Split testing is something that’s really simple but can also get complicated.  It basically means making two versions of the same site, email message, product, etc., and then running them both to see which one performs better.  When you find out which one performs better, you know what you need to change to increase your conversions.

For example, let’s say that you create two identical sales pages.  The only difference is that one has a sales letter at the top and the other has a video.  After several days of monitoring, you see that the video sales letter gets 44% more conversions than the text letter.

Got it… nothing but sales letters from here on out!

That’s the science of split testing at work and it makes me all hot and tingly just thinking about it.  This is where you truly learn about Internet marketing, getting traffic and making money online.

Why Do You Need To Split Test?

Does it sound tedious?  It could be, I suppose.  But it’s vitally necessary.  The reason is that you actually don’t know exactly what people want.  You may have a vague idea of what works and what doesn’t, but split testing shows you and even gives you the numbers.  There’s no substitute for that kind of accuracy.

Actually, there’s no room for guesswork in Internet marketing.  Set aside all of your own ideas about what’s effective and PLEASE quit getting advice from IM forums!  Put your own marketing materials to the test and you’ll discover the truth.

Split Testing Your Website

Although you should split test absolutely everything you do, I’m going to focus on just a few things.  The most important thing is to split test your website.

There are lots of ideas about how your site should be designed.  These conflicting ideas can make your head spin.  So, ignore them and find out yourself.  Should you use a sidebar or not?  How big should your header be?  What colors work best for text, background and Buy Now Buttons?  Test all of these because tiny design details can make a huge difference in terms of sales.

Media is a really important thing to split test.  Yes, videos do work better for sales pages.  But you should toy around with placement, length, the video’s contents, etc.  You should also mess around with screenshots and images to see what works.

You’ll probably see the most dramatic differences when you split test your copy.  Changing up your copy can raise your conversions by well over 50%.  Try out long versus short.  Try different placements and wordings for your call to action.  Move your testimonials around.  All of this will make a difference.

Isn’t it incredible that you can make such a difference without changing your products and services at all!?

Split Test Everything

I’ve given you some ideas on split testing your website.  Well, as I said before, you should test everything.  This includes:

Autoresponder Messages – Changing your subject line can make a tremendous difference.  So can link placement and email copy.  The great thing is that AWeber and other autoresponder programs let you easily track everything.

EBooks – If you change your eBook covers or covers for other electronic products this can give you a boost in sales.

Ads – You should never think about running a single ad; always make a few alternate versions and see which ones get impressions.

Finally, just a few tips on split testing the right way.  For one thing, always experiment by changing only one element.  If you change everything, you’ll have no idea what made the difference.

You should also keep split testing.  Keep tweaking and see what makes a difference.  Log all of your results so that you can refer back to them.  This is how you create a marketing strategy that works.

Tony

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