What is A/B Testing? A Beginner's Guide
Published on Jun 26, 2023
by Simran Arora
Introduction
A/B testing, similarly to split testing, is a way to compare different versions of an app, web page, or feature to analyze which performs best
In A/B testing, users’ are randomly served up one of two or more versions of an app or webpage. User interactions with the page or app are monitored, and the version that performs better (eg. by clicks, engagement, etc.) is then applied universally for all users. In A/B testing, A means ‘control’, or original testing variable, with B being the ‘variation’.
The purpose of A/B testing is to provide a better experience for users and encourage more engagement, and purchases. The aim is to improve the efficiency of marketing, product, customer success, sales, or even infrastructure efforts of an organization.
What we will cover: What is A/B testing?
How does A/B testing work?
What to test?
A/B testing and SEO
A/B testing: Fullstack or client-side
Do’s and don’ts of A/B testing
Conclusion
What is A/B testing?
A/B testing allows companies to uncover valuable user insights by experimenting with different approaches. Companies use sets of randomised experiments to determine which of two or more variants resonates most with users. This enables them to pinpoint what drives user engagement, highlights weaknesses, and improves overall results. In turn, this allows them to optimise their user experience for optimal engagement.
A/B testing helps you cut through the noise and get a true sense of what's working – and what's not – when it comes to your business metrics.
How Does A/B Testing Work?
If you plan to run A/B tests in your organization, it is important to understand when they can be used.
For example, you test the current version of a page against at least one other variation. You can perform the test on a website page, some features on that page, an element, or an image. You can also test variations of email copy, or sending it at a different time of the day, or even algorithms or infrastructure changes, and much more.
t’s a lot more difficult to run A/B tests when the two variants can’t be done simultaneously, like when you want to test the impact on SEO or offline advertising. For those, there are other experimentation or causal inference methods, without random assignment, called quasi-experiments.
Working
Three parts need to be tackled: run an A/B test, variant generation based on random assignment, an event pipeline to collect all the metrics, and finally, dashboards with statistics for decision-making.
Many open-source or third-party products can help you with all or some of those tasks. Though be mindful of potential pitfalls, such as using Google Analytics for your A/B testing See this great post from Georgi Georgiev about the subject.
Despite a plethora of A/B testing platforms, increasingly more businesses that focus on A/B testing outside of the marketing department are considering building their own internal platform. A/B testing shows you how new features or changes will resonate with your customers, so you can make informed decisions. It is important to understand what’s causing that impact or the change in user behavior. If you see results that you don’t expect it’s necessary to spend some time to understand what’s happening behind the scenes.
For this reason, it’s helpful to track as many metrics as you can that will allow you to understand user behavior. Look at bounce rates, click-through rates f, usage of different features through the main funnel, etc. Take it a step further: collect intel that reveals the subtle yet crucial user preferences. To glean more insight into your customers' thought processes, carve out time to examine heat maps and individual visitor session recordings. What you discover will help you read between the lines of their behavior.
With the data collection phase complete, the statistical engine takes the reins, digging into the dashboard data to compare user behavior from both versions.
Picture this: a transparent view of your website or app's progress, laying bare every detail. That's what this testing provides.
Here are some vital points that you must remember while performing A/B testing:
Set your goals: Know what you wish to accomplish through the A/B test. You must focus on one metric initially. Gradually you can perform the tests on other metrics, and this helps you to get clear data.
Select the element to test: Take a step-by-step approach. Choose one element at first and make sure it is associated with the metric you wish to improve.
Perform a complete analysis of the existing data: you must analyze the existing data first by using some reliable and credible tools such as Google Analytics. Think of accumulated data as the building blocks of your success story – the more you collect, the stronger your foundation for improvement becomes.
Build a variant: when you take the A/B test, make sure that you build a variant. This variant is the modified version of your existing element or webpage. For instance, if you are changing the homepage, modify the font style or images in your variant and keep the rest of the elements as it is.
Perform the A/B testing: select the elements that you believe would improve the target metric.
Select the best A/B testing tools: research the best available A/B testing tools for your company. The accuracy of your data depends on the tool.
Benefits of A/B Testing
There is a plethora of advantages of A/B testing. Here is a list:
Escalate conversion rate: to enhance the general conversion rate, A/B testing assists you in optimizing your website and improving the user experience
Manage your budget and time: Think of A/B testing as a highly targeted investment strategy – you put your resources exactly where they'll pay off most, productivity gets a rocket boost, and growth follows close behind.
User behavior tells a story: Are you listening to what it's saying? User-centric thinking means staying attuned to the people you're designing for - and that means getting it just right.
Enhancing the engagement of visitors: A/B testing helps you to understand what the audience needs. Make the modifications in line with user requirements.
Make informed decisions according to the quantified results: assess the results after completion of the testing process. Jot down the analytics and prepare a plan accordingly.
Whether you're looking to fine-tune your website, app, or marketing strategy, A/B testing is the advantage you need to surge ahead of the competition and leave the status quo in the dust.
Google very much supports and recommends the usage of A/B testing.
What to Test in A/B Testing?
A common question remains, -what to test in A/B testing? Here is a list of a few vital elements where you can start the testing:
Titles and headers: making small changes can create a big difference. You can change the content of the blogs or the font size, font style, and color to make them more presentable and attract users.
Forms: All the forms on your website must be clear and user-friendly. You can add or modify the titles, text boxes, and even format lines or columns to make it easy for visitors.
Call to action: Call-to-action buttons are extremely important for your website. Make the title catchy such as buy, purchase now, order, etc., to enhance your conversion rate.
The moment of truth has arrived: It's time to introduce the images that drive our narrative forward. A website's design isn't complete without the right images – they can make or break the user experience. Get creative with your photo presentation – altering their size and aesthetic can make a big impact.
Navigation: with navigation, you can allow your users to access multiple conversion tunnels through the navigation
Landing pages: landing pages let users take certain actions. A/B testing helps you to perform a comparison between different versions of such features with several designs or layouts.
Page structure: The page structure of the website has to be clean and well-crafted. You can add images, a carousel, and new products to your home page.
Business models: analyze your business model in and out to generate additional profits
Algorithms: you can experiment with different algorithms to convert your visitors into customers
Why A/B Testing?
There are instances where B2B businesses are not satisfied with their leads or worry about low user engagement.
Such vital conversion metrics have a huge impact This is where A/B testing comes in. Here are some reasons A/B testing is important:
Achieve ROI from the current traffic.
Minimize the bounce rate.
Put users' minds at ease by addressing their concerns directly.
Make statistical improvements.
Make impactful design changes to the website.
Achieve ROI from the current traffic
A/B testing helps to escalate conversions without making further investments to gain new traffic. It is costly to acquire new, quality traffic for your website. A/B testing can provide you with a higher ROI as some significant changes in the website can increase conversion rates.
Minimize the bounce rate
, There is no one solution to managing the bounce rate for a website. Every website has its objectives and a different set of audiences. Therefore you should analyze the requirements of your visitors and make improvements accordingly. We've all been there - stumbling upon a website that resonates with us, only to find ourselves delighted by its content. That's exactly what you want for your site - an experience so captivating that visitors turn into customers almost instinctively.
Resolve users’ concerns
Whether a user’s goal is to buy a product, or service, or understand a particular topic,, there may be a few obstacles in their way, such as difficulty finding the CTA, complex forms, or user interface.
This may result in a bad user experience, and the user may never visit your website again. It's crucial to examine your visitors' actions and reactions. Make it count by using those findings to shape your site into one that delights users..
Make statistical improvements
A/B testing is all about the data collected regarding the user’s behavior on various metrics. There are various factors such as click-through rate, bounce rate, times spent on a particular webpage, number of forms filled, etc. Understanding these metrics will increase the conversion rate for your website.
Make frequent design changes to your website.
Making small but meaningful design changes it gives your website a sense of freshness to users whenever they land on your website. The modification can be as minor as changing the color of the header or changing the font style.
You can compare the older and the new versions with the help of A/B testing and analyze which one performs better.
A/B Testing: Fullstack or Client-Side
To determine the right approach for you, consider the architecture of your organization, how quickly you can cycle through development, the resources you have on hand and the nuances of experimental design – all these elements reveal the optimal approach.
Client-side approach
Several factors make the client-side approach quite flexible in terms of marketing.
You can quickly deploy or create front-end tests.
It is possible to modify web pages in users’ browsers directly.
Server-side approach
Whenever some significant changes occur on the back-end architecture side, the changes reflect as soon as the HTML pages load.
Better website architecture is within reach. Simply take the time to conduct thorough tests and customize your site to meet your unique needs.
You can control several metrics of the tests from the coding environment directly.
If you're a digital marketer, you're in luck. The client-side approach is a total cinch – no advanced technical expertise is required. The teams can expect faster test results as well as a short period of experimenting.
On the other hand, server-side testing consists of core technical resources. With experimental procedures at play, the door to boundless opportunity swings wide open.
Do‘s and Don’ts of A/B Testing
Do’s of A/B testing
Analyze the structure of your website diligently.
Understand user behavior and their demands from your website.
Filter the important elements to perform A/B testing.
Keep your goals clear.
To enhance the optimization process, try to combine client-side and fullstack together.
Don’ts of A/B testing
Opting for complicated tests in the beginning.
Not prioritizing the launch of the tests.
Testing without a prior plan.
Not considering the insights and implementing them into your websites for further improvement.
Ignoring minute behavioral changes of your visitors.
A Chapter Closes
Imagine being able to precisely pinpoint what drives user engagement – that's what A/B testing is all about. So, if you're struggling to get visitors to take action, A/B testing may be what you need - it's a conversion-rate booster that delivers.
It can help not only improve the design of your website but in turn visitor engagement and conversions. Ensure you get the most out of your tests by following the steps above. Good luck!
Frequently asked questions
What is the definition of A/B testing?
A/B testing is the process of comparing two variations of a page element, usually by testing users’ response to variant A vs. variant B and concluding which of the two variants is more effective.