You also have the best marketing tools and strategies, to identify the most effective techniques to increase conversion rates and increase income, you have to do one more thing and that is A/B testing. If you’re not doing A/B testing, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity for your business to make more money. Because businesses have different target markets, marketing campaign results can vary. That’s why it’s important to conduct A/B testing to determine which strategies perform best. A/B testing allows you to determine what a specific marketing or advertising campaign will get your customers to click on. If you are one of those who have given up on A/B testing because of the complexity that the name suggests, get started today. A/B testing is actually not as complicated as it sounds. Let’s dive deeper into A/B testing, how to do A/B testing and how important it is. So, stay with the article “8 steps of conducting A/B testing in digital marketing” which is part of the series of digital marketing training articles.
Table of Contents
What is A/B testing in digital marketing?
A/B testing, commonly referred to as split testing, is a method used to compare two versions of a web page, email, app, or other marketing or digital marketing piece against each other. To determine which one performs better.
A/B testing is a method of website optimization in which two versions of a page, version A and version B, are compared. It is a technique used to measure which version of an ad, design or any piece of content is most likely to attract a customer’s attention.
By tracking how visitors interact with the displayed page, you can determine which version of the page is most effective.
How A/B testing works: A look at the test design and process
A/B testing is the moment you send two copies of a marketing asset that you want to compare to two groups of audiences.
Your marketing asset can be an email, a brochure, a presentation, a video, a sales letter, blog content, an image, or web content that is used to promote your products, services, or brand.
When you send version A and version B of your marketing asset, you can measure their performance and compare which one performs better. You can then see how the changes work.
How exactly do you do this? How is A/B testing done?
8 stages of A/B testing in digital marketing
To effectively run A/B testing, you need to identify your version A and version B, and the variation you want to create between the two.
You have to choose which asset or item to test first, then offer version A that can perform well in the past, and version B with minor changes to one of the elements.
Then you send two copies to different types of audience, it may be by demographics, interests or roles.
If version A performs better than version B or the other way around, you can start tracking their performance.
To understand more, let’s take a look at A/B testing guidelines and best practices that you can follow at any time as your roadmap for running your A/B test.
1. Set specific goals
You should always set goals before running an A/B test. You should always determine what you want to achieve with the test. Do you want to increase traffic? Or maybe sell?
You should be able to set your goals in advance so you know which element to test and what changes to make.
2. Select the page you want to test
Always start with your most important page. It can be your website’s homepage or landing page. Whatever you choose, always make sure it contains all the necessary information for the customer.
3. Select the element you want to test
A/B testing allows us to test on a single element as a variation between two versions. Keep the test simple and varied by testing one element, whether it’s a call-to-action button, title, or image.
Make sure that the element you want to test is related to whatever you want to measure.
For example, if you want to generate sales, focus on your headline or your CTA.
4. Determine the variant type
Once you’ve defined your goals, selected your asset and element to test, it’s time to create a variant. Just make a change to the element you want to test.
If you’re testing a call-to-action button, you can change the background color, font color, or size of the button.
5. Choose the best A/B testing tools
With the help of the most advanced marketing tools, you can instantly track the progress and performance of your A/B test.
Make sure you invest in one of the best testing tools available in the market to simplify your tasks and also speed up the entire process of your marketing campaigns.
Some examples of A/B testing software
- Optimizely
- Omniconvert
- Crazy Egg
- AB Tasty
- Freshmarketer
- Convert
6. Design an A/B test
Once you’ve determined what tools to use to run your A/B test, it’s time to design your test. Your layout may vary based on the tools you use.
7. Run A/B testing
After making the changes, run a test run by sending two copies to two different groups of audiences.
8. Data analysis and statistics
Once your A/B test is running, you can track its progress and analyze which of the two versions performs better or if both have the same results.
Draw conclusions based on which variation has won and which version your target audience likes the most.
Why do A/B testing?
A/B testing can be a daunting task for some people. But understanding its purpose and benefits for business is also important.
With all the information mentioned above, you should have a clear idea that A/B testing will not only help you optimize your website, but also help you determine the best version that will attract the right audience.
A/B testing allows you to focus on what works best for your business, thus giving you more opportunity to increase sales and revenue.