5 Important A/B Tests To Increase Your Ecommerce Sales

All successful business owners are always searching for ways to make their ecommerce websites even better. Tests must be implemented to determine which design aspects of a website are enticing new sales while weeding out designs that are not improving the overall conversation rate. The easiest way to do this over a set period of time is by conducting A/B tests.

Those who are new to the world of ecommerce may have never heard of A/B testing prior to starting their website. In laymen’s terms, A/B testing involves creating two different versions of something. It can be an entire web page, a call to action, website copy, different color schemes, etc. The ‘A’ variant will be the constant, while the ‘B’ variant will have a tweak. [pullquote]Website owners can track how users who visit each of the sites spend their time and money.[/pullquote] If there is a noticeable difference in the conversion rate, then it becomes obvious that one of the two versions is more appealing to site visitors.

Let’s take a closer look at some important design aspects that any website owner can benefit from analyzing. Tweaking these could very well increase your ecommerce sales by quite a lot.

1. Test Button Colors

Many websites have action buttons on one or more of their pages. A simple A/B test that can be implemented is one that determines if a visitor is more likely to click on a box of a certain color. To get proper results, one homepage should feature the current action box color, while the other variant should have the new color. Compare the click through on each site to see which one is more appealing to site visitors.

2. Test Images

Some images are more appealing to users than others. By simply putting two different images on variants of the same page, website owners can see if one picture leads to more sales conversions. Many enterprise ecommerce platforms, such as Shopify, make it easy to switch out images in your site, so you don’t have to tinker with the messy backend code. This type of A/B test should be implemented whenever you want to choose new images for product pages or informational pages.

3. Test Copy

Product copy can either make a product fly off the shelves or cause it to be ignored by shoppers. Whenever a new product is added or updated, it’s smart to put the two different types of copy up against each other. Simply direct half the users to the old copy and the other half to the new. See if there is a noticeable difference based on sales of the product.

4. Test Navigation

It’s possible to see if users are using the links in your navigation to visit more pages of your site. The wording of each page may either encourage or prevent someone from clicking on a redirect link. For example, some users may be more inclined to click on an ‘About Us’ link over an ‘Our History’ link. Putting the navigation bar into an A/B test will let you know if your bar titles are effective in keeping traffic on your site.

5. Test Offers

Customers are always looking for offers and deals from ecommerce sites. Having these offers clearly listed on the homepage may help you get a higher conversion rate. However, the offers have to be enticing to customers. Try wording the offers two different ways or even placing them in a different location. After a set amount of time, compare the two variants to see if one resulted in more sales.

Having a website that is user-friendly and interactive is a must for all ecommerce business owners. Occasionally running A/B tests will help you determine which variants of a certain item are more appealing to your customers. A/B testing has been proven to increase conversion rates, and it will make you more aware of what sells and what doesn’t.

How To Increase Your Ecommerce Sales

IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK