Marketing is trial and error. Very rarely will you be able to create a PPC ad that converts like crazy on a whim. Or an email marketing campaign that gets more conversions than unfollows the first time around.
But what do you do when your marketing efforts fall flat on their face? How can you identify where the problem lies?
In this article we’re going to talk about A/B testing and why it’s so valuable in digital marketing.
What is A/B testing?
A/B testing (or split-testing) refers to the process of creating two (or more) versions of something and running them side by side to see what works and what doesn’t.
For example, let’s say you have built a landing page for a new online course that you wish to sell but your conversions are non-existent. You know you have an awesome product but nobody seems interested. Do you give up and move onto the next project?
You could give up…But it would be a waste of time and opportunity.
Instead you could give A/B testing a try.
- Take a long, hard look at the page and look for certain features that might be holding you back. Is the copy a little weak? Should your CTA (call to action) be more prominent? Would an instructional video above the fold help?
- Once you’ve come up with a few ideas, you can create two new versions of the landing page:
o One with refined sales copy.
o Another with a larger CTA button.
- Now drive traffic towards both pages and see which fares better. Was the copy the issue? Or was it that the CTA button needed to be more prominent?
- If both pages are still doing poorly, perhaps you need a clearer value proposition? In which case, create another version of the page and try again.
If you keep this up, eventually you’ll start to notice a difference in performance. Continue dialling in your efforts and before long you should have a landing page that converts like crazy!
You can use A/B testing with pretty much everything in digital marketing
The best thing about A/B testing is that it can be applied to practically everything in the digital marketing realm.
-Got a Facebook ad that isn’t quite working as well as intended? A/B test with different ad copy or imagery. Or, try a different social media platform such as Instagram or Twitter.
-Is your email marketing campaign lagging? Trial a few different introductory emails with varying CTAs.
-Are your product pages failing to convert? Try new layouts and experiment with your use of language.
-Unsure about your keyword selection for your PPC campaign? Trial a few different variations. For example: SEO services New York City; New York SEO Agency; Best SEO Company NYC – and see which has the higher conversion rate.
Why is A/B testing so valuable in digital marketing?
It’s simple really: unless you test and try different things you’ll never be able to figure out where you are going wrong.
If you throw a landing page up and it fails and then you give up, you don’t learn anything from it.
A/B testing is like playing “Hot and Cold” with a blindfold on. You keep moving around the room, getting warmer, and warmer, and warmer until it’s piping hot and you’ve found the treasure!
Final thoughts: It may be worth hiring the professionals
The fact is, digital marketing and A/B testing is incredibly time and resource intensive.
Can you imagine running a business and having to split-test a Facebook advert half a dozen times before getting any results?
Nobody has time for that. Well, unless of course it is their literal job.
In which case, it may be worth outsourcing your needs to the professionals. That way you can focus your precious time on managing your business and taking care of your customers, while a digital marketing agency gets into the nitty gritty on your behalf.
The fact is, marketing a business is not a one-man job; it takes a multitude of specialists working towards a common goal. So, take the strain off, delegate accordingly, and do what you do best!
