Split-testing in Ecommerce stores- why it’s good

Marketing is partly a science, partly an art, and partly luck. Testing everything and assuming nothing is the sure-fire way of doing away with the luck bit. Split-testing, otherwise known as A/B testing helps to remove guesswork and assumptions from marketing. It involves the use of special software to split the traffic into two parts, and running different elements or versions of the same website on each traffic to see which converts the most. Split-testing is at the heart of ecommerce stores success due to some reasons.

1. Isolates the Essential Elements

Split-testing isolates the impact of a particular element on conversion, sales and hence profitability. Ecommerce stores can then concentrate or replicate the most compelling feature on their campaigns, and increase their sales with a given traffic, without incurring extra costs on the advertisement. After maximising their maximum potential helps them grow exponentially.

2. Appeals to Prospective Buyers’ Taste

Everyone has a different buying pattern. A colour may be appealing to you, but that doesn’t mean it will appeal to your prospective buyers. By split-testing, you are better informed on what they will either positively or negatively respond to. To come up with the feature that appeals to them the most need not give anyone a headache. Asking buyers to fill out a well thought yet short questionnaire in an ingenious way to gain the insights.

3. Achieves Higher Conversions

By split-testing, stores can realise higher conversions and revenues. They are better placed in knowing what to change, how to change and when to change it. Anything from the layouts and graphics, the testimonials to the call to action button is a subject of change. However, it is always wise to change one element at a time so as to get a better picture on which element influenced the results the most.

4. Edges Against Competition

With the ever increasing numbers of ecommerce stores, split-testing remains a sure-fire way to be heard above the noise. It separates a great online store from the rest. It makes visitors stay longer and interact with your site more. The longer their stay, the more they are likely to make a purchase. The beauty of it all is when you consider the compounding. Change in conversion may appear small, but when compounded and working in large numbers it’s very significant.

5. Easy and Without Hassles

Split-testing is inexpensive and efficient. You can analyse the behaviour of prospective buyers within a short period (about 24 hours), and increase the success of the store, without incurring huge costs or needing third party assistance. Word press plugin and Google Analytics make split-testing simple, analytical and search engine friendly. Failing to split-test is like leaving money on the table when broke.

The Final Verdict

Many successful stores are split-testing ever so more continually. A good example is Amazon- one of the most successful on-line stores. Perhaps it is their hidden secret for success- you never know. Any ecommerce store- whether small or strong needs to split-test. Through it, one can arrive at the relatively more efficient version of the website, and then split-test it further so as to end up with the most effective ecommerce store.