3 Ways to Test for Website Optimization

 

By: Matt Bacak

Successful internet marketers attribute their success to their ability to monitor their website components and make adjustments appropriately. While internet marketers research what works and what doesn’t and build their websites accordingly, they understand the need to split test, tweak and retest every component in order to increase their conversions.

There are tips to follow:

1. A/B Split Testing – Have you ever wondered how to split test a web page in order to convert visitors into buyers? You can use the split test to test your call-to-action (what you want the customer to do), your product’s price, or any other component used to convert visitors into buying customers. For example, you are unsure what price point to charge for your product. You set up two identical landing pages, one with a price of $17.00 for your product while the second one offers the same product for $27.00. After carefully monitoring and analyzing the number of sales for each landing page, you can determine which price point is more effective.

Split testing, or website optimization, is not limited to testing items found on websites or web pages. Serious internet marketers split test in other areas as well:

a)      Images used in paid advertising to determine if text, an image of an object or a person outperforms other images

b)      Attachments (PDF files) that are offered for free or a minimal fee in exchange for opt-in contact information

c)      Sales letters in both long and short versions. While many experts agree the long sales copy out performs its shorter version, many visitors don’t have time to read through page after page of content to get to the bottom line. Also video sales letters are gaining popularity which may eventually make the text sales letter an obsolete relic.

2. Split Testing for Site Conversion – As mentioned in a previous article, you need to be clear on the objective for your website’s landing page.  Is the page meant to generate new leads? Or is the page meant to convert sales? Following the same model as stated above, you should begin with two landing pages whose components are identical with the exception of one piece that is different – the piece that gets visitors to convert into buying customers.  Then you can track their page conversion.

3. Google Website Optimizer – In June 2012 Google retired their Google Optimizer as a standalone product and replaced it with Content Experiments in Google Analytics. Content Experiments lets you experiment with up to six versions of a page in your website. The experiment is tied to your goals in Google Analytics allowing you to customize what results you want to improve and options for how to make those improvements.  Google Analytics, on the other hand, offers many features as well and can provide you with results on which keywords visitors are clicking on or how much time visitors are spending on each page.

By taking the time to plan, map and monitor your web pages in advance, you will be able to track results and make appropriate changes quickly and efficiently. Internet marketers no longer have to second guess what features attract or convert visitors – Google has the tools to help them succeed.