A/B testing is the most widely adopted conversion optimization method, but in reality, most marketers don’t run as many A/B tests as they should. Some feel that it’s too bothersome, resource-intensive, and complicated. However, A/B testing has many benefits for DTC brands, like increased conversion rates and revenue growth.
If you’d like to take advantage of these benefits without spending too much time on A/B testing, keep reading—we’ll share how you can run experiments more effectively and get the results you need.
The typical A/B testing process
Most ecommerce businesses use a 5-step process of A/B testing to optimize their websites. It’s a proven way to gather the data necessary to know which product description or image resonates best with a unique audience.
Here’s a quick rundown of each of the steps:
- Define objectives: Decide which KPIs (conversion rate, user engagement, time-on-site, etc.) you want to track and which pages (homepage, landing pages, product pages, etc.) you want to test.
- Select variables to test: Identify which on-page elements (headlines, images, web design, etc.) you want to optimize.
- Create variations: Create a few different versions of the elements you’ve chosen to test, so you can see what works best.
- Split audiences: Randomly divide your audience into two (or more) groups: the control group (A) and the variant (B).
- Collect and analyze data: Observe how users interact with the different versions of your webpage and discover whether your changes made a big difference.
As you can tell, this can be a long and difficult process—so it’s no wonder many marketers just use their gut feeling. But if you follow their lead, you’re going to be leaving a TON of money on the table. It’s very rare that the first version of a website is the best version of a website.
So to sum it up, A/B testing is hard, but important.
Let’s take a look at the different ways a DTC marketer can run A/B tests:
The classic way: manual A/B testing
In manual A/B testing, you take responsibility for each of the five steps described above, making it a good solution since you’ll get the data you need, but a difficult one because you need to do everything yourself.
A/B testing tools like VWO, Optimizely, or OptiMonk’s manual A/B testing feature require you to come up with your own tests and create your own variations. This means the process is both slow and difficult to scale, since you need to go through the same steps for each and every test.
However, the main benefit of manual A/B testing is that you’re able to test whatever you want—as long as you have the know-how to make it work.
Here’s a handy tip: If you’re struggling with low conversion rates on your landing pages, it might be because you haven’t quite nailed down the best unique selling proposition (USP) just yet. If you want to figure out which messages really click with your audience, try A/B testing your landing pages with OptiMonk’s Dynamic Content feature.
Here’s an example from BlendJet, where they A/B tested two different USPs (one highlighting the self-cleaning feature and the other pushing portability) on their landing pages.
While conducting as many manual A/B tests as you can manage is better than no testing at all, you might end up with a mish-mash of optimized and unoptimized pages that don’t fit together into a smooth customer journey.
The easy way: run automatic A/B tests
The traditional approach to A/B testing can often become quite tedious. There’s a lot of manual labor involved in generating new headlines and copy variations, making alterations, awaiting results, and conducting thorough analyses across multiple landing pages. The process itself proves that it’s hard to scale and maintain.
But there is an easier way: with OptiMonk’s Smart A/B testing, you can fully automate the process and eliminate all the manual hustle!
All you have to do is:
1. Decide which landing page elements you want to A/B test
2. Choose which automatically generated variants you want to test
3. Let the system do the rest of the job, while you sit back and watch your results roll in
Although you can only run these automatic tests on text elements, OptiMonk’s AI-powered tool allows you to fine-tune your copy without all the manual work.
It’s fast, easy, and convenient!
Closing thoughts
If you want to achieve the best results for your online store, A/B testing has to be part of your marketing game. Gut feelings simply won’t get you the same results as a systematic, scientific process that tests your assumptions using real data.
There are two approaches to A/B testing:
- Manual A/B testing: This method provides control but can be resource-intensive, slow, and challenging to scale.
- Run automatic A/B tests: Using a tool like OptiMonk’s Smart A/B testing, you can harness the power of AI to automate A/B testing, simplifying and speeding up the process so you can make data-driven decisions even quicker.
A/B testing has always been worth the effort in terms of the benefits it can bring to an online business. But with today’s cutting-edge tools, you can automate 99% of your CRO tasks and effortlessly run A/B tests on any section of your website.
Sign up now for a demo if you want access to Smart A/B testing!