How Split Testing Can Save SEO’s Reputation

Ten years ago, writers all around the web were announcing ‘the death of SEO

• Google had been changing its algorithms, meaning that nobody could be certain that what once worked would still work. Therefore, no one could necessarily put any trust in the advice of their SEO professionals. SEO was dead. Right?

Of course not. SEO specialists adapted and found new strategies, and the industry continued on thriving.

But fast forward 10 years and we’re STILL hearing the same message: ‘SEO is dead!’ they cry.

This time they’re talking about Google’s move toward AI. Its focus on things like natural language and SML markup.

Of course, they are wrong again. But that’s not really the point. The point is that some businesses and other would-be-clients have heard this cry, and they now believe it.

And the many poor-quality SEO companies out there aren’t doing anything to help matters. When an SEO agency conducts an SEO audit and tells a bunch of site owners that they need to make a hundred tiny changes – only for those changes to then prove pointless – it hurts our reputation.

And when an SEO company promises they can get a company to the top spot on Google and then fails to do so, that trust in the industry is eroded just a little bit more again.

The Erosion of Trust

So, what does split testing have to do with anything?

Well, companies have been promising the world when it comes to SEO for years. That’s intentional, and it’s hardly going to change.

But SEO companies that are trying to do right by their clients and actually not affecting any positive change… that’s a real problem. And it’s one we need to fight tooth and nail.

In one huge study conducted by a well-known SEO company, it was found that 30-40% of all the actions recommended in a typical SEO audit… actually have no noticeable impact on search rankings!

Think about this for a minute: companies are being told to go to great lengths to carry out frustrating changes, and half the time they amount to nothing! Again, is it any surprise that these same companies are losing faith in SEO as a tool?

Worse, is that an SEO technique that works for one client has been shown to sometimes not work for a very similar one! That’s the exact same technique. So, what are we supposed to do?

Enter Split Testing

The answer is split testing.

Split testing is the process of taking an existing set of web pages, splitting them into two groups, and then making a small change to just one of those groups. This way, you can carry out a controlled experiment and see if the change works.

If it does, then you accept the change, and you adopt it on all the other pages as well.

If the change has no effect, or has a negative effect, then you ignore it.

This strategy is perfect because you now know for sure ahead of time, that your strategy will work. And you can show this to clients.

If every SEO were to use this approach, eventually the entire reputation of our craft would be restored! We can dream!

We are into Website Designing & Digital Marketing since 2019 and in these few years we have not only fulfilled the requirements of our customers but also, have build along term business relationship with them.