An introduction to A/B testing

What’s better? Thoughtful, researched decision making or decision making based on a hunch? The answer is obvious but unfortunately many companies take the later approach and then are left wondering why they aren’t getting the results they want. There are simple ways to take the first approach and one of those ways is A/B testing, especially when it comes to your digital marketing strategy. According to Optimizely, a company that offers software for A/B testing, A/B testing is defined as, “A simple way to test changes to your page against the current design and determine which ones produce positive results. It is a method to validate that any new design or change to an element on your webpage is improving your conversion rate before you make that change to your site code.” Simple is really the key word here. A/B testing can be simple and require only minimal resources. A/B testing is not just for your website. A/B testing can apply to multiple marketing channels including email, website, social media, and blogs. A/B testing is simply a split testing method that compares marketing variables to identify the one that brings a better response rate.

Here are a few website components I encourage you to test:

• Placement of Call to Action button- try placing the call to action button on a different location on your page and see if placement matters and which placement gets the most clicks.

• Headline- switch up the headline on your home page and compare which headline produces the most website traffic

• Copy length- try shortening or lengthening text and compare results

• Navigation Bar- determine which pages on your website bring in the most traffic. Then, switch the order of your site navigation bar and measure which order brings in the highest number of clicks for the pages that are most important for converting leads to customers

• Test images- try switching up the images on your website to see if it increases engagement

A/B testing can be fun. I encourage you to experiment, look at results, make adjustments, and keep at it! From my experience, A/B testing can make a difference on your bottom line.