The Importance Of Split Testing In Conversion Rate Optimization (Cro) And How It Works

The Importance Of Split Testing In Conversion Rate Optimization (Cro) And How It Works

Daniel Hall 23/03/2023
The Importance Of Split Testing In Conversion Rate Optimization (Cro) And How It Works

Do you want to increase the effectiveness of your website and convert more visitors into customers?

Have you ever wondered why some websites are able to convert visitors into customers while others struggle? The answer lies in conversion rate optimization (CRO).

What is CRO?

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Conversion rate optimization (CRO) is a method of increasing the rate at which visitors to a website complete a desired action, such as making a purchase or filling out a form. One of the most effective methods for optimizing conversions is split testing, also known as A/B testing.

What is Split Testing?

Split testing is a method of comparing two or more versions of a web page to determine which version converts the most visitors into customers. The process involves randomly dividing visitors to a website into two or more groups, and showing each group a different version of the page.

The purpose of split testing is to determine which version of the asset performs better in terms of conversion rate, bounce rate, average time on site and other relevant metrics.  The results of the test are then analyzed to determine which version had the highest conversion rate.

Why is Split Testing Important?

Improved User Experience: Split testing provides valuable insights into how visitors interact with your website, email or any digital asset. This helps you understand what changes need to be made to improve the overall user experience and increase the chances of converting visitors into customers.

Increased Conversion Rate: One of the primary benefits of split testing is the potential to increase the conversion rate. By testing different versions of a web page, email or any digital asset, you can determine which one performs better and make changes accordingly. This can lead to a significant increase in the conversion rate, resulting in more leads and sales.

Better Understanding of Your Customers: Split testing also provides valuable insights into what your customers want and what drives their behavior. By analyzing the data collected through split testing, you can better understand your customers and make changes that better align with their needs and preferences.

Cost Effective: Split testing is a cost-effective way to optimize your website, email or any digital asset. It eliminates the need for a full website overhaul, which can be expensive and time-consuming. With split testing, you can make small, incremental changes that can have a significant impact on the conversion rate.

How Does Split Testing Work?

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The basic concept of split testing is to compare two versions of a page to see which one performs better. For example, you might have a website with a red “Buy Now” button, but you want to test if a green “Buy Now” button will perform better. You would create two versions of the page, one with the red button and one with the green button. These two versions would then be randomly shown to visitors, and the results would be compared to determine which version performs better.

Split testing involves several steps, including:

Defining the goal: The first step in split testing is to define the goal of the test. This may be to increase the number of visitors who make a purchase, fill out a form, or take some other action.

Selecting the elements to test: Next, marketers must select the elements of the page that they want to test. This could be anything from the headline to the layout of the page. 

Creating the variations: Once the elements to be tested have been selected, marketers must create the variations of the page that will be tested. For example, if the goal is to increase the number of visitors who make a purchase, the variations of the page may include different headlines, images, or call-to-action buttons.

The versions should be as similar as possible, with only the chosen element being different. This helps to eliminate any extraneous variables that might affect the results of the test.

Setting up the test: Once you’ve created the two versions of the page, you need to set up the split test. This is typically done using a tool such as Google Optimize or Optimizely. These tools will randomly show each version of the page to different visitors and track the results. 

Analyzing the results: After the test has run for a specified period of time, the tools will then use statistical analysis to determine which version performs better or which version of the page had the highest conversion rate. This may involve comparing the number of visitors who took the desired action on each version of the page, or analyzing other metrics such as average time on site or bounce rate.

It’s important to note that split testing can take time to yield meaningful results. This is because you need a significant amount of data to determine which version performs better. The number of visitors you need will depend on the number of conversions you are trying to measure. For example, if you are trying to measure the number of visitors who sign up for a newsletter, you will need fewer visitors than if you are trying to measure the number of visitors who make a purchase.

Implementing the winning version: Once the split test is complete, you will have data that shows which version of the page performs better. The next step is to implement the winning version on your website. It’s important to continue split testing different elements of your website to continually improve your conversion rates.

The Bottom Line

Split testing is a critical component of effective conversion rate optimization (CRO). By allowing marketers to identify the elements of a page that have the greatest impact on conversion rate, split testing provides an objective and scientific approach to optimizing a website's conversion rate.

If you are looking to improve the performance of your website, consider implementing a split testing strategy as part of your overall CRO strategy, possibly with the help of a CRO agency, like WebSpero Solutions.

 

This article is co-authored by Rahul Vij, co-founder of WebSpero Solutions, theater enthusiast; he loves to talk about digital marketing.

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Daniel Hall

Business Expert

Daniel Hall is an experienced digital marketer, author and world traveller. He spends a lot of his free time flipping through books and learning about a plethora of topics.

 
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