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Many stores face this problem— their ads have the best clickthrough rates but once visitors land on their store, they don’t convert as well as expected.
As a store owner, you may have a few tactics you’d like to try out to solve this— create urgency with a countdown timer, different images, or even more compelling copy.
But you can’t set it live and hope it works.
This is where A/B testing can help.
What is A/B testing?
A/B testing lets you compare 2 versions of a webpage to figure out which one performs better. With this, you can show one version of the page to half of your website visitors and another version to the rest and compare the performance to understand which converts best.
For instance, a skincare brand might want to test what works better on its homepage— showing just the product or the product with a model’s face. By running a test, they can compare which version engages their visitors better.
(Image: Show 2 screens of the same landing page. Screen 1 to have just the product in the hero. Screen 2 to have both the product and the face of the model)
You can test anything— website, landing page, ad, email, pop-up.
When planning to run A/B tests, you can choose to test based on:
- A problem you are already facing (like high drop-offs on a specific page) and how you can solve it
- A goal you want to achieve, like higher engagements
- A hypothesis you have on what may work better. For instance, assuming that 2 buttons in the header convert better than just having 1 button.
What can you expect from A/B testing your landing pages?
Better conversions
When improving your page, your end goal is obviously better conversion and more revenue. A/B testing lets you optimize every part of your landing page by experimenting with different tactics and understanding what your audience responds to best.
Better user experience
The experience you provide to your visitors as they browse your store plays a big role in whether they end up converting.
With A/B testing, you can identify friction and pain points that a visitor may have (like unclear copy, or disappearing 'Add to Cart' buttons, for example) and test ways to make the user experience easier and more delightful.
Understand your audience better
Do your visitors respond better to a discount or a bundle offer? Do they need more options at the end of the product page to ensure they don't drop off?
Testing different tactics and placements lets you pinpoint what your store visitors prefer, what causes them to drop off, and what tactics successfully convert them.
Insights about your audience can also be used to make more informed decisions and improve your products, offers, promotions, and other verticals of your online business.
Lower drop-offs
You may find that visitors reach a certain point on your landing page, like a text-heavy section, and drop-off.
A/B testing can help you understand how different variables can affect drop-offs. You can then use these insights to set up a better version of your landing page that keeps visitors on your site for longer.
Avoid the risk of launching a tactic that has a negative impact
Imagine making a change on your landing page (like a button placement or a different headline), only to find that it hampers your visitors’ experience and causes them to drop off without making a purchase.
By testing the tactic out before you officially set it live on your website, you can validate that the change will drive positive results. A test that fails can help you identify what won’t work for your audience without completely affecting your page performance.
Reasons for running an A/B test
A problem, a goal, or a hypothesis— the reason to test falls into one of these three categories.
1. Desktop or mobile doesn’t convert as well
Your landing page needs to be optimized for different devices. If you see fewer conversions on a specific device, you can investigate the issue, and try different designs, placements, and tactics to pinpoint what would work best for that device.
2. Visitors drop off without converting
Is your landing page seeing lots of traffic but these visitors are dropping off quickly? You can identify drop-off points and test improvements and content placements to reduce drop-offs.
3. You want to add a new visual or change the copy but aren’t sure if it’ll work
You could instantly make the change and set it live. But, testing lets you confirm that the copy or visual works better than the original version of the page.
4. You want to experiment with new tactics
Whether it’s a new offer or a way to build urgency, you could set the tactic live and see how it performs. But, when it comes to your store, let’s not take any chances.
Test, validate, and launch when you’re sure it drives the best results possible.
5. Your theme doesn’t have the functionality and you don’t want to spend dev hours building it
Building a custom functionality takes up time and effort from your team. Imagine building the functionality out and launching it, only to find out that it negatively impacts the page performance.
Instead, with the right A/B testing tool, you can test out specific functionality that doesn’t exist within your theme. If it works, you can choose to set that live through the A/B testing tool or custom-build it.
6. You believe that your engagement or conversion rate can be better
If you think that your landing page isn't performing as well as it could, testing potential solutions based on your analysis is the most efficient way to improve your engagement or conversion.
