Are you searching for ways to increase your website conversion rates? If you are trying to make the most out of your existing website traffic, you should definitely run split testing. A/B testing is the easiest and the most affordable way to turn your visitors into buying customers.
Split testing provides an opportunity to remove doubts and validate your ideas before you implement them. It will give you straightforward answers to all the questions you have and it will help you achieve much better results with little effort.
15 split testing ideas to boost your conversions
Anyone who has ever conducted split testing will tell you that you can expect nothing less than a positive outcome. The hardest part of the testing process is getting started – choosing what to test. You can actually test anything you want on your website. We give you 15 split testing ideas that can boost your conversion rates instantly.
1. Website colors
Visitors get their first impression about your website based on its visual appearance. If your website colors and backgrounds do not seem appealing to them, they will leave instantly. Therefore, in order to boost your conversions, you need to split test your website’s overall appearance first.
You can try changing the entire color palette of your website. You can also test the background. Check if it’s more appealing for visitors when there’s a photo background, textured background or a blank background.
2. CTA button
CTA buttons are one of the most common split testing items. You can test the CTA button shape, size, position, color scheme, and language. Do as many tests as you can until you reach the highest conversion rates possible.
3. Submit button
Another proven way to increase conversions is an appealing submit button. Try to implement split testing on the button colors and wording, and check the results. Get ready for a surprise – the largest number of conversions may come from a button that seems the least appealing to you. Surprises are common in split testing, you never know until you do the test.
4. Trust symbols
Adding trust symbols makes people feel more comfortable with submitting their information on your website. Try adding or changing the positions of trust symbols and split test these variations. Just make sure to use recognizable trust symbols such as BBB, PayPal, McAfee, Verisign, or TRUSTe. If you put symbols that are not recognized by customers, they will not serve a purpose.
5. Social share buttons
Social media plays an essential role in motivating conversions. Social media proof works as a personal recommendation. In case you haven’t put social share buttons on your site yet, be sure to do it as soon as possible. If you do have these buttons, use split testing to check if their shape, size and position bring the most shares they can.
6. Contact information
Studies show that placing contact information in a prominent position on your website can increase the level of visitor trust. Changing the position of contact information such as the phone number and physical address is a simple test that can bring you increased conversions.
7. Pop-out contact option
Try adding a small pop-up offering live chat or call. Research shows that people like having the opportunity for instant support, for possible pre-sale questions before they make a final decision. If you already have a pop-up contact option, try changing its size, position, colors or wording and put these changes to split testing.
8. Incentives and free offers
People like getting free stuff. If you happen to offer free shipping, free trials or other exciting offers, make sure to put that information on your homepage and each page of your website. Use A/B testing to decide on the position, colors, font, and wording of your free offer incentives.
9. Urgency
You can also increase conversions by creating a feeling of urgency. Try adding a countdown timer on your website for any type of time-limited offer that you have. Many split testing results have shown that urgency motivates people to take actions. Test if this simple method works for your website, too.
10. Search bar
Search bars play a big role in website visitors’ experience. If they have to spend a lot of time searching for things they need on your website, they will probably give up. Try to optimize your search bar, make it more intuitive and do split testing.
11. Navigation
Easy navigation is one of the essential tools you can use to keep visitors on your website and make them come back. So, set up your navigation bars for split testing and see what works best. Test if your visitors prefer a horizontal or vertical navigation bar. Try changing the order and wording of menu items as well.
When it comes to larger changes to your website such as this one, try to implement them gradually. If you make significant changes suddenly, you may confuse returning visitors. Test navigation changes one at a time so you won’t experience a backlash due to over-testing.
12. Images
Try split testing the images on your site. Check if visitors react better to product images or images of people smiling while using a product. Try putting captions or stickers to existing images. You can also try changing some of the images with short video descriptions. If you feel you have too many images on your site, try removing some of them and check if they create unnecessary distractions.
13. Copy
Use split testing to check if the copy on your website resonates with your visitors. Test various headlines and find out if your visitors prefer a supportive, salesy, business, or creative tone. Try making shorter versions of taglines and descriptions. Check whether bulleted lists work better than paragraphs.
14. Forms
Test the length of the sign-up forms. Try removing unnecessary boxes or group them in 2 or 3 sign up steps. Try asking for different information. Add some assuring statements or positive images. You can also try removing some current images. Perform A/B tests until you feel that you’ve reached the best solution, since forms are a crucial step of the conversion process.
15. Landing pages
Try redesigning your landing pages. Check if you can add more personalized messages. Since people are migrating to mobile browsing, one of the best practices for boosting conversions is creating a mobile-friendly landing page. Some split testing results have shown an increase in conversions by over 200% after adding mobile-friendly landing pages.
