The Power of Split Testing

What is split testing?

Split testing, also known as A/B testing, is a method of testing different versions of the same website, page or element to see which version boosts conversions such as signing up for your newsletter or buying your product. 

A split test distributes website traffic to the two different versions of a webpage, the original version and the variation. These are usually different in terms of layout, design, structure & messaging. You can then observe how your user base interacts differently between the two versions, which will give you an insight into which version will lead to higher engagement and a more successful conversion rate. 

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What are the benefits of split testing?

There are a range of benefits to conducting split testing, which makes it an essential method to implement, especially for start-ups that are still developing and understanding what works best for their user base.

• Increased Engagement: Split testing will allow you to identify which changes affected your users' behaviour. This will enable you to make the best changes to the website/page and optimising it to make it as engaging as possible.
• Quality Content: Through split testing, you will be creating a higher standard of content through the process of considering and analysing how different changes will impact how users interact with your content. Through this process, you will iterate and develop a higher quality and more relevant content for your users.
• Lower Bounce Rates: Through the two above points, better engagement and content will naturally mean that split testing reduces the bounce rate for your website. The benefit to this is that users will spend more time on your website or page, they are more likely to value your content, have a better user experience and  boost your conversions as a result of this.
• Higher Conversion Rates: Ultimately, split testing is the best method to understand what changes and content will lead to an increase in whatever conversions you are looking to measure. Understanding what is captivating your users and what isn't will allow you to create a version of a website or a page that has the highest conversion rate. 

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Using Hotjar to support split testing

One piece of software that we recommend using to support the implementation of split testing is Hotjar. You can use Hotjar in the following ways to better understand your customers' behaviour to changes you have made using split testing:

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Find out which page elements users interact with: Heatmaps can show you where large groups of users click, scroll, and hover their mouse pointers.

Gather customer feedback: Use customer polls, on-page surveys and open-ended feedback to get direct feedback from your website visitors and customers.

Study individual session recordings: Observe individual users as they navigate your website, and watch those recordings, keeping in mind the feedback users have left. For example, if customers tell you in surveys they don’t understand your signup page, watch several sessions of users interacting with the page to get a better sense of what that behaviour looks like on the page. 

Conduct usability testing: Usability testing tools allow you to observe real people using your website, so you can create an easy, frictionless user experience.