What are AB tests and how to use them?

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Digital marketing is a field where we constantly learn through practice. Of course, it is essential to study and stay up to date, but the practical part has to go hand in hand with knowledge. And it is to explain what AB testing is that we wrote this article, as it is one of the most important practices in digital marketing.

After all, one of the characteristics of digital marketing is the ability to carry out tests, change strategies in real time and to analyze constantly results.

In this article, you will learn about the concept of AB testing, where it can be applied and how you should perform the tests. Check it out:

What are AB tests?

AB testing is an experiment involving marketing actions of any kind, whether online or offline, where we test versions of a piece of content to see which one is most effective. In this article, we will focus solely on digital marketing, but AB testing can also be used as an experiment for offline actions.

Why should I perform AB testing?

Each market has its own characteristics and peculiarities and each audience can react differently to a given market. email campaign, to a conversion into a landing page or an advertisement for a specific campaign.

Therefore, it is important to be aware that AB tests serve to improve your results. These tests translate into numbers and practical results what we imagine before implementing our actions and campaigns.

And in digital marketing, metrics are extremely important to evaluate the results of our actions, right? So, AB tests help us not only improve results, but also understand the behavior of our audience.

Where can I apply for digital marketing?

This is an important question and helps you understand what AB testing is. You can apply it to practically everything on the web. Whether it’s advertising campaigns, Google Adwords, on social networks, landing pages and pages of a website, even in form positions and email marketing campaigns.

What precautions to take

Since everything can be tested within digital marketing, it is important that you have control over what is being tested.

The first thing to keep in mind is that you must have a certain volume to perform the test. In any type of research or testing, working with low sample sizes can distort the results. Therefore, AB tests must be performed with a certain volume of interactions (visits, lists, views, etc.) to have statistical validity.

Another important point is that the results of AB tests will depend on continuous analysis, since in some campaigns, the differences in results may be very small. We cannot therefore assume that every time we perform AB tests we will see a splendid improvement in the results.

The third point is to know which metric you are testing. It is very common when we perform an AB test to have a better result in a metric that may not be the one we would like and to have the mistaken impression that the campaign was successful. Therefore, the objective must always be clear, as this way you will have focus on the metric that is being evaluated.

And don't forget: to know what's making a difference in your results, you should always test changing one element or variable at a time. If you change more than one variable in your test, you won't know which one is influencing the result.

What tests can I perform?

We will mention, in each of the main media, what types of tests you can perform to achieve better results, or reach the conclusion that you did the best job 😊.

On a page of a website or blog

Titles and Subtitles

The title is the first item to test. After all, it will be present on the page, but it will also be seen outside of it. It has the power to make the visitor click, if they are interested in the subject, especially if the destination is a blog.

You can test the type of approach, always thinking about what will make the visitor want to click. Will it be very eye-catching? Will it provide tips?

Images and Videos

The images and videos attract and also keep the visitor on your page. The image visually translates what you are trying to convey on that page. We have to imagine that some people are more visual than others. Therefore, test both images and content.

CTAs

Your text on the page has a purpose, doesn’t it? It has to… So think about what it is. call to action you will include and test. Will it be a sign-up on a form? Will it be a CTA to a e-book?

Texts

Is your page just informative about a product or service? Is the text too long or too short? Is the format appealing? Remember to test each item one at a time.

Forms

The form is a separate case everywhere. You can test the number of fields, the CTA that is on it, the button and even the size of the form itself.

Colors and elements

The page may be too busy (or not). Therefore, test the elements or the quantity of them. Colors, then, are worth mentioning… we all know how important they are in the layout. Don't forget to test them.

On a landing page

The items mentioned in the example of a page also apply to a landing page. In fact, testing landing pages is not easier than testing a page, just because a landing page has fewer elements. Since its function is convert, you might be surprised at how many tests are possible.

In addition to those already mentioned, we can include:

Offer Description

Your landing page has a tempting offer, but your description isn’t making your visitor want to convert. Test your description.

Reliability

How about including a testimonial? It can be text or video. Or, include a video talking about the offer and how it can help your audience.

It is important to note that in the case of landing pages, the positioning of the elements and the colors make a big difference. Everything from where we place the form to the amount of text can be tested.

Remember to have the call to action of your landing page very clear to whoever is accessing the page.

Email Marketing Tests

Emails allow us to test many things. The subject line is the first item. You can select a smaller sample of your base and do an A/B test on the subject line and send the rest of the emails with the subject line that performs best.

Additionally, you can also test conversion buttons, if that is the function of your email, image position and even text volume.

Testing in ads

Personally, I test ads all the time. Whether it's Google Adwords or Facebook Ads, you can test whatever you want:

Titles

Test your ad title, especially if you’re working with sponsored links. It makes a big difference.

Images

In the case of Facebook Ads, the image makes all the difference. It can bring more interactions or conversions and improve your quality score in auctions.

The same applies to banners on websites or in advertising campaigns. remarketing.

Texts

In Google Adwords, texts are a special case. Without them, you simply won't get clicks.

CTAs

What is the objective of your ad? Remember to test the CTA.

Key words

In sponsored link campaigns, testing keywords is essential. See which ones are performing best and optimize your campaigns.

How to plan AB testing

The planning is essential in any marketing action, and in digital it is no different. There are basically 5 steps:

Have a clear goal

Improve traffic to a page? Improve a conversion rate? Know exactly what the goal of the test will be.

Choose the variable

Is it a button change? The title? Don't forget that you are testing one variable at a time. And don't forget to use a assessment tool, depending on the type of test you are performing.

Put into practice with caution

Are you going to test the subject line of your email? Then be careful to send the test emails at the same time. In other words, have control over the test that is being carried out.

Give it time

Each action has its own time frame. If you are testing a landing page, you should give it more time to evaluate. In an email marketing campaign, the time frame is already short. In Facebook or Google Adwords ads, for example, the test can be 7 days (or even less, depending on the campaign).

The important thing is to check the time frame of each case and always be vigilant.

Analyze the results

Was there a consistent variation or were the results very similar? Don't be shy about doing other tests, in some cases the results may be quick, in others not.

And finally, be patient. The results are a combination of several factors. The important thing is to carry out tests to understand the behavior of your audience, which may be completely different from others. This will also make you increasingly assertive.

Theory is essential, but only by putting it into practice in the form of testing will you be able to optimize your metrics. Let's get to work!

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