A/B Testing Is Essential to Maximizing the Profits a Business Can Receive From its Website

Just as every product that rolls off an assembly line is put through its paces before a full batch is ordered and sold to customers, so too can websites be tested and gradually refined in ways that lead to designs that both increase the overall number of visitors and, more importantly, ensure that most of these potential clients will click through all relevant pages and ordering options.  Known as 'A/B Testing', the process whereby a website's layout and look are evaluated involves displaying alternative versions of specific features to visitors during a given period of time.  Half of all visitors, for instance, may see a page where a photograph is clicked to move between pages while the remaining viewers are presented with hypertext.  At the end of such a trial the overall number or percentage of visitors who clicked on the version of the link with a picture can be compared to the statistics for text alone.  In this way each specific feature of a website can be compared against an alternate version or option and, gradually, a far more efficient and goal-directed website can be developed.

Beyond helping to determine the general look of a website that has just been launched, A/B Testing can be an essential tool for evaluating and troubleshooting existing sites and interfaces.  A business, for instance, may know through tools like Google Analytics that it receives a high number of visitors but that, for some reason, most of them never follow through with or complete the ordering process for one of their products.  A/B Testing can determine if the ordering setup itself is at fault by presenting some visitors with an ordering process that has a different look or steps.  If this test does indeed reveal that the ordering process itself was to blame the new or alternate version can be made permanent.  If, on the other hand, the overall percentage of customers who went through with purchasing a product remains the same other suspected elements of the website can then be tested.

Because A/B Testing is essentially a diagnostic tool that allows a website to be optimized, it can also be applied to older sites in preparation for the launch of a new website.  In this way a business's existing online presence can be used as a testbed for a fresh marketing campaign it intends to launch in the near future.  This new site, page, or entirely original department or brand can then be introduced to the general public without the disappointment and embarrassment that can accompany a failed launch and hurried revisions.  Overall, a business's bottom line is therefore helped by ensuring a smooth continuation of sales and the establishment of a positive image for a new brand or product from the start.

Because it can be applied to any component of a site, A/B Testing is limitless as an evaluation tool.  Things like color schemes, graphics, and even the nature of articles or other media examples can be thoroughly vetted.  Surprisingly, what looks beautiful at first sight may, in fact, be detrimental to business for a variety of reasons, so it always helps to evaluate even what are presumed to be the most attractive aspects of a website.  For other insights into how A/B Testing can help maximize the potential of a website or be applied to a re-launch, businesses should contact our marketing experts today.  The sooner a site's flaws can be discovered and reversed, after all, the sooner its profitability can be boosted.