What Is A/B Testing & How To Implement It To Reach Website Goals?

What is AB Testing?

AB testing is a scientific method for comparing two versions of a website page – A and B in order to identify which one converts the best. These variations A and B are used to evaluate and manage the performance of a web page. While the A version is the current version of the web page (version control), version B is the modified page (page processing). When tested together, the performance of the two web pages can be compared easily.

AB testing in SEO is one of the most effective ways to increase website conversion. A/B testing involves broadcasting two versions of the same content (for example, a landing page, an email, or a call to action) for two samples of an audience of similar size to compare the performance of each variant. One good part about A/B testing is that it represents a large number of marketing applications and is easy to configure.

How to Do AB Testing

In this article, we will share the AB testing guide and explain how to design, execute, and understand A/B testing to improve the conversion rates. Follow this guideline to make sure that your tests are executed properly so you can gain valuable results.

1. Set up a project team

The success of the test depends not only on the A/B testing tools but also on the experience of the person responsible for optimizing the conversions. You must combine different skills to analyze the data, identify conversion issues, and get yourself in the eyes of the end-user to provide the right solution.

Two profiles are also useful: project managers and sponsors. The project manager coordinates with the team and is responsible for the test plan. The sponsors will support management's optimization plans and are responsible for the return on investment. In the absence of such resources, it is recommended that at least one sponsor conduct centralized testing and analysis of results.

2. Set your priorities

Now, you have to set your priorities and decide what you’re going to do next? After checking the heatmap and records to see if people found the CTA, search bar, or payment button, you need to select the page where you want to run the test. It is recommended to check Google Analytics. Start with pages that generate a lot of traffic, such as the homepage, pricing, about me page or popular product pages. You can quickly collect large amounts of data about the effectiveness of changes or start with a higher-jump page because it provides more room for improvement.

3. Test one thing at a time

When implementing AB testing, it is very important that each test must be performed separately. If you test both the CTA color and the copy at the same time and see an increase in conversions, it will be practically impossible to determine which change has the greatest impact on this increase.

4. Define the reference version and test version

The reference version is element A, which can be either a landing page, an email, a call to action, or an original title. The test version is element B which contains the modifications.

5. Create and distribute A/B tests

With the goals and metrics defined, the next step is to create the content that needs to be tested. In this example, only one variable was checked: color, text, and design remain the same. The test is actually designed to measure the impact of color on clicks.

6. Promote the tested content to a relevant sample

In order for the test results to be statistically important, the content of the test must reach a larger audience. In this regard, emails must be sent to a fairly long list that can promote the target page on social networks, and blog posts can benefit from paid events. If A/B testing is for a specific audience, the promotion should be targeted accordingly. For example, if the test is designed to measure the popularity of Twitter followers for landing pages, the test can only be posted on Twitter, not Facebook or Instagram.

7. Collect ample data

In order to obtain statistically significant results, it can sometimes take up to a month or two to collect enough data. If the test does not provide significant results, despite heavy traffic after 30 days, this may mean that the influence of the variables tested is limited. In this case, the verification can be interrupted.

8. Apply conclusions

The data has been collected and the results have been analyzed throughout the channel, but work is still not complete. The first A/B exam usually asks new questions. In addition to the CTA color, you can also check its position or text. However, sometimes the results of A/B testing are not convincing. This may occur during the peak of seasonal traffic and therefore does not reflect the usual behavior of visitors. For instance, there is a peak season where students ask to write my essay when they have exam or their semester ends. Otherwise, the traffic is slow for the content writing services. In such a case, you can repeat the test at another time.

Importance of AB Testing

• Conversion rates

The percentage of users who perform targeted actions. Due to the page improvements, a higher percentage of visitors can register and make purchases. Call conversion allows you to track calls.

• Financial performance

When you use AB testing for websites, one of the most important tasks is to ensure a greater number of sales. The more user-friendly the interface, the more conversions your website will make. Financial indicators are expressed in concrete terms by the amount of the average invoice, the volume of monthly sales, customer acquisition costs (CAC). In this case, it is useful to introduce specific additions directly related to purchases.

• Behavioral factors

Behavioral factors include user interaction with the site - time spent on it, viewing depth, expressed in number of pages. This also includes the percentage of regular visitors, the bounce rate, the click-through rate in search results and a number of other factors.

Conclusion

Now that you know what A/B testing is and how to do A/ B testing, use the AB testing tips to let your business meet the needs of the users of your website which will result in increasing the growth of your online business.

An enthusiast reader and a creative writer, who loves to put emotions on a paper. Works as content marketing expert for Royal Essay Writers in UK. When not working, he enjoys watching Netlix or NBA.