Finally! Your client's new WordPress website is live, and after all the blood, sweat, and tears, it's time for a well-deserved pat on the back. But before you whip out the champagne and start celebrating too hard, remember; You need to work on your A/B testing strategy. Because without methodical A/B testing, you risk conversions climbing so slowly it hurts.
If you're as dead set on reaching your client's goals as you say you are, it's time to implement calculated, actionable, and regular A/B testing to keep improving that all-important conversion rate and keep your clients happy. But how do you choose the right A/B testing strategy for each client’s WordPress website?
A law firm's website is very different from a toy store's, so they both require a unique testing approach. And since every A/B test will be different, we thought it would be helpful to give you a clear framework to follow so you can nail your testing strategy for any client and any WordPress site. Follow these core steps, and you'll be well on your way to testing success.
A step-by-step guide to a successful A/B testing strategy
Gone are the days of relying on gut feelings, guesswork, and gambling to improve a website's conversion rates (thankfully - it didn't really work!) And though A/B testing can be a fickle beast when you don't approach it with patience, it's always your best bet if you want solid insights to boost your client's profits.
So if you're ready to dedicate time to the art of A/B testing, crafting a unique testing strategy for every WordPress website, just keep reading!
1. Know your audience
You've likely already done some audience research before building your client's website. But how deep did you actually go? What does the data say? Before you can conduct any worthy testing, you have to have a clear understanding of each audience segment, how they behave online, and who they are - so you know who you're creating these tests for and why.
Dive into your data and figure out:
Age, gender, location
Interests & behaviours
Channel acquisition
Activity on your website
Browser & device type
Do your research to understand the audience:
Problems - what are their pain points?
Needs - what do they need help with?
Wants - what goals do they want to achieve?
Budget - what can they afford?
2. Set your A/B testing goals
Once you figure out precisely what you want your test to accomplish, you can then build your A/B testing strategy to support it. So, what specific KPI will you measure to conclude whether A or B is the winner? Let's say you're testing your homepage banner headline. Your goal might be "increase sales" or "increase calls".
Do you want our advice? Your goal should always be money-related. Why? Because your client likely won't care about increasing the engagement rate on your homepage or reducing the bounce rate on your services page. They want to see an impact on their bottom line from your A/B testing, so it should be your goal to make that impact and be able to prove it.
Don't get us wrong. You still need to keep track of things like engagement, page clicks, add to carts, time spent on each page, etc. BUT they all need to contribute to your overall goal - more sales and conversions.
Have a think about how your test will help you get to that goal - Is it more calls? More contact form enquiries? More email subscribers? Knowing what you need to achieve will keep your test on the right track.
3. Come up with your hypothesis
Now it's time to decide your hypothesis, i.e., the idea that changing one element will lead to a specific result (you hope!) So, from what you know about your audience and your goal, what do you think will happen if you change the colour of your CTA button or cut down the copy on your homepage, for example? The key here is to make it as easy as possible for your audience to convert.
So think about what might be stopping them from converting:
Is your CTA simple & clear?
Do you have too many "steps" to conversion?
Is your content engaging, and easy to read?
Are your images inviting and relevant?
Is your page design awkward?
Are you showing you're trustworthy?
Create tests that you think will remove the roadblocks to conversion, and with persistence and a curious mindset, you'll soon know what's helping your audience take action and what's hindering them.
4. Test, learn, repeat
Great! You've narrowed down your audience, end goals, and hypothesis for the A/B test. Now what? Get testing! Run your tests - one at a time (so you know what's working and what's not) and see what results it brings. Make sure you're testing for a long enough period to take in sufficient learnings from the A/B test.
Once you have your findings, take detailed notes and keep them safe. Typically one A/B test isn't what will make the best conversion rate improvements. It's the learnings from several tests over time. So keeping track of every detail will help you place one more piece of the "what your clients want" puzzle until you have a clearer picture.
5. Battle of the winners
To keep improving your conversion rates and, therefore, your client's profits, make the winners of every A/B test fight each other to come up with a top dog. A/B test your hypothesis not just once but several times with one variable changed every time to keep finding the winners and pitting them against each other.
That way, you'll have a better chance of improving your results and make sure you're not putting all your eggs into one testing basket. False wins are certainly a thing and can seriously skew your data and A/B testing strategy, so don't rely on just one test, keep going until you have the best of the best.
Want an easy solution to WordPress A/B testing?
Don't we all! A/B testing really isn't a one-size-fits-all solution. And testing based on what worked for other agencies or web designers isn't the answer either. Stick to the A/B testing strategy, take your time, and we promise you'll soon see the beauty of insight after insight, finally giving you the answers you need.
And if you want to cut your A/B testing time for WordPress websites, get clearer insights, and generally make the entire process much easier? Why not try Split Hero! Split hero is your answer to successfully split testing.
With no coding knowledge needed, you or anyone in your team can quickly and easily create A/B tests for WordPress sites - saving you time, money, and confusion and helping you deliver fantastic results to your clients - faster than ever before.
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