How to Do Marketing A/B Testing for Beginners

November 18, 2022 | By Ilfusion Team

The outcome of your marketing strategy is dependent on various factors such as the product or service you are offering, your target audience, and of course, your marketing mix. However, one element that is often overlooked is testing.

Testing allows you to try different marketing strategies and tactics to see what works best for your business. It also helps you to avoid making costly mistakes that could have a negative impact on your overall goals.

However, testing can be confusing and daunting if you’re just starting out. What should you test? How do you know if something is working?

What Is A/B Testing?

A/B testing is the most common type of marketing testing method. It essentially involves comparing two versions of a marketing element (such as an ad or landing page) to see which performs better.

For example, let’s say you’re testing two different headlines for an email subject line. Version A could be “Get 50% off your next purchase!” while version B could say “New arrivals just in — shop now!”

To see which performs better, you would send both versions to a sample of your list and track the open and click-through rates. The headline with the better results would be the one you would use going forward.

It’s important to note that A/B testing should only be used to test one element at a time. This could be something like the headline, call-to-action (CTA), or image.

If you try to test too many things at once, it will be difficult to identify which change had the biggest impact on the results.

Why Is Marketing A/B Testing Important?

The main benefit of marketing A/B testing is that it allows you to fine-tune your strategy and make the necessary changes or adjustments, which can have a big impact on your overall success. Some of its other benefits also include:

Improving your conversions: By testing different elements of your marketing campaigns, you can identify what works best and make the necessary changes to increase your conversion rate.
Saving money: By testing different strategies, you can avoid costly mistakes that could set your business back.
Increasing engagement: Testing can also help you to increase engagement with your target audience by finding out what they respond best to.

How to Conduct A/B Testing

A/B testing can be conducted in a variety of ways, but for beginners, here’s a step-by-step guide

1. Establish your objective

The first step is to choose the objective of your test. What do you want to achieve? Do you want to increase conversion rates, engagement, click-throughs, or something else?

Your objective should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). This will help keep you on track and ensure that you are able to measure the results of your test.

2. Select your element

Once you’ve established your objective, you need to select the element that you want to test. This could be something like the headline, CTA, image, or copy.

As we mentioned earlier, it’s important to only test one element at a time so that you can accurately identify which change had the biggest impact on the results.

3. Create your versions

Versions refer to the different versions of the element that you will be testing. For each test, you should have a control (the original version) and at least one variation.

An essential thing to remember is that your variation should be based on your objective. For example, if you want to increase conversion rates, your variation might be a different CTA. Be also sure that your variation is plausible — meaning, it’s something that could actually work.

4. Set up your test

There are a few things you need to do to set up your test, such as:

Select your sample size: This is the number of people who will see each version of your test. For most tests, a sample size of 1,000 is sufficient.
Decide on a duration: How long do you want your test to run for? It’s important to allow enough time for your test to run its course, but you also don’t want it to go on for too long. A good rule of thumb is to run your test for at least two weeks.
Select your tool: There are a number of tools available that can help you conduct your A/B testing, such as Google Analytics, Optimizely, and Visual Website Optimizer. Your chosen tool/s is essential to help you measure your results more accurately.

5. Measure your results

Once your test is complete, it’s time to measure the results. This is where your tool/s will come in handy, as they will provide you with the data you need to make an informed decision.

Some of the things you should look at, depending on your goals, include:

Conversion rates
Click-through rates
Engagement rates
Bounce rates

6. Make your decision

Based on your test results, you can then decide which version is best and implement the changes accordingly.

Can You Test More Than Two Versions?

You might be wondering if you can test more than two versions (also known as A/B/n testing). The answer is yes, but it’s generally not recommended for beginners.

Testing more than two versions can be complicated and time-consuming, so it’s best to start with two versions and then move on to testing more once you’ve got the hang of it.

Boost Your Marketing Goals with the Right Strategy

A/B testing is one of the many ways you can improve your marketing. If you want to achieve your marketing goals, it’s essential to have the right strategy in place.

At Ilfusion, we can help you create a customized marketing strategy that will help you achieve your specific goals. We offer a range of services, including content marketing, social media marketing, and email marketing.