Online businesses are one of the best things to emerge in recent years. Not simply because they are easier to handle, but also because it is simpler and more convenient to get access to all the data that will help you discover where you stand and what needs to be done in order to achieve your goals as an entrepreneur. And this is where split testing comes into the picture. Not really sure what split testing is or never tried it before? Well, you are certainly in the right place then. We will explain to you all that is necessary to understand how with the help of split testing, you can successfully and effectively increase your online sales. Read on to find out more.
What is Split Testing?
Split testing is a type of testing that studies the impact of different changes in the web design. Every design is a combination of a number of elements, and sometimes, adding, removing, or altering an element has an impact on how the visitors react to the page. Also known as A/B split testing, it is a method that allows you to prepare for two variants, A and B, for some specific situation. The variants are applied, keeping every other element the same, to see which variant is most productive and hence works best for that scenario.
What happens is that you give people choices. Maybe the artist-minded customers would be attracted to the color scheme that you chose for your A web page, while the hardcore information seekers would opt for the B page that lets them get as much knowledge as the can from the content you have embedded. In simple words, you will be able to figure out whether page A or page B is more effective for your target market. But what is even more beneficial is that you will be able to design a page C that will appeal to all kinds of customers.
The reason why A/B split testing works is that it allows you to discover the preference of your target audience. What is it that they are looking for and how can you provide it? By giving them options and seeing what works, you are able to figure out your final design.
What Can the Variants be?
Now that you know what split testing is, the question that comes to mind is this, exactly what are the things that can be considered variants and then tested? Below we have collected some ideas on what are the things that you can test against one another in order to increase your online sales.
Where is the Opt-in Offer?
Where exactly is the opt-in offer on your website? Does it immediately draw the attention of your website viewers? Simply by moving the location of the opt-in offer from one end to the other can make a huge difference. Try to keep the opt-in offer at a place that viewers are likely to see within a few seconds of being on the page. Make sure you also play around with the workings of the opt-in offer as that too could make a difference. One option is to make a hover banner that is visible on all the pages so that no matter which page a viewer sees, they have the chance to become your subscriber.
Headlines are Key!
This is another thing that you can use for your split testing. Headlines have a great impact on whether or not the viewers on your website decide to check other pages or not. They will only be willing to read the sales letter if the headline is compelling enough. You can come up with two impactful headlines and try them at different intervals to see what works best.
The Look of Your Website
One more thing that you can split test when it comes to your website is the way your website appears. This would include everything from color combination to format, font to the content that is present on the site. Make sure that you keep your business in mind and plan out the two variants accordingly. One thing that you can do is play around with the location of text, images, and videos if you have any. The position of different elements can cause a lot of impact on the sales of your online business.
Call to Action
Call to action is the most important thing that you have when it comes to marketing, be it online or traditional methods. Since we are discussing online marketing here, what kind of a call to action do you have? Is it catchy? Visible? Understandable? All these things are what decide whether you even get a sale or not, which means that you can experiment to see what attracts the customers most.
Introduction Emails
If you are catering to email marketing, and you definitely should if you aren’t already, then split testing is the perfect way to see what it is that prospects are into when it comes to introductory emails or newsletters. You can come up with two emails, A and B, and send them to say, 20 people each. Whichever email gets you the most sales, is your winner and you can then start wide spreading the one that was loved by most.
So this was all about split testing and how it can be utilized to increase sales for your online marketing or business. Keep in mind though that you will have to work for a while in order to figure out the two best variants for your marketing scheme. It may not be effective the very first time you try, but as you learn, you will realize all the things that went wrong and how you can improve them for your next testing session. Keep trying and within no time you will notice a significant positive change in the way your sales flourish.
Try all these split testing ideas to see what works best for you.
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