Website Usability Guidelines

A - B Testing

Follow these usability recommendations:

A-B testing is a proven means to increase conversion rate. The following protocol can be use to increase online profits.

Version A: Decide what variables or weak points, you would like to test on your current website, ad copy, or landing page. Determine which elements to test, keeping the number of the differences between versions small enough to get a statistically valid set of results.

Version B: Create the B or alternate version of your website, ad copy, or landing page. Keep a log of what changes were made and even more important, why you believe that these changes will have a positive impact on your click through rate (CTR) or customer conversion rate (CCR) performance.

Launch the split run test. Launch the split run test using a script that sends half of the traffic to the old version, and the other half of your website visitors to the new version of your site. When you decide who to give what version to, you should continue to serve search engines with the same version of your site, as spiders may get confused as to which one is the real thing. Or they may foul up the results of your test. And, when a visitor comes back to your website, send them the same version that they got on their last visit, so that the data for each version remains as distinct as possible.

Analyze Results - Was there a higher number of people that bought your products and services from version A or version B? Did the change on your site produce a positive, or negative impact on sales, inquiries, and sign ups? Once you have a statistically valid data sample, and a clear winner has been decided, It's time to implement the new version of your site.

The A-B Test Benefits - The benefits of split-run testing are many. You can see at a glance what's working and what isn't. By testing different versions of your copy and tracking what converts, you can make permanent changes and see an increase in your sales with the same amount of traffic. When you improve your conversion rates, the money you spend on marketing will work harder for you as more of your site's visitors make the leap from browsers into buyers.

If your sales copy is ineffective, all the traffic in the world will not increase your sales activity. By testing and tracking and finding out what does and doesn't work, you can incorporate changes that are proven winners and make more money.