IS YOUR WEB CONTENT DRIVING TRAFFIC?

web content

There are a lot of variables when it comes to digital advertising that everyone can both control and test. As business owners, the overall goal of our efforts is to reach our customers and gain a conversion or a sale. A great way to test your content is using A/B testing. A/B testing is a valuable tool that marketers and strategists use to find out what message works best with their target audience.

WHAT IS A/B TESTING?

A/B testing separates your customers into two groups to test your content with slightly different variables to see which performs better. If we’re getting technical, your A/B test will actually be split into three groups. Depending on the size of your target audience and what platform you’re testing, you want Group A to be about 10-20% of your total, Group B to be equal in size, and the Winner Group to be the remainder. Whichever group, A or B, gets better results, that version of the campaign gets sent to the Winner Group.

You still with me? Good.

WHAT TO TEST:

Various content can be tested in platforms such as search ads, email campaigns, social media posts, landing pages; the options are endless. Within each of these platforms, you have a choice of what you want to test. Some options include:

  • Headlines
  • Calls to Action
  • Body Copy
  • Graphics & Pictures
  • Offers
  • Timing
  • Form Fields

Your goal determines what content you test. If you want more people to convert into leads, test headline text, types of offers, or calls to action like buttons and colors. If you want more people to fill out the contact form on your website, switch up the incentive or shorten the amount of form fields. Want to analyze your website traffic? Try using different graphics or modifying the body copy. If you are unsure of what content to test, check out your website score for some inspiration.

HOW TO TEST:

In order to test your content properly, you must determine what success means to you. It could be conversions on a website, click-throughs on an email, or form submissions on a landing page. In order to figure out which message is truly better, you need to execute the test on both groups simultaneously. That is the key to A/B testing – in order for it to work, both groups need to be seeing the test at the same time. For the best results, it’s recommended to only run one A/B test at a time.

Another thing to consider is how long to let the test run before you start gathering results. You don’t want to end it too early where you’re missing out on valuable results, but you don’t want to carry it out too long either. A/B testing can run anywhere from a couple of days to a couple of weeks. Here’s a good tool to use to help you determine how long to run your A/B test for.

The overall idea of A/B testing is that you can customize to track and measure just about anything. If used correctly, you can gain a lot of knowledge and insight about your customers and their behaviors ultimately leading you to more success in reaching them.

Want to test your content for yourself? Here’s a guide to get you started on different platforms:

Need some assistance to test your content? We can help get you started.