Reasons for the failure of A/B Testing Results (Part 2)

Avoid these mistakes during A/B testing for getting optimum business results.

Everything comes with certain limitations and vulnerabilities that tends to affect its performance in the long run. If you are not aware about the speed breakers in your performance, you certainly can't make a significant improvement in your particular business segment and can't stay immune to the changing market dynamics. For online business entities, they need to have the constant support of an effective A/B testing strategies that can win the game for your online business. But before that, you need to introspect that you are not making certain A/B testing mistakes that can prove costly for your business. Let us take a look at the same.

1. You are running tests for a significant longer time durations- Time is a very precious element that can decide the success or failure of a business strategy. When you are implementing A/B testing for your business, make sure that you are following some realistic time durations that can be fulfilled. You need to ensure an ideal length for your web testing strategies that is neither too long and nor too short. Just keep it restricted for a period of few months in order to gather information whether your testing results are genuine or just a matter of luck by chance. Remember, you need tests that can be fulfilled in a short time duration as you could not run tests on your site for a prolonged period of time as it is diverting your site traffic, affecting your conversion rates and also delaying the time of implementation of site changes.

2. You are not targeting the right audience- Selection of the audience plays a key role in getting the required testing results for your business entity. You need to fragment your selected audience in an even ratio like 50:50 so that you can get more accurate A/B testing results. Although, you can have your site traffic distributed in uneven patterns like 60:40, 70:30 or 80:20 but the best approach would be an even distribution. Apart from this, you need to select the right audience for your split tests based on their interest and preferences. If you want, you can take the help of various web testing and analytics tools like Mocking Fish that can help in effective monitoring of your site visitors for better conversions and efficiency of testing results.

3. You are just focusing on micro elements of your site- It is required to have a clear insight about the bigger picture regarding your business entity in order to make a strong impact among your business rivals. You need to work towards improving the website navigation, customer engagement, product sales and site traffic for your website instead of focusing solely on click- through rates (CTR), email readability rate, effective utilization of CTA buttons and other such minor metrics. If you are not having target towards bigger site elements, you can certainly get a severe blow in terms of business results and your A/B testing results could ultimately fail.

Don't get too over excited by the sole implementation of A/B testing results on your site but take a good look towards all the vulnerable ares that could affect the performance of your web testing strategies. It is better to “look below before actually leaping” in order to save yourself from the severe consequences of an impatient act. So, be a little wise and don't let your split tests to fail without achieving the desired business results

Reasons for the failure of A/B Testing Results (Part 1)

Avoid these A/B testing mistakes for getting optimum business results.

Every business entity is sure to fail if you are not aware about its short comings and limitations. A/B testing is one such approach that has seen tremendous use in the online business environment and is growing  by leaps and bounds. Along with the widespread use, there is increasing concern about the success or failure of this web testing approach. Implementing A/B testing without having a proper insight about your business results can lead to wastage of your time, money and testing efforts. If you want to avoid the failure of your A/B testing approach, you need to pay adequate attention towards these points.

1. You are implementing testing results based on the inputs given by others- It is a well known saying that “One shoe size doesn't fits all”, similarly it is certain that what may work for the site of others may not actually work for your website. You need to introspect the nature of your business, targeted customers and the duration of your testing results before implementing any A/B testing result for your business. The key for the success of an A/B testing result is the careful inspection and analysis of your business entity rather than simple copy and pasting the testing results of another business entity.

2. You are not testing single variable for your business- Don't get carried too far away with your A/B testing results if you are a novice in this particular area. Try to remain focused on the basics instead of testing too much things at a time. This is because testing too many elements at once will make things complicated for you and will not provide you a clear insight about what actually caused changes in your conversion rates, site traffic and product sales. It is better to try “one things at a time” rather than making a complicated situation out of your A/B testing results.

3. Target your A/B testing based on the density of your site traffic- Don't channelize your testing efforts if you are not having adequate traffic on your site. This is because you would not be able to get effective feedback from your visitors if you are not having adequate traffic on your site. Therefore, it is a prerequisite while implementing A/B testing strategies on a site, so work towards getting enough site traffic for your online business entity. Don't go for the big changes if you are having a negligible site traffic as you would not be able to get clear feedback from your targeted customers.

4. Not waiting for the appropriate statistical significance- Don't be in a haste while implementing web testing on your site until and unless you have reached an acceptable level of statistical significance or confidence level. Implementing A/B testing results without an adequate confidence level would be similar to “plucking a fruit before it is ripe”. The minimum accepted level of confidence level is 95% but beware of achieving the mythical figure of 100% as it is an impossible feat. However, implementing the results without achieving the confidence level of at least 95% is not a welcome step for any business entity.

Once, you are aware about all the pitfalls of your A/B testing results, you can easily overcome the chances of failure of your web testing strategies. Further, it will help you in achieving the desired business goals and will improve the efficiency of testing results. So, don't miss them and implement the required corrections as soon as possible.