The A/B Testing consists of developing and releasing two versions of the same element and measuring which one works best.
In digital marketing, to the creation of two (or more) versions of web content to determine which of them best meets the objectives that have been set.
For Example, Content “A” is randomly displayed to half of the users and content “B” to the other half, and then measure and analyze the results of each of them based on certain variables, such as CTR, conversion, engagement, and/or bounce.
Some contents on which A/B tests are usually performed are:
What are A/B Testing For?
A/B testing has the same function in digital marketing as any experimental methodology to improve outcomes in other industries; only it tends to be infinitely easier and cheaper to compare the performance of two versions of a website than to compare that of two similar drugs, for example.
Functions of A/B Testing
The three main functions of A/B testing are:
- Shed valuable information about what the user prefers. The primary goal of A/B testing is to determine which option users prefer. What elements or messages make them more likely to click on an ad, become leads, purchase something, or stay on a website? This information is useful not only for improving the content on which the test was conducted, but also for optimising all subsequent content.
- Increase the conversion rate. A/B testing is one of the main tools of CRO or Conversion Rate Optimization, which refers to a series of systematic improvements so that a content generates more leads, subscriptions, conversions, clicks, etc.
- Improve the user experience. Finally, A/B testing allows us to refine the content we offer to our visitors so that their user experience is increasingly personalized and according to their expectations and needs.
How to do A/B Testing?
Software or applications for A/B testing allow us to create two similar content, which share the same URL and the same goal (but are different from each other) and directs the audience to one version or another randomly.
A/B tests also have different variants, depending on what needs to be measured:
- To compare the performance of two completely different sites or landing pages, it will be more convenient to have two different URLs and measure their performance independently.
- To compare the performance of two slightly different content, it is more convenient to do A/B testing with the same URL.
- To identify the impact of each of the modifications you make to a content, it is advisable to do a multivariate test or MTV, which independently displays and measures all the changes you make in a version B, instead of showing them all together. Their configuration is slightly more complex, but they yield much more specific information.
Most of the platforms to create websites and sales funnels, such as WordPress and ClickFunnels, already integrate among their plugins and functionalities the possibility of doing A /B testing without having to deal with programming codes or web design, through very intuitive interfaces.