Here’s a scenario: You are selling homemade lemonades in a pop-up stand near your house. But there’s a slight problem…
There is lemonade “A” and lemonade “B”. “A” has more sugar whereas “B” has more freshly squeezed lemons.
Both taste good, both are easy to make, and both are reasonably priced. How are you going to decide which sells better?
Well, maybe you should try A/B Testing…
WHAT IS A/B TESTING AND WHY IS IT RELEVANT TO YOUR BUSINESS
A/B Testing is an experimentation process in which various versions of a variable (e.g. web pages, email marketing, advertising) are shown to a random sample of web visitors and customers.
The goal of A/B Testing in your business is to determine which version has the greatest impact. This data-driven testing can help you understand your visitors’ goals and solve obstacles they face. If a customer cannot achieve their goals while they are browsing your website, friction will be created, eventually leading to a bad user experience. To minimise such risks, it is highly recommended for all businesses or organisations to utilise A/B Testing.
The letter “A” refers to the original variable, while the letter “B” refers to the alternative version of the variable. The version that is most successful in the test is the winner. They are the ones that can drive up ROI and increase conversions.
A/B Testing can also provide you with helpful data about your website, ads or emails such as pain points, user behaviour and engagement. This valuable data can be taken advantage of to optimise your business and increase revenue.
HOW TO GET STARTED
1. Research
The very first step of A/B Testing is to collect all available data from your current website, ads, or email. The reason for this is to identify successes that should be kept/improved or highlight issues that need to be solved.
For example, let’s say you are running a Facebook ad on dog food. Have a look at your old ads and identify which ones did well and which ones didn’t. Research your competitors’ ads to spot newer trends and what helps them gain engagement.
In the image above, we are comparing two different ads. The ad on the left is bland and simple whereas the ad on the right is bright with many images that point to the product! The competitor’s call-to-action is visible, the sale sign is very visible, and it is just a much better ad.
Having thorough research gives a concise understanding of what needs to be upgraded to avoid bounce rates and bad user experience. It is important to analyse your data and create hypotheses aimed at increasing conversions.
2. Create variations
After all the research and setting up hypotheses, it is time to create variations of your control (the existing version that you have researched data on). Your aim is to eliminate the problems such as pain points shown in your research.
This means that your focus should be on the changes that you want to test such as rewording the headline to something a little more catchy or highlighting the Call-To-Action.
3. Run your test
This one is a simple but meticulous step. Make sure to direct and lock down attention to your business goals and aims. This will allow you to streamline your results, allowing more accurate outcomes.
Facebook has its own A/B Testing feature which can help you run your test!
TIP: Don’t try to run too many tests at the same time. This will not give clear results and you will not be able to locate the test’s success or failure. Keep it simple.
4. Analyse and choose
Do we see a victor? Did “A” win or did “B” win? What should we choose?
Not so fast… There is another step that many overlook and that is all the data that has been produced from the testing. It is crucial to make use of all the information that we can get.
It is important to understand why the results have turned out this way. Are there more dog lovers in area X compared to area Y? Do your customers use Facebook more? What were the demographics like? The results can be interpreted in different ways but through A/B testing, we can gain insights into customer behaviour.
Try to understand the visitor pain points, and what increases conversions/leads so that you can implement these in the future.
CONCLUSION
A/B Testing is the best way to increase conversion rates and improve your business if done properly. Having all the knowledge from differing data can help you understand what needs to be improved in your web pages, ads, or emails.
Well, what are you waiting for? Let’s start testing!
