A/B-tests: how and why to conduct them.
The purchase of a product or service is influenced by various factors, including how the user interacts with the site. Sometimes a customer may simply not notice the "buy" button because of its color, or be disappointed by the "you" address or impertinent tone: "catch up, well", "open your eyes", "don't even think about it".
But changes in the design of the site should not be carried out based only on your own taste or experience of other companies. To determine exactly what to change, to increase conversions to sales, it is important to do research beforehand. In this article, we'll tell you what the essence of A/B-testing and how to do it.
A/B testing - what is it?
A/B testing, or split testing, is a method of marketing research that allows you to solve a client's problem and compare the effectiveness of different versions of a website, as well as, for example, a webpage, mobile app or email newsletter.
The essence of the method is simple:
1.???A business owner, marketer, designer or product manager takes the original version of a web page and creates one or more copies, changing only one parameter, such as the product card design, button or number of links.
2.???Users are divided into equal parts: some see the old version of the site, while others see the modified version, for example, with a different call to action on the button. The experiment usually takes from a couple of weeks to a month and a half.
3.???Analysts see which version of the site had a stronger impact on metrics and led to a targeted action - for example, an order, purchase or subscription.
Why do we need an A/B test?
The main purpose of the study is to evaluate user experience and understand how to improve the performance of the site or mailing list.
Most often A/B testing is done:?
For this purpose they experiment with buttons, subscription forms and other important fields.
For example, the Russian company "Erkapharm" increased its conversion rate by 1%, or 2.4 million rubles, by slightly changing the order form on its site. And the French company Ubisoft, with the help of its experimental A/B testing platform VWO, increased its conversion rate by 12%, from 38 to 50%, when it adjusted the page design and simplified the process of buying video games.
To interact more effectively with a potential customer, test text, such as on buttons, notifications and feedback forms. This helps the user get content relevant to their needs faster, warm up and get to the point of purchase.
For example, Mamsy, a closed-sale club, was able to personalize communication with users by rearranging blocks in emails. The company began taking into account each customer's purchase and order history to shape the right banners, product grids and CTAs. This increased several indicators: email open rates by 0.6%, click-through rates by 2.7%, and conversion to orders by 13.7%.
Place the button in a different location to make it easier to find, or make it more convenient to search for stores near your home. All for the sake of making it convenient for the client to use the site.????
For example, Gazprombank suggested that the organization's offices would be better placed on the map. But A/B testing showed that mobile users had problems using it and left the page. The company returned the previous version of the site and sent the new one back for revision. Later they launched a new A/B-test for the mobile version.
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The reason for abandoning the site may lie in an awkward order form, content that does not meet the needs of the target audience, technical errors and more. Testing helps understand which elements to change so that the bounce rate is low and conversion is high.
For example, the European company SuperOffice identified a checkout page with a 31% bounce rate and decided to reduce the number of call to action buttons on it - from nine to two. This decision helped reduce the bounce rate and increased conversion by 11.4%, or an additional $100k per year.
You can redesign a page or newsletter to get closer to users. For example, change the size or color of the call to action button, work on images on landing pages or text length, add emoji to the email subject line and track openability.
For example, streaming service Netflix regularly tests movie and TV series posters. This helps to understand which visual content better leads users to a targeted action, such as watching a novelty or adding it to a personal list.?
What you need to have for an A/B test?
Before you can run an A/B test, you need to collect data. You'll need a clearly articulated hypothesis, a test element, a goal, different versions of the site, a report template, and an A/B test tool for the study.
Important:
The page you're investigating must have Google Analytics counter and GTM, a code management, action tracking and analytics tool, installed on it.
A tool with free and paid versions that is fully integrated into Google Analytics. It allows you to conduct A/B tests of any elements, compare the effectiveness of different versions of the same page, and personalize the page's page for specific audiences.
A handy platform for A/B testing. It also offers additional features, such as heatmaps and segmented targeting. Prices are available upon request.
Convenient service to test different content, design and display conditions and choose the options with the highest conversion rate.
Conclusions:
Author: Artem Bondarenko - UX UI designer extraETF.