If you are currently implementing several different Internet marketing methods to grow your business but are having difficulty determining which ones are most effective, you’re likely not getting as many leads as you could be. It’s important to analyze every element of your website and advertising campaign so that you’re getting the maximum amount of traffic, leads and conversions from your efforts. Split testing allows you to discover the effect that every component of your campaign has on your customers and their movement throughout the sales funnel.

Understanding A/B Split Testing

Split testing is also known as A/B testing or variation testing. It is the process of comparing two versions of a web page, advertisement or email to determine which one is performing better based on certain variables. Traditional A/B split testing uses two variants, A and B. In most cases, A is the test’s control group, while B would test a specific variable.

Isolating and testing different variables will likely produce different lead generation rates. Through the use of split testing software, you can monitor how users react to different versions of your landing pages, ads or marketing emails.

What Variables Can You Test?

If it affects a visitor’s behavior on your website, it can be A/B tested. For example, here are some variables you might consider testing:

If you want to A/B test more advanced options, you can add sales promotions, pricing structures, navigation, free trial lengths, free or paid delivery and much more.

What Are the Benefits of A/B Testing?

According to one survey, 24 percent of marketers who do not have defined processes or guidelines for their optimization strategies use split testing – a relatively low percentage. However, 75 percent of marketers who have formal processes and thorough guidelines use split testing as part of their routinely performed strategies. In other words, A/B testing is often overlooked by novice marketers but is a staple for more mature, strategic marketers. This is because the pros are well aware of the benefits of A/B testing, which are:

• Measuring behavior: A/B tests are an outstanding measure of the behavior of your customers. You can gauge which variations work best for getting customers to convert. This helps you have a better understanding of your target market.
• Accurately measuring performance: A/B testing will provide information about the performance of every variable of your emails, ads or site pages. This will make it much easier to determine the best lead generation strategies for your business.
• Cost effectiveness: When compared to other types of marketing tools, the cost of A/B testing software is rather minimal. Some split testing software only requires a one-time investment, after which you can perform as many tests as you’d like.

Split Testing Tools

There are a number of different split testing tools you can use to optimize your marketing channels. Some of the most popular include:

1. Google Analytics – One of the best features for A/B testing in Google Analytics is the Content Experiments Interface, which allows you to compare the performance of different versions of your site content using variables such as headlines, text, images and page layout.
2. Optimizely – One of the biggest advantages of Optimizely is that it provides an easy-to-use, simple interface along with many different split testing options. While Google Analytics may be free, Optimizely will likely have a more gradual learning curve.
3. Constant Contact – For email marketing, Constant Contact provides all sorts of tesing options. You can choose variables such as subject line, design and send time.

With the right software, split testing is easy to do and has huge potential benefits. You can receive the answers you need for lead generation and continually improve the optimization of your campaign as it moves along.