A/B testing, also referred to as split testing, is one of the best ways of coming up with a winning landing page that can help you make more sales or get more subscribers (leads). However, it can be tricky to A/B test when you only have a small amount of traffic to your site, such as less than 1,000 visitors per week. This is because the tests will take longer to run in order to get what is termed a statistically significant “winner” from your two choices.
A/B Split Testing Basics
In a split test, you can first set up two all-new pages and see which performs better. Then you continue to split test in order to test various aspects of the site to make sure they are all performing the best they can. Typical things to test would include:
* Headline
* Call to action
* Placement of Buy Now button
Run traffic through both pages and see which page has the highest conversion rate.
Low Traffic Challenges
The trouble is that if you don’t have that many people coming to your site, it can take a while until you see a clear winner. In some cases, you might not see one at all, in which case, either leave as is, or try a new variation.
Long Tests
Another problem is how long it might take to get a clear winner. In round numbers, you should have at least 100 people visit each page and then compare the sales from each page. A conversion rate of 0.05% is typical. Anything above that is good. If you see a page with a 5% conversion rate, it’s worth its weight in gold.
But you should still try to beat it. It will become the “control” in the test, and the B version of the page will be the split or the “treatment”, as it is commonly termed by those who do a lot of split testing.
Setting Your Control and Treatments
In sites that have a lot of traffic, you can do what is termed multivariate testing – that is, testing more than one element at the same time. This doesn’t work well for pages with low traffic, because again, you will be looking at a long test that will take quite some time before you reach a statistically significant conversion rate. Testing four variations would take months, or even years.
Test Major-Impact Items
Some testing tools will let you test sales letters down to the last sentence. However, if you have low traffic, it is better to test the big things that can make the most difference to your profits. These will usually be the headline, subheadline, price, and position of elements that encourage action, such as the Buy Now button or Subscribe Now button. If you can get all of these “above the fold” so readers don’t have to scroll down, you might be able to boost your conversions.
High impact might also vary depending on your audience. Test your lead generation magnets, such as two different reports on different topics, or a report versus a multi-lesson ecourse. Test your product package, with no bonuses versus one or more bonuses. In most cases they cost little time and effort to produce but can significantly boost sales.
Use Paid Traffic for Split Testing
If you have a small budget, use ads to drive traffic to the page so you will get faster results.
A/B Test Everywhere
You can A/B test your ads to get the best ad and highest click-through rate. You can A/B test your email subject lines to see which one has a higher open rate.
A/B testing can take time, but if it boosts conversions by even 1%, that means you can make more money even from your existing traffic or subscribers.
