What is A/B testing?
The idea of an A/B test is to produce, launch and compare two versions (or designs) of one thing. For example, businesses may use this method when deciding on new banner ads or homepage headlines in order to find out which performs better, among other things; they’ll measure performance based on characteristics like clicks received, etcetera.
A/B testing process
A/B testing is a process that involves steps like the following:
- What are you trying to achieve? Determine your goal. What do you want from A/B testing? For example, if it’s increasing sales, then find out what needs to be done in order to make this possible (this could mean changing anything from website design to color schemes). What are your KPIs? What metrics will measure success?
- What is the hypothesis you want to be tested with an A/B test? What do you think could make a difference and increase sales or whatever else it may be. For example, if you’re testing new banner ads, then choose one that has the best chance of outperforming the other.
- What is the control? What is the current design or situation you have without any changes?
- What are the variants? The two different versions of what it is you’re testing.
- Testing: Launch both variants and compare results by measuring KPIs. Analyze data to find out which performed better.
The benefits of an A/B test
There are many benefits of A/B testing, some of which we’ll outline below:
- Increased understanding of your users and what they want: Through data collected from an A/B test, you can learn more about your user base. What do they like? What don’t they like? What are their preferences?
Why you should A/B test
The benefits of A/B testing are clear. What you might not know, however, is how easy it can be to get started. You don’t need a huge team or massive budget, just some basic tools and knowledge about your audience — both of which most people already have access to (if not, we can help). If you’re looking for ways to improve your business or product, A/B testing could be just what you need. What are some of the reasons why businesses choose A/B tests? What makes them so appealing? Here are a few things:
- It’s an easy way to test new ideas without disrupting existing processes too much.
Examples of an A/B test
Here are a couple of A/B test examples:
Google Search Results Page (SERP) Test- Google tested whether or not adding more ads to their search result pages would have an impact on revenue. What did they find? Users clicked on the advertisements less frequently, but searchers converted into buyers at a higher rate.
- Facebook tweaked the colors on its website and found that user engagement increased as a result.
- Amazon tested two different designs for their home page and found that one design was more successful in terms of driving sales.
These are just some examples, but A/B testing can be used for all sorts of things like website design, copywriting, product testing, and more.
When should you run an A/B test?
Not all changes need to be A/B tested, but there are some instances where it’s necessary. Here are a few times when you might want to consider running an A/B test:
- When making significant changes to your SaaS product
- When introducing new features or changes to existing ones
- When redesigning your website
- When testing marketing campaigns
- When optimizing for conversions (like checkout processes)
What sample size is right for your A/B test?
There are a variety of mathematical methods for calculating the most efficient sample size. The sample size should be decided on the confidence you have in the outcomes of a particular sample size after an A/B test has been conducted.
