How to do A/B test in CUX?

What is A/B testing?

A/B testing, commonly known as split testing, is a widely-used method for comparing two or more versions of a webpage, app, or marketing campaign to determine which one performs better. This powerful technique enables businesses to analyze user interactions with each version, allowing them to make data-driven decisions for optimizing conversion rates, user experience, and overall performance.

Within the realm of data analytics, A/B testing serves as an essential tool for uncovering insights and pinpointing areas for improvement. It plays a crucial role in validating hypotheses, assessing the impact of changes, and boosting user engagement through data-backed optimizations.

What should you A/B test on your site?

1.CTA button

A call-to-action (CTA) button can be a real attention grabber. It's the most crucial element of your website, landing page, or e-commerce store because clicking it indicates purchasing intent. 

An ideal CTA button should be visible, easy to locate, and clear about the desired action, such as "TRY 30 days free" or "Sign up with email". Launch an A/B test to determine the optimal background color, shape, anchor text, font size, or style

2.Headings

On average, users spend 55 seconds on a page, meaning you have less than a minute to capture their interest. Headings are typically the first element visitors read, and if they don't find what they're looking for, they may leave your page quickly. Run A/B tests on various headings to identify which one drives optimal conversion rates.

3.Copy

The copy, which follows the headline, should complement and expand on the headline's message. A/B test different versions of the copy to enhance its impact on user engagement and conversion.

4. Graphics

Including appropriate images or graphics on your website, landing page, blog post, or marketing campaign can help increase conversion rates. People are visual learners, and customers often want to see a product before purchasing it. Test different images or graphics to determine which ones resonate best with your audience.

5.Forms

Experts recommend that forms contain only essential fields to increase the likelihood of users sharing their contact information. In addition to testing the number of fieldsdo I know , consider A/B testing the form color, submit button, placement, and placeholder text.

6.Type of content

Reading text requires considerable commitment from users. To cater to different preferences, try incorporating content that is easier to consume, such as videos and infographics. A/B test various content types to determine which formats yield the highest return on investment.

How do you run A/B tests?

Follow this 6-step plan designed to prioritize your business goals and improve conversion rates.

1. Set your goal

Set up your business goal. Analyze customer journey with specific metrics. Find and focus on improving places of real conversion drops that are relevant to your business goals. For example, boost the revenue, by improving search bars or the checkout process that might cause cart abandonment.

Keep in mind to choose only business-oriented goals.

2. Hypothesis Testing

The next step to take is to establish your hypothesis statements. Pick one hypothesis to test. You can test more, but it is easier to check later which version improves website performance. Use data from analytical tools to find out your hypothesis. You might use Heatmaps, Conversion Waterfall, and Visit Recordings as your Hypothesis source. Always keep in mind, to look at the big picture, of the conversion rate. Small changes on one web page may influence your whole website conversion rate.

3. Design the Experiment

Based on data from the A/B testing tool, design an experiment with your page/app elements that you want to examine. This might refer to swapping the position of a form, changing the color of a button, switching headings, or implementing a video tutorial.

At this point, you also need to pick your goal metric. But also what kind of significant results do you want to achieve. You will always have a clear reference to what you are aiming for.

4. Run the Experiment

The experiment is ready. You just need to wait for users to participate! At this point, your users will be randomly assigned to either the control or treatment group of experience. A/B testing tool will measure all necessary metrics.

There is no time limit for A/B test. Give it as much time as it needs to gather valuable data. Sometimes it can take a week and in other cases months. Mostly it depends on how much traffic a website get. Results will be found faster if your website has a lot of traffic.

5. Analyze data

Before you go with the better-performing result, analyze the gathered data. Make sure that there were no external factors influencing content performance. It can be holidays, economic disruptions, or even your competitors.

6. Implement a statistically significant version

If one version is statistically better, you have a winner. If not, don’t worry. It means that this experiment doesn’t impact conversion. In both cases, your A/B experiment draws to an end. Now you can start the entire process once again. 

Heatmaps and A/B tests

Heatmaps are a great source of information on users' most significant actions on your pages. They visualize user behavior as movements and frustrations. Combine data from Heatmaps and Visit Recordings to spot missed opportunities for conversion!

That is the reason heatmaps are an ideal source of information on which elements should be subjected to A/B tests.

Here you can find 4 ways to increase conversion rate with Heatmaps.

It is possible to create a heatmap for different variants of the A/B test page.

To be able to do this, you need to:
1. Log into CUX.
2.Go to Heatmaps.
3. Click Open Filter.
4. Define in test URLs which tags define the versions.
5. Filter all entries.
6. Click the “Grouped heatmap” button.