2014-02-18

In today’s digital world, there’s no reason not to be split-testing variables to figure out how to get the most bang for your buck. This quick post provides some examples of common variables that you should start A/B testing today.

1. A/B Test Colors

Your audience has a unique set of likes and dislikes – every audience does. You can’t assume that your target market will like the same colors that you like, and there’s really only one way to figure out what color schemes they like best: testing.

For example: on the GuavaBox Inbound Marketing Blog, we always offer readers a next step when they finish a blog post. That next step is typically an offer to download an eBook, watch a video, or sign up for a course. We thought that people would prefer to have that call-to-action (CTA) distinguished by a different background color, so we made an image with text on a green background.

Just in case we were wrong, we also added a version with a light background and started A/B testing the two designs.

The results? The light background design was clicked more than 4X as frequently, and the views-to-submissions rate was more than 7X better.

2. A/B Test Images

Images have a huge impact on people. As humans, we gravitate towards visuals, as proven by the incredible impact of Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Snapchat.

But each segment of your target market gravitates towards specific types of images. Split test your image styles and designs to determine what works best for each of your unique buyer personas.

3. A/B Test Words

As of a 2009 report, there were over 6,900 recognized languages in the world. If that wasn’t enough, every industry, culture, segment, and niche has its own vocabulary, jargon and acceptable way of communicating.

You’ll strike out if you try to talk to your steel mill employee the same way that you’d talk to a university professor. They have different skill sets, different cultural affiliations, different vocabularies, and different preferences. Start A/B testing your words and phrases to figure out what resonates best with your audience.

4. A/B Test Prices

Price theory is a crazy field – the way humans make purchasing decisions varies widely based on a number of demographic and psychographic factors. Pricing your products or services properly is a tough challenge; if you don’t believe me, check out these 5 Psychological Studies on Pricing from KissMetrics.

The moral of the story is that you absolutely have to be split testing your pricing strategies to figure out how to grow your business. I know that there are lots of excuses when it comes to A/B testing pricing, but we’re in the digital age, it’s time to put the excuses back on the shelf and start A/B testing your pricing.

5. A/B Test Layout & Design

I mentioned our Blog CTA split testing results earlier in regards to color, but the same principles apply to the layout or design of your marketing materials.

When we added an image of the offer to our CTA’s, conversion rates increased right away. That doesn’t mean that images will always improve conversion rates, it just means that you need to test and find out for yourself!

Start A/B Testing Today

Take the next step and get specific examples of A/B testing that you can implement right away to start improving the return on your marketing investment. This free eBook features data, case studies, and insights from a number of organizations, all meant to help you get started with A/B testing right away!

Show more