To provide a comprehensive perspective on the importance of A/B testing in marketing, we’ve gathered ten insightful answers from professionals, including a project manager and a content marketing manager. From testing the message communication to prioritizing social proof testing, these experts share their professional opinions on what should always be A/B tested in marketing.
- Test the Message Communication
- Focus on CTA
- Prioritize Audience Segmentation
- Compare SEO Title Tags
- Examine the User Journey on Webpage
- Consistently Test Value Proposition
- Adapt to Google Algorithm Updates
- Experiment with Storytelling Formats
- Optimize Email Campaigns
- Prioritize Social Proof Testing
Test the Message Communication
I prefer to focus on testing the message—how you communicate your offer to your audience. You can do this continuously, even with a smaller team, budget, and list size, because it can take a lot of different forms.
Whether it’s testing subject lines, headlines, ad copy, sales scripts, LinkedIn messages, etc., these all give you information about what message best resonates with your audience. That can improve your marketing across channels.
Katie Cline, Project Manager, Gladiator Consulting
Focus on CTA
In my opinion, the one thing that should always be A/B tested in marketing is the CTA. It has a direct impact on conversion and conversion ratios. The CTA is the final UX element that should be split-tested, as it encourages a user to take a desired action, whether it’s signing up for a newsletter, purchasing a product, or registering for an event. A slight change in the CTA can have a significant impact on conversion, hence affecting the company’s profitability.
Daniel Fogmark, Head of SEO, Seode
Prioritize Audience Segmentation
LambdaTest has made A/B testing an integral part of the marketing cycle. We continuously do A/B tests for webpages, CTAs, pop-ups, ad campaigns, emailers, and even email subject lines.
One critical aspect to continually A/B test in marketing is audience segmentation and targeting. The effectiveness of any marketing campaign heavily relies on reaching the right audience with the right message at the right time. By continuously testing and refining audience segments, we can improve relevance, optimize ad spend, and adapt to market changes.
A/B testing helps us identify which segments respond best to specific messaging and offers, enabling us to tailor content that resonates more effectively with each group. By pinpointing the highest-performing segments, we can allocate our budget more efficiently, ensuring we invest where it matters most.
As market dynamics evolve, audience preferences may shift. Regular A/B testing helps us stay agile and adapt our targeting strategies.
Pooja Sharma, Marketing Consultant, LambdaTest
Compare SEO Title Tags
Title tags are especially important for SEO. My favorite strategy is to compare title tags in SEO against the ads we’re running. If a PPC title works better, we’re likely to use it for SEO. Conversely, if SEO outperforms PPC, we’ll use content from that page to improve our ads. Keep testing until you find the titles that appeal to your audience.
Taylor Scher, SEO Associate, TaylorScherSEO
Examine the User Journey on Webpage
User journey within the page is a crucial aspect. I learned this from our UI/UX director, Peter Ross. It’s common to perceive our own page design as intuitive, but usability testing often reveals that it’s confusing for actual users.
In marketing, the aim is for people to have a smooth experience interacting with your pages. This includes finding your menus and forms or simply knowing they can scroll down to get more information about your products and services.
Veniz Guzman, SEO Expert and Content Strategist, Promet Source
Consistently Test Value Proposition
In my professional opinion, one critical element to consistently A/B test in marketing is the value proposition. This is the core message that articulates why a consumer should choose your product or service over competitors.
By routinely testing different variations of your value proposition, you can gain insights into what resonates most with your target audience. This, in turn, allows you to optimize your marketing materials and campaigns for higher engagement and conversion rates. Therefore, A/B testing the value proposition should be a cornerstone in any data-driven marketing strategy.
Chris Stott, Director, Seven Marketing
Adapt to Google Algorithm Updates
Based on experience, it is crucial to continuously A/B test your content in response to new Google algorithm updates.
Staying ahead of Google’s algorithm updates is essential, especially for those aiming to boost their organic search rankings. These updates can significantly impact your website’s visibility on search engine result pages (SERPs).
For example, consider Google’s recent helpful content update. It is possible to implement an A/B test utilizing AI tools for one page of content and leaving another page created by a content writer. Over time, you could track the performance of these two pages in terms of their SERP rankings and traffic.
This approach would provide valuable insights into the potential impact of aligning your content more closely with Google’s current algorithm preferences.
David Rubie-Todd, Co-Founder and Marketing Head, Sticker It
Experiment with Storytelling Formats
A distinctive and highly impactful element to continually A/B test in marketing is “Content Storytelling Formats.” Experiment with diverse storytelling styles, such as narratives, user testimonials, data-driven insights, or interactive content like quizzes and polls. Identifying which storytelling format resonates most effectively with your audience can significantly elevate the engagement and conversion rates of your marketing campaigns.
Nitin Bajaj, CEO, Stratosphere
Optimize Email Campaigns
One important aspect that marketers should always be A/B testing is their email campaigns. Email marketing is a cornerstone of digital marketing, and even minor changes in elements like subject lines, email content, or sending times can have a significant impact on open rates, click-through rates, and conversions.
A/B testing allows us marketers to systematically experiment with different variations and identify what resonates best with our audience. By continuously testing and optimizing email campaigns, businesses can improve their overall email marketing performance, engage their audience more effectively, and ultimately achieve better results and ROI from their marketing efforts.
Edlyn Collanto, B2B Marketing Research Specialist, UpCity
Prioritize Social Proof Testing
In the realm of marketing, consistently A/B testing social proof is paramount. Social proof, whether it’s expert reviews, testimonials, or awards, reinforces your website’s credibility.
Through A/B testing, marketers can pinpoint the most impactful forms of social proof, optimize their presentation, and gauge the perfect quantity, ultimately enhancing user trust and conversion rates.
Neil Hodgson Coyle, Content Marketing Manager, PRLab
