Do you want a straight forward way to increase your conversion rate? A/B testing can tell you with a high degree of certainty which page variations perform better.
What is A/B Split Testing?
Within A/B Split testing, web site visitors are randomly served 1 of 2 different versions of the same web page an equal number of times. Both versions will have differing elements, such as headlines, images, layouts or copy. In monitoring the results we can see the changes in behaviour of prospective customers based on which version of the web page they viewed. A/B split testing can increase conversion rates, challenge assumptions, and solve problems.
How Does It Work?
A/B split testing is simply the process of ’splitting’ your website traffic between more than 1 version of a specific page. Quite simply, if you have developed a new version of a web page and want to see if it converts better than your original page, you can run it along site your original (control) page. A proportion of the visitors are sent to the original page and the remaining visitors are sent to the new version.
It’s called A/B because your visitors either get page ‘A’ or ‘B’ . It is called ‘randomised testing’ because visitors are shown the different versions of pages at random.
Once you have received enough visitors to each page version, the A/B split testing reports will tell you which of those versions has produced a greater number of conversions. Google Website Optimizer presents these results through its easy-to-read dashboard. The goal of A/B split testing is to establish a winning version - once you have achieved this you can adopt the winner permanently.
Continuous Improvement
It is vital that you don’t just test one page, see an improvement in your conversion goals and then stop. Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO) needs to become part of your online business strategy, always look at your Web Analytics stats and see which pages are under performing and then test them to improve the results!
A/B Split Testing as a methodology should be used in the following scenarios:
- You want/need to improve your site’s conversion rate and CRO is new to you
- You strongly believe in statistics and scientific methodology as the best way of improving your site and want to prove this with statistical evidence.
- You want to get started with CRO testing and have no previous experience in this field
- Your site is getting less than 1000 visits a week
If you are ready to start making MORE MONEY from your website, CLICK HERE to talk to one of our Conversion Rate Experts
Alternative Testing Methods
A/B split testing is an effective method for answering certain questions about website usability and performance, where a decision has come down to two competing page versions.
For more complex testing, perhaps involving testing different combinations of certain page elements against each other, Multivariate Testing is often the way to go. This is generally more effective for sites generating over 1000 visits a week.
If you are ready to start making MORE MONEY from your website, CLICK HERE to talk to one of our Conversion Rate Experts
