Other names: Split testing, Bucket testing
A/B testing is a method to check 2 versions of a webpage, app or a mail body against each other to determine which one performs better.
Let’s say an e-commerce company wants to determine if a change in its webpage will attract more consumers to buy their product. These changes can be as simple as changing the heading, visuals, call to action button or as complex as changing and trying a newer colour combination. So the company creates a second version of the webpage with necessary changes. Now, It will direct half of the traffic to the original webpage and the other half to the second version and will note the response.
The behaviour of consumers is analysed through analytical tools to find which version performs better for the company. More positive response for the second version means that the company should incorporate the changes in the webpage. Over a period of time, these small A/B tests results will yield considerable and measurable improvements.
A/B testing is often used in email marketing where half of the people are sent a Type A mail body and the other half are sent the second version of the mail body.
- First half receives a mail with an offer: Buy 1 Get one free ( Use Code: HALF2020)
- The second half receives the mail with another offer: 50% off ( Use Code: 50OFF)
Then, based on different metrics like Click rate or response rate, marketers identify which mail body performed better and thus A/B testing improves overall sales/profitability for the company.