08/19/2022

Master Guide To Split Testing And How To Run Split Tests

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Marketing is full of confusion about split testing, A/B Testing, multivariate and other terms.

All of these tests are essential to any marketing strategy’s success.

Marketers must be aware of the dangers of making assumptions. You can’t assume that your audience will respond well to one thing.

This is dangerous in today’s hyper-competitive environment.

Split tests can be a great way to ensure your online branding is effective.

What is a Split Test?

Split testing can be used to compare several pages that have had one element changed. You might have five different versions of the landing page. Each version has a different headline.

Multivariate testing is a different approach. It involves testing multiple versions of the same page with changed elements.

Each page could have a different headline and image as well as a call to action.

As we will see below, split testing and multivariate tests are often misunderstood by many experts. Split testing, in other words, means that two different versions of a web page are being tested by marketers.

Split testing allows you to run multiple A/B tests on your website at once. Split testing allows you to compare a control with multiple variations, which speeds up the process.

Split testing is often used by marketers to replace multivariate testing.

You can’t go wrong if you know what your test entails. Split testing is used to test multiple landing pages using different CTAs.

Split testing can be done most often using software such as Kobe Digital. You can find out more about which version of a page won a split test with a sophisticated tool.

To make your experiments more reliable, you can use heatmap and recording functionality.

Why split tests?

Split testing can be extremely useful for optimizing pages on your website. This includes landing pages, homepages, and individual blog posts. Find out how design, layout, copy, and CTA influence conversion rates.

You want as many people as possible to come through your sales funnel if you are running a business. This is a fact. However, this is only possible if you are committed to acting on data and not on assumptions.

Although you might believe you know which image will have the greatest impact on your audience, you’ll only know this if you examine it alongside another image. If you are right, celebrate your audience’s knowledge, and then move on. However, if you aren’t, you can save time and convert more customers.

Split testing is equally important, and both types of testing will help you reach more people.

Remember that one test does not tell you everything. You might have optimized your headline and image, but what about the CTA and copy? Your audience will change with your business. Therefore, the results you achieved two years ago may not be applicable today.

Split Testing vs A/B Testing

Split testing and A/B Testing are similar to each other, but not the same thing. Split testing compares multiple versions of a website while keeping one variable constant, while A/B testing compares only two versions of the same website.

There are however other definitions. SurgeLabs claims split testing is the same thing as multivariate testing. This means that you can change multiple elements of the page and then compare the modified version with the control.

It can be confusing to distinguish between definitions and terminology. This article will refer to both split-testing definitions throughout so that you don’t get confused.

Split testing, A/B testing, and multivariate testing are all about what you’re trying to achieve.

You won’t be able to tell which aspect of the design had an impact on visitors if you test two different versions of the same page. The “winner” could have been more successful because of its font choices, colors, and design elements. Or something else altogether.

However, it doesn’t mean that it is useless. This will give you a base point to start A/B testing. For example, you might be curious if a somber landing page converts better than one that is lighthearted. Split testing will be necessary to test completely different versions of your landing page.

A/B testing is more efficient if you are fine-tuning your pages. To determine the impact of each variable on conversions, you can test only one element at a given time.

Examples of Split Testing

We’ll be using split testing to illustrate our examples. This involves creating two different pages.

Let’s suppose that you are selling activewear clothing. People wear tracksuits, yoga pants, and other similar clothing for their comfort at home as well as to exercise. Some people use them for running or other sports. Others wear the same activewear for all activities.

Split testing might be used in this instance to better understand intent.

One version of your landing page could include photos of people in activewear, while another version might feature photographs of people participating in sports.

To ensure that you are targeting the right audience, adjust your headline, CTA, and body copy.

These might be the headlines for each one:

  • Who wouldn’t love to be comfortable?
  • Get ready for your favorite sport!

Visitors’ intent would be the main reason for the differences between these pages.

Split testing could be used to find the best design for your target audience.

Let’s suppose you own a criminal law firm. Your landing page should reflect the predicament of prospective clients or give sound advice to people who have been charged with crimes.

Two landing pages can be created: one with a lighter tone and another with an educational tone. You can reflect these two distinct tones by using images, testimonials, and copy.

Step-by-Step Instructions for Split Testing

Split testing is easy if you are new to it. You will need a Kobe Digital account, and a website.

You can create two versions of the page that you wish to test. Split testing can be done with other tools if you want to test one variable only on three pages.

Choose the one that resonates with you most. This is your hypothesis. It is important because you will want to find out if your hypothesis was correct. You can always go back to examine the reasoning behind your assumption if you are wrong.

After you have created your two versions and your hypothesis, you can start an A/B testing at Kobe Digital or another tool. The best tools let you run A/B tests without any user input except the URLs. This means you don’t need to dig through a lot of data to understand the results.

Kobe Digital will run the split test for as long as you need, and then notify you which version “won.” From there, you can begin to pick apart the winner to evaluate different elements such as page layout or CTA placement.

You can A/B test pages continuously once you have a Kobe Digital account. Get your free trial today!

What should you do with a split test?

Your homepage and landing pages are the most popular pages to split test. Both pages can be geared toward conversions and can have a significant impact on total sales.

These pages are not the only ones you can test. It might be worthwhile to test which blog post layout is most popular with your audience.

Split testing could be done on your most popular post to create two completely different layouts. You could test a large header with a sidebar against a smaller header. You can also change the font, CTA, and headline design.

Split testing your contact page is possible. To encourage action from your visitors, you want the right arrangement of elements on the page. Perhaps you would like to encourage more people to contact you via your contact form.

Split-testing sales pages is also an option. To convince people to convert, you need the right design and copy. For example, you might test a longer sales page against a shorter one.

Whatever your goal, keep it in mind. It is important to get to know your audience, find out which pages are most popular with them, and then discover what converts them. Split testing can be a great way to get started if you aren’t sure what kind of overall design is best for your visitors.

Split Testing Tools You Should Use

Kobe Digital offers all the tools needed to split test the same page, A/B or. You can also get a 7-day free trial so you can test it out.

A website is also necessary. WordPress is the best CMS on the market today, even if you don’t have to code or hire developers. It is possible to create multiple versions of the same page, and a no-follow version so that it does not get indexed by Google.

After you have chosen your tools and set up the test, all you need is patience. Once you have your results, you can start testing again.

Use the Kobe Digital Testing Tool to get started

Kobe Digital is easy to sign up for and start your free trial. Split testing can be set up based on the pages that you want to test.

You might consider first getting some user behavior reports.

Scroll maps and recordings as well as heat maps can show you how traffic interacts with your site. This data will allow you to identify the areas that need split testing most and help you prioritize the work.

Your heat map may show that most people do not click on your CTA. So you’ll be able to start testing different versions of your call-to-action.

Split testing is a better option than A/B testing. You can change multiple elements simultaneously or test on several versions of the page. You can do what you want.

Conclusion

Split testing is one of the most confusing aspects of marketing because there is no industry consensus.

Split testing can be used to test multiple variations of a page. For others, it means that you are testing two completely different versions.

You’ll either get actionable data or not that will help you improve the n and functionality of your website. It is much easier to base decisions on hard data rather than making assumptions about website traffic.

Unfortunately, even though we may know our target audience well, we cannot always predict their behavior.

Kobe Digital technology allows us to make faster, more informed decisions by having access to a lot of data.

Split testing is a great way to test your ideas. Split testing allows you to quickly identify the reason why something isn’t working and make changes quickly for greater business growth.

Kobe Digital provides a complete suite of tools that will help you optimize and convert visitors to sales. It can be used to create heatmaps and scroll maps as well as list reports.

After collecting data about your visitors, you can run A/B or split testing to ensure that you are converting as many people as possible.

About the author

Kobe Digital is a unified team of performance marketing, design, and video production experts. Our mastery of these disciplines is what makes us effective. Our ability to integrate them seamlessly is what makes us unique.