerce websites would want visitors to buy their products, while news websites would want readers to click on advertisements and sign up for paid subscriptions.

All businesses aim to convert visitors into potential customers. Evaluating the performances of two different variants gives a clear picture. Consistent A/B testing allows companies to set organisational goals with proper evidence to back them up. Internet marketing agencies support this kind of testing, as it forms the basis of crafting effective marketing schemes.

There are several organisations that specialise in Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO). In case of small and medium enterprises who do not want to spend much, they can make use of free tools available online. One example is Google Analytics Content Experiments.

Examples of A/B Testing

Google Ads: Companies can create several variants of adverts and measure their success with Google Analytics. Internet marketing agencies usually test different landing pages to see the impact.

Newsletters and Emails: Mass email marketing strategies face huge competition. Companies can use different titles and check which title obtains the largest click-through rate.

Web Pages: Different versions of a web log-in page helps companies optimise pages. Companies can change colours, positions, buttons and make it attractive to increase sign-ups.

Segmentation: Different versions of web pages and campaigns appeal to customers belonging to different segments based on age, gender, location and interests. Customers of different segments can be targeted to boost sales. SEO companies in Mumbai use different variables for testing. Some of them include images, prices, offers, text length and style, subject titles, colour schemes, page layouts, buttons and product descriptions. These variables assist A/B testing and help companies define the ideal marketing approach.

Bal Rai is an Internet Marketing Consultant at eTrack Media, a leading SEO company in Redditch, UK.