A Practical Guide to A/B Testing

Digital Marketing, eCommerce Marketing, Web Analytics

What is A/B testing?

Do you remember when you were supposed to go on that date, you had been looking forward to and were confused about which outfit would suit you the best? So try both of them and ask your friends to tell you which one looked the best? A/B testing is pretty much like that too.

A/B testing, often known as split testing, is a marketing study in which you divide your audience and test multiple variations of a campaign to see which performs best. It is a marketing method that can help you compare the effectiveness of two different website versions, advertisement, email, popup, landing page, and much more.

It is essential in a data-driven world where facts and figures must support business decisions. Running an A/B test that compares a variation to the existing experience allows you to ask specific questions about changes to your website or app and then collect statistics on the impact of that change.

A/B testing can be beneficial because different audiences behave differently, and something that works for one business might not work for the other. So, with A/B testing, you would know what works best for you and your audience.

How Does A/B Testing Work?

To conduct an A/B test, you must create two different versions of the same piece of content, each with a variable change. Then you’ll show these two versions to two similar-sized audiences (also similar in their characteristics like demographics, etc) and see which one performed better over a set time period.

Let’s look at an example to understand better how A/B testing works.

Assume you have two distinct landing page designs and want to understand which one will perform better.

After you’ve created your designs, you send one version to one group and the other to the other. Then you can observe how each landing page performs in terms of metrics like traffic, clicks, and conversions.

If one performs better than the other, that’s fantastic! You can begin to investigate why this is the case, and it may influence how you develop landing pages in the future.

How to Do A/B Testing

The first step in planning an A/B test is identifying what you want to test. Are you doing an on-site or off-site test?

To perform an A/B test effectively, you should be able to clearly differentiate between version A and version B. You must first decide which item to test and then create version A, which may be something that has done well in the past, and version B with minor changes to one of the elements.

The two versions are then sent to different categories of audiences, depending on demographics, interests, or roles. You can then begin tracking their performance to see if version A outperforms version B or vice versa.

To learn more, consider this A/B testing guidelines or checklist that you can use as a road map to run your own A/B test at any stage.

Here are a few things that you should never miss while running an A/B test:

Know your objectives: Before doing an A/B test, you should always set the goals. Do you want to boost traffic? Or sales? You should be able to lay out your objectives ahead of time to know which elements to test and what adjustments to make accordingly.
Select the page for testing: Always begin with the most important page. It could be the homepage of your website or a landing page. Whatever you choose, make sure it includes all of the information a customer would need.
Choose an element you want to test: You can use A/B testing to test on a single element, such as a call-to-action button, a headline, or a picture; you can keep the test simple while identifying the variation easily. However, make sure that the element you wish to test is related to the metric you want to evaluate. For example, if you’re trying to generate sales, emphasize your headline or CTA.
Choose an A/B testing tool: You can immediately track the progress and performance of your A/B test using the most powerful marketing tools. Invest in one of the best testing tools on the market to simplify your tasks and speed up the entire process of your marketing campaigns.
Run the Test: Once you are done designing your variation/options, it’s time to run some tests by sending the two versions to two distinct groups of people. Visitors to your website or app will be randomly assigned to any of the two variants of the sample. Their involvement with each activity is measured, counted, and compared to evaluate how well each option performs.
Analyze the data and statistics: Once your A/B test is up and running, you can monitor its progress and determine which versions outperform the other or if the two are producing the same results. Conclusions should be made depending on which type of variation wins or which version your target audience prefers more.

Tools for A/B testing

Here is a list of top 10 tools you would want to consider to get down with your A/B Testing done:

Have something more to add? Or did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments below.

Avi Kumar

The driving force behind Kuware, Avi is a powerhouse of talent. It’s rare to come across a person who understands the finer nuances of business and technology at the same time. His focus to bring about a positive change to the client’s business has contributed to the long-standing relationships between Kuware and its clients. In his free time, Avi mentors youngsters or reads books, blogs and magazines.

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