A/B is the accepted methodology for testing how your website and marketing campaigns are working. It combines creativity with cold, hard data. The basic concept is that you trial two approaches at the same time and record what works best. It provides scientific proof to an area that used to rely on hunches and gut instinct.
You can use A/B testing to analyse all of your marketing material, ranging from newsletter titles to the colour of your call-to-action button on your web site.
Is A/B testing for you?
According to Digital Marketing Magazine, A/B testing is also referred to as ‘split testing’ and takes the guesswork out of marketing. Google started the trend in 2000, and its popularity has soared since then.
A/B testing is a very valuable approach for businesses of all sizes. It relies on detailed data collection from Google Analytics. This allows you to track how many visitors reached your site and what they did when they got there.
Using A/B testing on your landing page
If you are working with an SEO agency in Dublin or elsewhere, to drive traffic to your website, you will need to analyse what happens when they get there.
Once you have an SEO strategy set up by experts such as http://www.rycomarketing.ie/search-engine-optimisation-seo.html, you can test what converts best to sales. You can test out the following, for example:
– Main headline of your landing page. This is the wording of your main offer.
– Call to action (CTA). This is what you want visitors to do. If they do it, you will have converted them.
– Visuals. Some images work better than others. Images of your product work well, or of yourself if you are providing a service.
– CTA button design. You don’t want anyone to miss this button. You can experiment with designs, positions, colours and size.
– Subscription form length. How much data can you capture before your visitors get fed up of filling in fields?
– How much copy? Visitors will be put off by endless paragraphs of writing. Try breaking it up with bullet points or headings. Would an infographic work better?
The important point is that you can only change one element at a time or you will not be able to pinpoint what worked and what didn’t.