Also known as split testing, A/B testing is the process of showing two variants of the same webpage to website visitors simultaneously. It allows you to compare which variant invites more traffic and conversions.
A/B testing is a crucial part of setting up a website for your business because the more traffic you get on your website, the more opportunities it creates for your business to grow. Any visitor could be a potential investor.
You know you have a good website when you have website visitors who take action. Action can mean a variety of things—if it’s a blog, it refers to how many clicks you get; if it is an eCommerce site, it may refer to the number of sales. The goal is to optimise efficiency and make your website look attractive. And, A/B testing plays a huge role in that.
So, how do you run an A/B test?
As you do your research for the test, you will most likely find that you want to test many variables on your audience, but you shouldn’t do this. To maximise efficiency and results, you need to pick one variable. When you get your results, you can test another one.
There several metrics for a single test and, that it can get sort of overwhelming. But what you will want to do is focus on your goal, your vision for the A/B test, and use that to converge on a primary metric. When you know what you are looking for–what your desired outcome is—it will be much easier to analyse the results and make decisions moving forward.
Now that your variables, metrics, and goals in place, you should now build website B to test your control website A. The opposing website, now, will serve as your variation.
Your sample groups are crucial to the process of A/B testing. You need to select the sample groups equally and randomly, to get the most accurate results.
Well, your test is over now. And you have the results with you. What should be your next steps?
Remember your goal? It is time to bring back that now so you can do your analysis. You cannot get caught up on the other metrics and variables right then because you already have your goal in mind. That is what you focus on—and decide whether you want to make a change or not.
If one variation turns out to be better than the other, you choose that website. But sometimes it is not that simple. If neither is better than the other, then your test is inconclusive. When this happens, you may have to run the same test.
Remember, you only conducted a test for one variable, so you will have to repeat it for other variables for maximum optimisation.
A/B tests give you an accurate look into how your content and marketing strategies land on your target audience. It might seem a little daunting, but A/B testing only helps improve your business.