A/B testing is one of the simpler but effective types of tests you can conduct to determine how successful your website is at helping you reach your business goals.
Unlike other types of tests however, A/B testing can only perform a test on one element at a time. If you feel you need to test more than one element at a single time, then what you probably need to conduct is multivariate testing instead.
3 Key Elements to A/B Testing for eCommerce
With eCommerce, what you are mainly concerned about would be a boost in your sales or profits. For this to happen, you need to focus on three critical elements.
- Call to action
- Products
- Shopping cart design and use
Call to Action
Most articles you will see online about A/B testing will encourage you to conduct tests based on the call-to-action buttons alone. However, there is nothing to lose if you consider the various other objects or strategies you use which also work as a call to action.
An example of this would be the last paragraph in the main text of your landing page. That, too, can usually serve as a call to action and as such deserves to be tested for success as well.
When performing tests on the effectiveness of your website’s call-to-action buttons, you may want to focus on the following – one at a time of course.
- Size and shape of the button
- Use of animation effects as well as the types of animation effects used
- Color and size of text as well as font face used
- Other types of font formatting used
- Positioning or placement in website
When it comes to determining how effective your call-to-action text is, you may want to consider the following elements as well.
- Color and size of text as well as font face used
- Word count
- Number of paragraphs
- POV used
- Type of data included
- Use or lack of subheading
- Other types of font formatting used
Product Placement
This part is also applicable if your business is selling services instead of products. Either way, A/B testing can also be used to determine how you should best present whatever it is that your business is selling. Because there are numerous elements that have to be considered when it comes to the products or services you are offering, it would definitely help if you focus on one aspect at a time.
Product Name
- Name of product
- All formatting effects used to distinguish product name
Product Image
- Use or lack of product images
- Positioning of product image
- Size of product image
- Use or lack of caption and all formatting effects related to it
- Number of product images used
- Source of product images used
Product Description
- Word count
- Number of paragraphs
- All formatting effects used
- Use or lack of keywords integrated with product description
Other factors you should consider include but are not limited to the ones listed below.
- Does your product require a different placement on your web page?
- Have you included a list of complementary or relevant products on the same page?
- How many products are featured in each page?
- How do customers search for products in your website?
Shopping Carts
Last but not the least would be the shopping cart program you are using on your website. This is the backbone of your website’s eCommerce activity. Without it, you will likely have a hard time selling your products and services online.
When it comes to optimizing your website’s shopping cart program, you should remember to focus on the following objectives.
- It must be convenient and safe to use for your customers.
- It must be easy for you to operate or manage.
With these two objectives in mind, you should have an easier time figuring out which elements of your shopping cart program have to be prioritized for A/B testing. To help you get started, you may want to consider the following factors.
- Should you provide guests with an option to purchase using a guest account or do you require them to sign up for an account?
- How many steps would it take for your customers to purchase something from your website?
- What type of information do you require from customers when they register for an account?
- What modes of payment are accepted?
- What methods for shipping and handling are offered?
AB Testing is a method that gets overlooked a lot. Just because you have tons of traffic finally doesn’t always mean you’re going to get the sales. The good news is you are more than half way done with the online marketing process of having a profitable website, but the bad news is, you’re losing a lot of business from potential customers.
This is why A/B Testing is a very important process, because there is nothing more important than tracking and fixing when you have a high traffic website. I hope this information has cleared up a lot of the importance of this method.
Ruben Corbo is a freelance writer that writes about technology, gaming, music, and online marketing especially topics about A/B split testing and how to run multivariate tests. Ruben is also an avid gamer and music composer for short films and other visual arts.Want to learn more about this method? You can find more information on the Maxymiser guide to AB testing.
This is a very comprehensive and detailed discussion of 3 key elements to A/B testing for eCommerce. Indeed, many business owners fail to see the essence of AB testing. We should keep in mind that tons of traffic does not always guarantee high sales.
Great tips you have shared here. It is indeed important to maintain the 4Ps of marketing for best results.
You have very well explained the 3 key elements to an e-commerce site. One of the important aspect that gave me good conversion was the order button. After I make it large (double) with simple text, my sales got a boost.
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