A/B Split Testing: The Importance Of Consistent Test Conditions
When it comes to improving the performance and overall productivity of your landing page, A/B split testing can prove very effective. Which is why it’s so important that tests be carried out carefully, correctly and above all else, fairly. Consistency is the cornerstone of experimentation, and your tests need to be conducted to a stringent set of rules, otherwise results will be inaccurate and your efforts fruitless.
It may sound superfluous, but there’s no such thing as splitting hairs when it comes to A/B split tests.
Test one change at a time
When carrying out A/B split tests it’s vitally important that you establish a control and baseline for whatever you are testing, whether it is the landing page itself or the ad that directs your traffic. Start by putting your most creative, outside-the-box efforts online first and monitor its performance over an established period that will be kept the same for every test.
Once a baseline is established, start optimising the page by making one radical or subtler change at a time. More than one makes it more difficult to determine which change actually made a difference.
Test one creative at a time
Chances are you’re putting out various landing pages, each with a different offer/creative to attract your customers.
For example: One of your landing pages may be offering ‘Free Consultation’, with the aim of generating a lead. Whilst another may be offering ‘Free Delivery’ in order to secure a purchase. The natures of these two very different offers require significantly different landing page designs in order to achieve their intended purposes.
Pitting two landing pages with two very different creatives against one another is not a true A/B test. There is no way to determine if the performance of each page is down to the differences in design or the offer.
Test at a specified time of the day
It’s no secret that traffic velocity differs depending on the time of day, as do the habits and behaviours or your visitors, depending on what time they arrive at your landing page. This means landing page performances will vary throughout the day, regardless of any changes implemented in design and functionality.
Conducting A/B tests at a specified time of day and repeating this method will yield more accurate results. Remember, consistency is key.
Try the Clickthroo Landing Page Marketing Solution: Free For 14 Days
(Landing page builder, integrated tracking platform, A/B split testing, traffic segmentation, template and image libraries, integrated traffic sources, optional affiliate marketing module, and much more…)
