Reading time: 8 minutes
Published: April 11 2024
9 Techniques for Conducting A/B Testing on Landing Pages
A/B testing is a simple way to optimize your online marketing campaigns. By running A/B tests, you can improve every part of your marketing strategy, including your blog, social media, email, and, of course, your website.
Essentially, A/B testing is a way to show two different versions of the same web page to different segments of website visitors at the same time and compare which version leads to more conversions.
In this post, you'll learn the different types of A/B tests you can run on your website, as well as best practices for each test, so you can start getting more conversions on your site.
1. Test a Different Call to Action
Your call to action (CTA) is the button on your landing page that encourages the user to take the next step. This is where you want to direct people to do things like sign up for a webinar, download an ebook, or request a demo.
If you have a specific offer, you should use that as the CTA. However, if you want to test the CTA in general, you can use the same offer and test the button copy.
In this example, you can see how the CTA button copy was changed from "Get My Free Guide" to "Start My Free Trial."
2. Test a Different Headline
Your headline is one of the first things people will see when they land on your page. Because of this, it needs to be captivating and relevant to your offer. If it’s not, it could lead to a high bounce rate.
The headline is where you tell your audience what your offer is and how it can help them. It should be clear and to the point. If you’re not seeing the results you want from your landing page, it might be time to test a new headline.
In this example from Unbounce, you can see that the company tested two different headlines for the same offer. The first headline reads “Convert More Leads with High-Converting Landing Pages.” The second headline reads “The Smart Marketer’s Guide to Landing Page Optimization.”
As you can see, the second headline is more specific and focuses on what the offer is about. The first headline is more general and doesn’t give you as much information. After testing the two headlines, Unbounce found that the second headline increased conversions by 37.5%.
When testing different headlines, it’s important to remember that the headline should be about the offer, not your company. This is the first thing people will see, so it’s your chance to make a good first impression.
For example, think of the “What’s in it for me?” for your customer. If your product is field service software, a headline like “Field service management software to run your business smoothly” tells customers how it can help their business.
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3. Test Different Body Copy
The body copy on your landing page is where you can provide more context and detail about your offer. You should aim to keep this concise, but you can use this space to provide a brief overview of your offer, talk about the benefits of your offer, and provide any additional information about your company.
When you’re creating your landing page, you should aim to keep your body copy to a minimum — usually around 3-5 sentences. However, you may find that you want to test two different lengths of body copy to see if one works better than the other.
4. Test a Different Landing Page Layout
If you find that your landing page isn’t converting as well as you’d like, it’s possible that the layout could be the cause.
For example, if your CTA button is located at the bottom of the page, users may not be scrolling down far enough to see it. In that case, you could try moving the CTA button to the top of the page or making it sticky so that it follows users as they scroll.
You could also try testing a completely different landing page layout to see if it has an impact on your conversion rate. Some businesses may find that a long-form layout works best, while others may find that a short-form layout is more effective.
In this example, you can see that the two landing pages have different layouts. The original landing page has a long-form layout with a lot of content, while the variant landing page has a short-form layout with only a little bit of content.
The only way to know which layout is best for your business is to test different options with A/B testing.
5. Test the Inclusion of a Video
Videos and video ads in particular can be a great way to introduce your brand to new prospects, but that doesn't mean they're the best choice for every landing page.
Videos can be time-consuming and expensive to produce, so you'll want to be sure that they're worth the investment before you start including them on all of your landing pages. A/B testing can help you determine if videos are driving conversions on your landing pages.
To test the inclusion of a video on your landing page, create two versions of the page. One version should include the video, and the other version should not. Then, use A/B testing to determine which version of the page drives more conversions.
For example, if you’re testing a landing page for your barbershop software, incorporate a short video tutorial demonstrating the ease of use and fast workflows within your software.
If you find that the video is driving conversions, you can consider adding videos to other landing pages on your website. If not, you can save time and resources by skipping the video and focusing on other elements of your landing page.
6. Test the Inclusion of Social Proof
Social proof is a great way to build trust with your audience. It can come in many forms, such as testimonials, case studies, or even the number of people who have signed up for something.
Social proof can be a great addition to your landing page, but it's not always necessary. That's why you should test the inclusion of social proof in your landing pages.
In one test, we added a simple customer testimonial to one of our landing pages. We then compared the conversion rates of the page with the testimonial to the conversion rates of the page without the testimonial.
We found that the page with the testimonial had a much higher conversion rate than the page without the testimonial. This test proved to us that social proof is an effective way to increase conversions on landing pages.
The key is to make sure you're using the right type of social proof for your audience. If you're targeting a younger demographic, for example, you might want to use social proof from social media instead of traditional testimonials.
7. Test the Inclusion of Trust Seals
A/B testing is a great way to determine what elements on your landing pages could be causing friction and deterring conversions. Trust seals are a great example of this. If you find that you're not getting many conversions and you're not sure why, you might want to test the inclusion of a trust seal on your landing page.
Trust seals are digital badges that you can place on your landing pages to show visitors that your website is secure and that their information is safe. If you're not getting many conversions, it's possible that your visitors don't trust your website.
To test the inclusion of trust seals, create two different versions of your landing page. On one version, include a trust seal. On the other, don't include a trust seal. Then, use A/B testing to determine which version of your landing page gets more conversions.
8. Test the Inclusion of a Guarantee
Another way to build trust on your landing page is to include a guarantee. This is a statement that assures the visitor that they will be satisfied with their purchase, or they can get their money back.
Guarantees can be a powerful tool for increasing conversions, but you need to test the inclusion of a guarantee on your landing page to see if it helps or hurts your conversion rate.
You can also test different types of guarantees to see which one resonates best with your audience. Common types of guarantees include a money-back guarantee, a satisfaction guarantee, and a price match guarantee for products or an uptime guarantee (thanks to, e.g., synthetic monitoring) for a service..
9. Test Different Images
Images are a great way to capture attention and communicate ideas quickly. But not all images are created equal, and the wrong image can actually hurt your landing page conversion rates.
When it comes to testing images, you can try testing different types of images. For example, you might test a product shot against a lifestyle image that shows the product in action. Or you might test an image of a person against an image of the product by itself.
You can also test different design elements of your images, such as color, composition, and cropping. For example, you might test a red product shot against a blue product shot, or a close-up shot against a wide-angle shot.
Just be sure to test one image at a time, so you can be sure which image is having the biggest impact on your landing page conversion rates.
Conclusion
A/B testing is one of the most effective ways to improve your landing pages, and it can lead to significant increases in your conversion rates. Conducting an A/B test doesn't have to take a lot of time or effort, and the rewards are well worth it.
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