Are you looking to optimise your business’s website? Is your website encouraging visitors to linger longer and convert from ‘just visiting’ to becoming clients?
We all know the that a website acts as the front door to our business, so it’s important to keep it updated, engaging and current. In order to optimise every potential customer’s visit, our web pages should be tested regularly to identify where improvements can be made. To do this easily, businesses can undertake what is known as split testing.
There are two types of split testing – A/B testing and multivariate testing. If looking to discover what works best for your audience – your current web page or one with a few simple changes, then the A/B method of testing is extremely fast and effective.
If however the website attracts a high volume of traffic, and you want to test a limitless combination of website elements, the multivariate test is a powerful way to gather data to optimise your website.
A/B Testing
Conducting an A/B test will provide fast and meaningful results; it will deliver accurate statistical information showing which version of the web page – A or B, provided the best customer conversion rate; and was most engaging and effective. The A/B testing method can test not only a few content changes on a web page but also simple changes to the:
- Header text
- Headlines and sub-headlines
- Call-to-action text
- Call-to-action buttons
- Links
- Images
Once A/B testing is complete the data gathered will ensure your web pages are made using the evidence-based information therefore eliminating the guess work. There are various sites available to help you run these tests. A couple of popular ones are www.vwo.com and www.optimizely.com.
Multivariate Testing
If you run a high-traffic website, have you wondered if it needs improving? Did you know that Multivariate testing is currently widely used in marketing, to test:
- Online offers
- The various price points of products
- The effectiveness of ‘trial periods’
- Buyer incentives
This form of online testing saves time and money for your business by replacing the need to organise and conduct face-to-face focus group testing, telephone or online surveys to understand your customer’s online behaviour.
Multivariate testing allows for multiple combinations of variables, more complex variables and subjects to be tested compared to A/B testing. Multivariate testing can simultaneously measure the results of multiple versions of images, text fonts, checkout processes and links. As well as:
- Text and visual elements on a webpage together
- Colour and placement of a Call to Action button
- The number of form fields and colour and text of the Call to Action button
The Visual Website Optimiser www.vwo.com provides flexible multivariate testing software, as does the easy to use platform www.optimizely.com.
Remember, it is important to ensure the multivariate tests are run over a long enough period of time to collect a decent sample size. The data returned will then provide important information to properly evaluate new elements and combinations which could significantly improve your website’s conversion rate optimisation.
Like to know more about split testing? Give the team at Fireworks a call on 1300 660 160.