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How Long Should You Run an A/B Test?
You can’t do without it. You’ll have to make many decisions as a marketer or business owner. If you want an edge, you need to let the data guide you. A/B testing is how you do it. When you need to choose which version of your product page to keep, what copy to use, or which images to let go of, you can’t go wrong letting your customers decide. That’s who all of this for, after all.
The Ideal Length of an A/B Test
So, how long should you run that A/B test?
The short answer is long enough.
- How much traffic do you get? More traffic usually means shorter tests.
- How soon do you need to decide? No need to keep testing and miss your window to act.
- How important is your decision? Test longer for decisions with more impact.
It’s a balancing act between what’s ideal and what’s practical.
In short, your test should end when you have the insights to make a data-driven decision. But before you decide to change your product page, are you sure you need to?
How We Use A/B Testing
A/B testing is part of our proven three-step process for getting 20% more conversions in just 90 days. But—get this—it doesn’t involve major changes to your product page. If you haven’t heard of our method before, we forgive you—revolutionary stuff takes time to catch on. But read on if you want an unfair advantage.
Our target:
A group of visitors that deserves 100% of your attention. They’re people leaning in with interest—the curious shoppers taking in your product page, looking for that bit of info that takes them over the edge.
Some of them will buy, and that’s awesome—your page works for them. But we focus on those who don’t. Then, we use a 3-step process to get them to buy.
Step 1: Map out High-Visibility Locations
We place subtle CTAs in strategic locations on your site where we know your target audience will spot them. We’ve attached red arrows in this example so it’s easy to spot where we’d place the CTAs.
Step 2: Build the Sales Pitch
When they click one of our CTAs, the rest of them disappear. Then, they see a powerful sales pitch that’s been tailor-made to convert.
We have a solid formula for building our pitches based on the 9 Truths About Online Shoppers.
Step 3: Find the Winning Pitch—A/B testing
Now, this is where A/B testing comes in handy. Our 9 truths formula allows us to build many sales pitches. But we don’t know which is the best, so…
To see the 3 steps in action, check out this article.
Evidence
This concept isn’t a theoretical framework. It’s the base formula for all our conversion work for clients. This marketing framework can be used to boost sales for sports products. To sell skincare products. Pet products. Consumer electronics. Athletic gear. Back pain solutions. Food items.
It can also convert cold Facebook ad traffic, improve mobile conversion rates, generate calls, optimize your most important landing page, etc.
You can use it to improve your overall conversion rates.
Want to try it out for yourself? Drop me a comment, and I’ll show you how.
Comments 2
What software do you use for A/B testing?
ReplyRishi Rawat
Hi, Zabe. We use both VWO.com and Convert.com. Are you familiar with either of those 2 tools? Both are great.
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