Split testing, also known as A/B testing, is one of the best ways to improve your website’s conversion rates. However, many businesses make common mistakes that render their split testing efforts useless. Don’t let these 7 split testing mistakes kill your conversion rates.
1. Not Having a Hypothesis
The key to successful split testing is having a hypothesis about how a certain change will impact conversions. Without a hypothesis, you’re just testing for the sake of testing. You should go into each test with a specific hypothesis, such as “Decreasing form fields will reduce friction and increase conversions.” Proper hypothesis-driven testing allows you to confirm or reject assumptions about your website and customers.
2. Changing Too Many Variables
Resist the urge to change everything at once when split testing. If you change the headline, design, copy, and images all in one variation, then you won’t know which change impacted conversions. Limit changes to one variable at a time so you can properly evaluate the impact of each change.
3. Not Testing for Statistical Significance
Many businesses look at split test results too early and call a “winner” without statistical significance. Ensure there is a 95%+ confidence level in the difference between the control and variation before declaring a winner. Testing until statistical significance is achieved helps avoid drawing false conclusions from normal data fluctuations.
4. Ending Tests Prematurely
Another common mistake is stopping tests early because an initial data spike makes a variation look like the winner. Run tests for long enough to account for normal data variances. We recommend 2-4 weeks at minimum. Don’t stop optimize prematurely and leave potential gains untapped.
5. Not Testing Core Pages
Focus split testing on important pages with the most traffic and opportunity. Often businesses test peripheral pages while their core pages remain untouched. Prioritize testing on pages like your homepage, landing pages, product pages, pricing pages, and key user flows. That is where the biggest conversion gains can be found.
6. Making Too Many Changes at Once
When launching a new design, businesses often change everything at the same time – imagery, headlines, layouts, etc. This makes it impossible to tell what changes worked and what failed. Follow split test principles and phase changes gradually so you can optimize effectively. Introduce bigger design changes after incremental split testing.
7. Not Tracking Conversions Properly
If you aren’t tracking goals and conversions accurately, then your split test data holds no weight. Ensure you are leveraging analytics to track meaningful conversions like signups, purchases, and engagement. Understand your sales funnel and metrics before launching optimization efforts.
The Bottom Line
Split testing is a proven tactic for improving conversion rates through experimentation. However, many businesses diminish the impact of their testing by making common mistakes like the ones outlined above. Avoid these pitfalls to maximize the ROI of your optimization efforts. Leverage controlled experimentation to incrementally improve conversion rates across your website. Split testing success depends on patience, discipline, proper analysis, and continuous learning.
What has your experience been with split testing? What lessons have you learned in optimizing conversion rates? Share your thoughts and stories in the comments below!
