In this post, guest blogger Brooklin Nash of TrustRadius offers an incisive look at A/B testing – a critical weapon in the arsenal of every marketing team. Not all A/B testing tools, however, are created equal. Which ones will most enhance your efforts at mobile Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)? Brooklin draws on the wisdom of real mobile CRO experts and users to select five tools worthy of your consideration.
The Top Five A/B Testing Tools (According to Real Users!)
By Brooklin Nash
Increased conversion doesn’t necessarily mean spending more on advertising or completely changing your sales copy approach. In many cases, mobile CRO could be as simple as testing subtle changes to your website or landing pages to see which version performs better. This is the core idea behind A/B testing tools.
A/B tests (sometimes called split testing) divides your web traffic among two (or possibly more) versions of a page and then measures which version performs better at achieving a desired outcome. Examples of desired outcomes include increased purchases of a product or increased signups. Like a scientific experiment, A/B testing looks for clear quantitative winners and losers.
The A/B test can assess the impact of such variables as the color of call-to-action buttons, headline copy, page layout and lifestyle images, although it can be used for so much more. The end result is a website that delivers better conversion and therefore greater revenue. A/B testing should be a continuous process that ceaselessly works to elevate your website’s mobile CRO as you offer new products or features or as technology changes.
Which leading A/B testing tools are preferred by the mobile CRO pros?
The Mobile1st team of mobile optimization experts collaborated with TrustRadius to create a list of their favs. TrustRadius specializes in assessing enterprise software and apps and ranks business apps based on highest overall satisfaction scores from authenticated user reviews. Let’s review each of the top A/B testing tools and consider how users assess their performance.
#1: Kameleoon
TrustRadius Score: 8.6 out of 10
Kameleoon is an easily implemented A/B testing tool, with additional features for personalization, UX optimization and segmentation. The platform allows mobile testing and email personalization, both important features for modern brands. TrustRadius’s user reviews highlight that the implementation of the tool is relatively straightforward, but that advanced personalization options may require a skilled web developer.
#2: AB Tasty
TrustRadius Score: 8.4 out of 10
AB Tasty labels itself as a conversion optimization platform, with an obvious focus on A/B testing. As a comprehensive testing tool, the software is useful for both marketers and technical teams. The visual interface and editor makes A/B testing fairly intuitive even for marketers with no coding or web design experience. The user reviews on TrustRadius highlighted that the data analytics offered by AB Tasty provided powerful and clear indicators of test winners.
#3: Qubit
TrustRadius Score: 8.1 out of 10
Qubit offers both A/B testing and additional website optimization features, such as personalization and adaptive targeting. The A/B testing tool provides a good solution for mid-sized ecommerce businesses and enterprises. In the numerous reviews on TrustRadius, users loved Qubit’s customer service and support, especially in getting started with a testing approach and strategic advice.
#4: Dynamic Yield
TrustRadius Score: 8.0 out of 10
Dynamic Yield is an optimization platform with A/B testing, customer segmentation, personalization and behavioral messaging. Because of the advanced features, the software is primarily used by mid-sized companies. At the same time, TrustRadius’s reviewers consider the tool relatively easy to use, especially for A/B testing purposes.
#5 Monetate Test and Segment
TrustRadius Score: 7.6 out of 10
“Monetate A/B Testing is #1 with a bullet. It can do virtually anything and gives robust data comparing groups, plus you can add new custom metrics on top.”Confirmed Monetate User
Monetate offers a potent testing solution that is designed for marketers. The solution boasts an easy-to-use interface with a powerful backend testing and segmentation engine. It targets UX excellence leading to increased conversions and revenue. In the reviews on Trust Radius, users appreciated Monetate’s ability to clearly demonstrate the impact of each A/B test across a range of measures including conversion, bounce rate, add to cart rate, and more.
Increasing Mobile Conversion with A/B Testing Tools: Best Practices
Successful A/B testing is dependent on using the right tool for your setting. But even using an effective tool won’t return the best results unless you are using it in the proper manner.
As you get started with your A/B testing app, consider the following best practices to increase conversion on your site:
- Focus on one element of a specific page at a time. This will give you better insight into what’s working and what’s not. At the same time, don’t limit your tests to just one type of element. Make sure you vary your buttons, headlines, and layout. Although you should test one element of the page to best determine correlation, you can run A/B tests on various page types of your website at the same time, such as a change to the home page, a category page, a product page, etc. as long as the same element is not used by more than one page type.
- Spend time getting to know your A/B testing tool. Some tools include analytical features, conversion rate calculations, and advanced testing with multiple variables. Become familiar with all of these features.
- Consider a tool that offers a WYSIWYG interface if you are new to web design and A/B testing. WYSIWYG, an acronym for “what you see is what you get,” refers to an editing program that allows you to see what the end result will look like while you are creating the web page.
- Be confident in your test results before moving on. You should look for at least 90% statistical confidence that one variation will continue to outperform the others. You should also conduct a test for at least 7 days, regardless of the statistical confidence. The time required to achieve statistical confidence depends upon the amount of traffic coming to your website.
Trying out one of these top-rated A/B testing tools and putting to use these best practices will definitely amp up your mobile conversion rate optimization efforts. If you need more information on the uses and limitations of A/B testing tools, be sure to read reviews left by real users of these tools, so you have a complete picture of the options available and those which are best suited to your team’s needs.
Need help selecting which A/B tests to run? The mobile CRO team at Mobile1st uses its own proprietary SPICE tool for determining which CRO tests will most efficiently deliver the greatest revenue results for the least expenditure of time and effort. Contact us today for a full, frank conversation about your mobile optimization options.
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Brooklin Nash writes about the latest tools and small business trends for TrustRadius. When he’s not writing, you can find him reading YA dystopian fiction (with guilty pleasure) and cooking.