How to Use Split Testing to Increase Conversion Online

Design is intelligence made visible

Alina Wheeler

When you design a website for your business you have several ways to determine how effective your efforts will be.

You can either choose to go with the components on the website that you feel will work the best, or alternatively, you can split test elements and measure outcomes to find which ones are engaging more of your targeted audience.

The split test enables you to show potential visitors two different versions of a web page to better gauge overall effectiveness in relation to potential sales.

By using the split test you can quickly choose which version is converting better and built the website around those results.

 Here are 4 ways to effectively split test your website and increase conversions.

 1. Building A Web Page Variation

The easiest way to do a split test on your web pages is to take one page that you want to test, and make a new copy of it in the admin section of your website.

 Take the new page and create a new title for it, and then create the content with the changes that you want to compare against the first page. Make certain that for now you only focus on one page to test at first. This makes it easier to monitor initial results.

This A/B split test will allow you to quickly access which page is getting more traffic and which links on those pages are converting at a higher rate.

2. Install Google Content Experiments

Google Analytics is one of the tools that will allow you to quickly monitor how much traffic a single page is getting versus another but there is another tool that can help you to expand upon those results. This tool is called ‘Google Content Experiments’.

From the Google Analytics page, find the instructions for the Google Content Experiments and upload to your website. This program is free and is a replacement for the old Google Website Optimizer. This tool will allow you to easily test pages against each other so you can quickly identify which page is converting better.

Once installed, simply tell the program which pages and how much of the audience is going to be exposed to the split test. Setting the testing to 100% will give you the results much faster and allow you to make an informed decision regarding which page to implement.

3. Isolate Page Variables

To get a more accurate result with your A/B split test, you should include a few of these variables in your testing.

Dominant colours, fonts, wording and the position of your header text and images are key variables here.

Also consider testing the color of the background on your website and the location and wording of your opt in box. Regarding your social media buttons, both position and colour can be tested as well as the colour and style of all your ‘buy now’ buttons.

Because the possibilities are endless when it comes to testing the components of your website, be certain to choose the elements that have the biggest impact on sales and focus on those call to action areas.

4. Measure the Final Results

While your tests are underway, you will see the results appear automatically in your Google Analytics account.

Do not rush into choosing one side over the other until the program has had enough time to accurately analyse all the data. This way you can draw a more solid conclusion and work to improve the overall conversion rates on all your web pages.

Once you have chosen the winner, continue your testing on other pages you feel need to convert at a higher rate.

Split testing your web pages is an affordable way to increase conversion

Roundhouse has been providing web design and conversion optimisation services since 2001. Our expert team delivers service with one goal in mind - to boost your leads and expand your customer base. We offer a great range of affordable split testing services that deliver maximum ROI to increase your visibility online.

Get started now. Contact us here.

Book an obligation free consultation with a qualified designer.

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If you enjoyed reading this article, you may also enjoy reading about the following:
1. 7 Tips for a Highly Converting Website Design

2. 4 Top Reasons to Consider a Website Redesign

3. A Simple Guide to Client Communications

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