By far, the biggest mistake novice testers face when AB testing is testing the incorrect thing. Starting off on the wrong foot can turn many people off to AB testing. However, making mistakes is a necessary part of the process– especially when you’re testing to find mistakes in your marketing that are losing leads. To be successful with your business, you really need to see what your users are doing and missing, and then try out different solutions to those perceived problems.
If you’re not sure what to split test or what to AB test, we’re here to help. In this quick guide, we’ll break down some common split test mistakes and provide split test ideas as solutions to those mistakes.
Overwhelmingly, the most common mistake one can make when AB testing is testing things that don’t actually matter to leads. It makes sense why this is so common– if a particular landing page or element isn’t interacted with much on a website, it would make sense to test that element to see what isn’t working. However, in many cases, such elements don’t matter when compared to other elements on a page. It can be very difficult to figure out what is worth the time it takes to test and what is not worth it at all.
Solution:
We recommend installing a plugin like Microsoft Clarity. Clarity is a user behavior analytics application that may assist you to figure out how people interact with your website. Simple and easy customization, real-time data analysis, no site constraints, and deep AI and machine learning algorithms-enhanced insights are all supported characteristics.
To better identify where you should be AB testing, take a look at the heatmaps in Clarity and select the Maps feature to see where people are interacting with your website. These heatmaps are great visualization tools that will also show you where you want your leads to go.
Consider this: Are you accidentally directing people to your incomplete About Us page? Are you getting people to book a call, when they don’t even know about your product? Clarity can provide excellent insight into where your traffic is going and if those pages need to be AB tested for efficiency.
Just as well, we recommend using Clarity to look at scroll maps to see how far down your page visitors are scrolling. With this knowledge, you could AB test moving important content above the fold.
In addition to AB testing the wrong places on your website, another common problem is not knowing where to even start with AB testing to begin with.
Solution:
The above method for checking heatmaps, scroll maps, and analytics with Microsoft Clarity should be your first course of action. In addition to this solution, there are other things you can do as well.
In order to know where to AB test in the beginning, you’ll need feedback from your visitors. The best way to get feedback from your users is by asking one simple question: “Did you find everything you needed today?” And if that answer is no, follow up with: “What could we improve for you to better enjoy your experience on our site?”
There are a number of ways you can get these questions to your users and get tangible feedback. You can put these questions in your website footer, as a popup message activated by certain actions, or as an automated popup message via your live chat tool.
The responses you get to these questions will help you decide what people aren’t finding or aren’t seeing on the website. You’d be surprised by how willing users are to provide feedback on their experience with a website or product if prompted appropriately. If their response is in reference to information you have but didn’t make easily available to users, that feedback will let you know that you need to make that information more prominent. If the information they are seeking is not available on your website at all, then you’ll be able to use their feedback to add that information to the site.
Solid hypotheses are distinguished from random testing by the quality of your insights and your understanding of how to apply them. Nothing should be able to stop you now that you’ve addressed the two most prevalent errors. A well-structured hypothesis is an important component of conversion optimization. It assists you in identifying and eliminating friction in your conversion funnel.
