Testing Is The Key To Success In Marketing

It is easy to fall into the trap of ‘if it’s not broke, don’t fix it’, especially in the marketing sphere but this could be where your marketing plan falls short.

Whether your main focus is Google Search, Google AdWords or even a print-based advert, you need to test different designs, ad text and creative to appeal to different audience. Its common knowledge that people search for things differently, but it is also easy to work out that each person reacts differently when they see one of your webpages or an advert with your logo on it.

One method that every marketer should consider is A/B Split Testing. This method can not only help you work out which page looks the best, but it also helps you find out which one has the best Click-through Rate (CTR) and Conversion Rate.

As mentioned, people react differently to content at different times of their searching or buying process. For example, one of your customers that you might have targeted through Remarketing might seem like they’re the ideal buyer because they’ve visited your website, but in fact, someone who found one of your videos on YouTube that you thought would never convert, might throw you a curve ball an become a new customer – it’s what makes our jobs so much harder.

But, by testing different videos for different platforms or by creating adverts targeted at different demographics through social media, we can capture a wider, more diverse number of people, and by these stats we can then work out which audience we should be focusing more of our time and budget on.

A/B Testing is largely about finding the best ‘bait’ or ‘hooks’ that reach your customer and get them closer to buying your products. These ‘hooks’ then allow you to understand how your customer thinks, which is a huge aspect of business, and arguably one of the most valuable lessons you can learn in any industry.

Something as simple as a blue ‘Sign Up’ button compared to a red one, could mean huge leaps towards more conversions, a better ROI and an increase in sales. Being happy with your customer base is a good thing, but no one would turn down new customers if all you had to do was create a new page with slightly different messaging.

Test, test and test again!

BIO: Thomas is an SEO and PPC Manager at Varn Media, who specialise in SEO Bristol, Bath and Wiltshire as well as helping to improve website performance. In his spare time he can found digging through Analytics or improving ROI on Google AdWords.