Your landing pages are performing well, right? How can you be sure? Would improved conversions result from changing a headline or switching an image?
You can find out! A/B testing your landing pages means comparing multiple versions of your pages to find the one with the higher conversion rates.
You may be wondering if adding an embedded video would boost sign-ups, or if using different landing page copy would be more persuasive. A/B testing will give you the answer.
Instead of making uneducated guesses about what will get your audience to click, launch the best landing pages based on past success with your audience.
But first, let’s review the lingo!
There are a couple of different landing page testing techniques out there, namely:
- Testing to compare the performance of two versions of a single variable. For example, you could test a landing page with a video against a landing page without a video to see which one performs better.
- A/B testing and split testing are both terms for when traffic is divided equally between two versions of a page to see which performs better.
- Multivariate testing is a process of testing multiple things at the same time. This type of testing usually involves testing many different versions of each possible variant combination (e.g. new images vs. new copy vs. new button position).
A/B split testing is a method of testing where you test one thing at a time with traffic equally split between versions. This article will focus on A/B split testing.
Why you should A/B test your landing pages
Tracking your landing page analytics is a good start, but it is not enough on its own. If you’re talking about a landing page, then you want to make sure that it’s reaching its full potential. You may be able to improve your conversion rate by making some changes, but the only way to know for sure is by conducting A/B tests.
A/B testing your landing pages can…
1. Increase conversion rates
A/B testing allows you to compare two versions of your landing page to see which one performs better in terms of clicks and sales. For example, Bing was able to increase its annual revenue by 10-25% by using A/B testing.
2. Help you to better understand user behavior
By testing different versions of your landing pages, you can figure out which ones resonate the most with your visitors, resulting in increased engagement.
3. Generate data for global site improvement
The things you learn from each A/B test can be used to make the experience better for everyone who uses your site. If you want more people to click on a certain button, put that button on other pages as well!
How to A/B test your landing pages (with best practices)
1. Identify what you want to test
What is the conversion rate for your landing page? If your grades are lower than you want them to be, examine what you could do differently to raise them.
2. Write a metric hypothesis
What is being tested and how will the results be measured? An example of this would be if we moved our customer testimonials higher up on the landing page, in hopes of increasing conversions by 50% within 2 weeks.
Make your hypothesis specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. This will help you form your hypothesis so that it is easier to test and measure.
3. Create the new landing page version
You can create a new landing page with the adjusted element, and then publish it to get feedback.
It’s important to make sure that your new landing page gets the same traffic from the same sources so that other variables won’t interfere with the results.
4. Run the test
After the trial is completed, review the results, make necessary changes, and then test the next item.
To make sure you are constantly appealing to your audience, run regular A/B tests. This way you can be sure you are always giving them what they want.
10 important elements to test in your landing pages
Here are some ideas to help you get started landing page A/B testing…
| Hero image | Which image generates the most conversions? |
| Headline | Which copy is most persuasive? |
| CTA button | Which positioning gets the most clicks? |
| Copy | Which voice/style resonates the most? |
| Forms and form fields | Do fewer fields generate more signups? |
| Social proof | Do testimonials with headshots get more engagement than those without? |
| Pricing | Does presentation affect conversions, such as $2 vs. $1.99? |
| Countdown timer | Does a countdown timer push more people to take action? |
| Layout | Is it better to embed a video above or below the fold? |
| Navigation | Should there be a menu at the top of the page, or is it too distracting? |
How to calculate the conversion rate
Calculating the conversion rate of your website is not difficult. Use the following formula to calculate the conversion rate at any point:
The conversion rate is calculated by taking the number of conversions and dividing it by the total number of visitors, then multiplying by 100.
To calculate a percentage, follow the above formula. Please count “conversions” as any action you want customers to take. For example, signing up for a newsletter, downloading an app, or making a purchase. This can mean making a purchase, signing up for a loyalty program or newsletter, or anything else you need.
If you had 500 visitors to your landing page over the last month, that’s great! However, you only had 75 conversions. Plug these numbers into the formula, and you get:
(75/500) X 100 = 15%
While the conversion rate isn’t terrible, it could be improved with some optimization tricks and techniques.
What is the average conversion rate?
Different industries average different rates. Indeed, what counts as a “good” or “average” conversion rate can vary based on:
- The demographics of your target audience
- How frequently does your target audience make purchases or sign up for things?
- Your industry
So, even though the average conversion rate is low, it is still possible for your website or landing page to have a high conversion rate. However, first and foremost, your site has to offer an enjoyable and valuable user experience. It is always good to increase your conversion rate if it is possible to do so, but your site’s user experience is more important.
You should keep in mind that any conversion rate is pointless unless you are aware of what it symbolizes and how to provide your target audience what they demand and need from your brand.
What are the primary elements of conversion rate optimization?
The process of conversion rate optimization is complex, involving multiple steps and requiring a great deal of care and attention to detail. Most conversion rate optimization strategies involve six different elements or stages.
For your optimization efforts to be successful, you’ll need to:
- Leverage in-depth, statistically valid data to analyze important results.
- You should run a lot of tests to understand how different pages perform. The best place to start is by focusing on lower-in-the-funnel pages.
- Tweak content as necessary to improve your conversion rate.
Calls to action
Making changes to your calls to action can help improve your conversion rate. A call to action is asking the visitor or potential customer to do something that you want them to do.
Your website should center around buttons that let customers make purchases, sign up for newsletters, and so on.
You need to make your calls to action persuasive and compelling to be effective. Generally, the best CTAs are:
- Concise
- Persuasive, so they use forceful and imaginative language
- Psychologically engaging
Making sure your CTAs are effective is one of the most important things you can do to improve your conversion rate.
Landing page design
The most important page on any website is the landing page. Why?
Your target audience members will arrive at your website after clicking on a PPC ad or finding your site through organic search engine results. Your brand’s landing page is the first thing a new visitor will see.
Your landing page needs to be well designed, highly usable, and highly converting. Your landing page should be designed in a way that is pleasing to the eye, easy to use, and streamlined.
Website copy
Conversion rate optimization also includes improving your website’s copy. Website copy is any text you may have on your site, including:
- Product or service descriptions
- Text on your homepage or landing pages
- Text on your conversion forms
- Text anywhere else
In addition to the text on a website, the major headlines are important elements that visitors see when they first arrive.
To get the best results, headlines should be short, sweet, and engaging. The copy/text beneath headers should answer questions or provide useful information in an efficient and persuasive manner.
Naturally, good website copy also means:
- Double-checking your copy for grammar or typo issues
- It is important to make sure your website copy is divided into relevant, short paragraphs so that your customers can easily understand it.
- It is critical that the font and size of website copy is consistent throughout your website in order to facilitate easy navigation and provide a comfortable viewing experience for your potential customers.
Navigation and site structure
How easy it is to navigate around your website and how well organized your website’s structure is both play a role in how successful your website is in converting visitors into customers.
The structure of the site is the path that visitors take as they move through it. Your website is generally set up with a landing page, which then allows your visitors to access different pages for different products or services depending on what they want to do.
To ensure good conversion rate optimization, you must:
- Your site should be easy for visitors to use. Make sure it is well organized. The homepage should be designed in a way that makes it easy for visitors to find what they’re looking for within three clicks.
- Make sure your site is mobile-friendly so people can easily view it on their phone. This is especially important since over half of internet traffic is from people using mobile devices.
- Double-check that your website loads quickly. If a webpage takes too long to load, many site visitors will click away.
Forms
A good conversion rate optimization strategy includes form design. If your forms are difficult for your website visitors to fill out or if they are otherwise frustrating, they will abandon your forms.
You need to create effective, concise, and engaging forms. The fewer fields a form has, the better it is. It’s important that your website’s forms are not only functional, but also look good. This will give your site a polished, professional appearance.
Page speed
If your page takes one second longer to load, you could potentially lose 7% of your website visitors.
This means that if your website loads in two seconds, you could lose up to 22% of potential customers. To ensure site loads quickly:
- Eliminate unnecessary graphics, especially videos
- Choose servers that will be able to handle increased traffic if your website becomes popular.
