How to Optimize Conversion Rate with A/B Testing
The conversion rate is a parameter that indicates the percentage of users who perform a certain action on a website. When it comes to e-commerce, it generally refers to the number of users who complete the purchase and is considered the most important indicator of the performance of the businesses that sell online.
The goal of every e-commerce is to have the highest possible conversion rate, achieved through a process called CRO (conversion rate optimization).
It is very common to find information that emphasizes the importance of adding a series of elements that on average increase the conversion rate. This is true, but we must not think that implementing them all correctly is a guarantee for success: often the perception of the target user can be different from the average and making a change following best practices can be very harmful .
How can you optimize your conversion rate without risking hurting your sales?
Making arbitrary changes to your e-commerce is a risky choice , even when it comes only to inserting new text or an image. It is noted, in fact, that small changes to the user experience that are not tracked can damage the conversion rate without being able to understand the causes.
So when it comes to major changes, the likelihood of making mistakes increases dramatically.
For these reasons, the best strategy for managing an e-commerce involves the constant use of A / B test : the process that allows you to verify hypotheses (changes) by showing the original version (A) to a group of users and the modified version (B) to another. Once a statistically significant threshold of visits and sales has been reached, in this way, it is possible to establish with certainty whether the change has brought positive results : the change is implemented only if it benefits one's turnover.
Looking at the CRO more generally, the benefits that are obtained are the following:
- user experience optimization by creating a unique and personalized shopping experience
- better knowledge of its customers
- increase in ROI (return on advertising investment) and decrease in the cost of acquiring a customer.
How is an e-commerce conversion rate optimization process properly structured?
CRO is an iterative process that is divided into 4 phases :
Phase 1: website analysis , research , market and competitor study
Phase 2: test / change planning and prioritization
Phase 3: creation and launch of tests / modifications
Step 4: Analyzing the data to define the winning variant and apply the changes
To conclude, A / B tests are a fundamental technique for optimizing the conversion rate , especially in a historical period like this where competition is very high, advertising costs always tend to increase and customers are increasingly demanding. . It must be emphasized, however, that implementing this process correctly is not easy and you have to use the code very often: making mistakes is very common if you are not an expert and the data obtained could only be misleading.
