Split Test Your Headlines<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.abtasty.com\/content\/uploads\/impact-content-headlines-testing.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nSource<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nRoughly 80 percent of readers<\/a>\nnever make it past the headline. So, a smart way to A\/B test your content is to\nstart with, you guessed it, your headlines.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThis is the simplest type of A\/B test. Start by\nbrainstorming some headlines you want to use for a blog article, social media<\/a>\npost, ad copy, or any other piece of content.<\/p>\n\n\n\nAt this point, you’re not trying to come up with the perfect\nheadline for A\/B testing. You’re just testing options. So, think of about 5-10\nheadlines and pick your two favorites. Next, complete the A\/B test with the\nfollowing steps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Send out both versions to a live audience.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Show one headline to roughly 50 percent of your\ntraffic and the other headline to the other half.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Analyze the results to see which headline\nprovides better results.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Implement the headline that generates the most\nclicks (and conversions, if your goal is to generate purchases, calls, or\nvisits to your business).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
A\/B Test Your Images<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.jeffbullas.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/The-10-Laws-Of-Visual-Content-Marketing-2017-Update.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nSource<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nA website’s click-through-rate (CTR) is nearly 50 percent\nhigher when it contains images<\/a>\nrather than text alone. This is why A\/B testing should include the images you will\nuse to complement your content.<\/p>\n\n\n\nAccording to one source<\/a>,\nad engagement increased by more than 60 percent when a new image was tested. Of\ncourse, you can A\/B test any type of image used in your content, even if it’s\nnot ad copy.<\/p>\n\n\n\nStart by picking a few images relevant to your content, and\nthen follow the steps discussed above to run your A\/B test. As for what\nactually makes a compelling image, the following options tend to perform well:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Silhouettes: Basically, people have a tendency\nto visualize themselves in silhouetted images.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Portals: The human eye and mind naturally\ngravitate toward openings represented in images.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Cropped images: Strategic cropping increases curiosity\nsince the human eye has a tendency to fill in missing parts.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Human faces: People are naturally drawn to other\nhuman faces.*<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- High-quality images: Clear, high-quality images\nare more likely to positively reflect your content and brand. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
*Unfortunately, faces can take attention away from your\nheadlines. So, if you do use an image with a face, consider one that appears to\nbe looking at your headline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Find the Right Content\nLength for Your Audience<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\nWith content, the general consensus is that longer is better\nthese days. The average content length for page one results is roughly 1,900\nwords, according to a study conducted in 2016. However, there’s another study\nthat suggests the “sweet spot” for content\nlength<\/a> is 1,600 words.<\/p>\n\n\n\nNow, just because some studies state what the content length\n“should” be doesn’t mean 1,600-1,900 words is actually what’s going\nto work best for you. This is another time when A\/B testing comes in handy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The only way to really know for sure what the optimal\ncontent length is for your intended audience is to test different lengths.\nThere are several ways you can do this. But one of the more effective methods\nis to present the content of a certain length for one week and make it a bit\nlonger or shorter for the next week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This approach to split-testing will allow you to dive into\nyour Google Analytics (GA) stats to see which length actually performed better\nfor you according to the metrics that matter most to you. Pay particular\nattention to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Length of time spent on the page with the\ncontent being tested.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- How much each piece of content is shared.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- How many conversions are generated.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- How much traffic each piece of content attracts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
A\/B testing can also be used to find the right length for\nyour video content. Again, there are plenty of stats out there suggesting what\nan ideal length “should” be \u2013 one source claims 4 minutes and 20\nseconds is just right. But what you really want to know is what your audience\nis likely to respond to based on your target audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A simple way to do this is to use a longer video first and\nthen break it down into shorter edits of varying lengths. Tap into your stats\nagain to see which length your audience loved more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Test Your Opt-In Forms<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/conversionsciences.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/optimal-form-fields.jpg\")
Source<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nAccording to the chart above, the optimal number of form\nfields is seven. But this is just one study. What you actually want to see with\nan A\/B test is how many fields you can include before you start to see a\nconversion drop-off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After you find out how many fields you should include on\nyour form, run A\/B tests to find the right location on the page for it. The\nmost common form locations you can test include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- At the top: This clearly shows that the form\nneeds to be completed.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- At the bottom: This particular placement allows\nvisitors to take action after you show them compelling content.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- In the sidebar: Readers tend to naturally glance\noff to the side. Plus, this location allows you to provide some added\nincentives to subscribe or sign up with other content.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- In a pop-up triggered by the act of exiting your\nsite: This approach to form placement can be tricky because of the possible\nannoyance factor. It can still work, however, if you’ve done a good job with\nthe other content on your site.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Do your A\/B testing by trying different location\ncombinations. If you use the four above, do two at a time. Then, follow the\nrinse and repeat method and perform one more A\/B test with the better\nperforming location from each group of two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Use A\/B Testing to\nFine-Tune Your Landing Pages<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\nAlso meant to be high-converting, landing pages<\/a>\ncan be subjected to similar A\/B testing methods. The potential problem with\nlanding pages is that they’re often created and forgotten about \u2013 like what\nmight happen if you make landing pages for certain ad campaigns.<\/p>\n\n\n\nIf you do have landing pages not serving any real purpose\nanymore, just delete them. You want to A\/B test landing pages<\/a>\ncurrently relevant to your website and business. So, there\u2019s no need to test\nones not serving any meaningful purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\nBefore you run your test, however, know what purpose your\nlanding page is serving or will serve. You’ll then be able to look at results\nspecific to factors such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Conversion rates<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Website visits<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Sales increases<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Data points related to your visitors<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
As for what you can actually test with your landing pages, a\ngood starting point is with the layout. So, you would pick two layouts you like\nand see which one performs better. A\/B testing for landing pages can also involve\ntesting:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- The offer: Comparing different offers \u2013 e.g., 15\npercent off vs. 20 percent off \u2013 can show what your audience is likely to\nrespond to the most.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- The headline: As mentioned above, people tend to\ngravitate toward headlines first. So, use the most concise and effective\nlanding page headline possible.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- The copy itself: Some visitors need some extra\ninfo or an added incentive or two before they actually take the desired action.\nSo, test different versions of your landing page’s content to see what really\ndelivers for you.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
A\/B testing on landing pages can include pretty much any\nfeature on the page that can affect performance. Additional possibilities\ninclude:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Product descriptions<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Images and videos<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- The call-to-action (see below for more on this)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Another way to run your A\/B tests for landing pages is to\nuse your first version as a control. You’ll then make a few tweaks and see\nwhich one performs better. You can also use this approach with other A\/B tests\nas well \u2013 especially if you have an existing page or piece of content that’s\nonly slightly underperforming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Don’t Forget to A\/B Test Your\nCTAs!<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/formtitanhelpdeskimage.s3.amazonaws.com\/b021f0104df819909343534147471faa.jpg\")
Source<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nIf your goal is to move anyone checking out your content to\na conversion of some sort, the last thing you want to do is create a content\nroadblock by using a call-to-action<\/a>\n(CTA) that\u2019s either vague or just plain ineffective.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFirst, let\u2019s do a little CTA review. Ask yourself this\nquestion before you start A\/B testing calls-to-action: What do you want to\naccomplish with your CTA? The most common CTA purposes include: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Making a clear sales pitch<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Providing an opportunity for a content upgrade\n(whitepapers, e-books, etc.)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Encouraging a visit back to your website (if the\ncontent with the CTA is a blog or social post or an ad)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Generating productive leads<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Encouraging phone calls or visits to your\nphysical business<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
An effective CTA is one that inspires action, is direct and\nto the point, and is personalized. You may be surprised at how something as\nminor as tweaking your CTA can make a big difference with the results you get.\nSo, once you have two versions you want to test, run your CTA split test by\ntaking the following steps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Select your CTA options. Random brainstorming is\nfine, but you can also tweak a CTA you\u2019re already using<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Either use an A\/B testing tool<\/a>\nor present your content with two versions of your CTA and use Google Analytics\nas your “tool”<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Measure the results of your A\/B test<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
With CTAs, there are many variants you can test. The wording\nis just one of them. You can also A\/B test the placement of a CTA on a page,\nthe size of the text, and even the color of the text for your call-to-action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another method you can test with CTAs is how many to use on\neach page. Do this by presenting one page with a single CTA in the traditional\nlocation (the bottom of the page), another one with a CTA “above the\nfold,\u201d and then one below it to see if multiple CTAs on a page could give you\nbetter results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A\/B testing is just one technique you can use to fine-tune\nyour content’s performance. It’s equally essential to have a solid\nunderstanding of what you want to accomplish with your content, what stage\nof the buying\nprocess<\/a> you are focusing on, and how to use SEO and\neverything that it involves to your advantage to deliver your content<\/a> to the right\nsearchers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There’s always some degree of unpredictability with content, even if it\u2019s well-written and peppered with the images, videos, and other …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":6230,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[195],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-content-creation"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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Born in California, his fondness for writing dates back to elementary school writing contests and led to positions on both high school and college newspapers. He earned a degree in Journalism and Communications from Point Park University and did work in data entry after college before transitioning to a full-time career as a freelance writer. While his areas of expertise are marketing and health-related content, Ken is a versatile writer and enjoys exploring and researching a variety of topics. 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C.","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/contentwriters.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/favicon-01-96x96.png","url":"https:\/\/contentwriters.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/favicon-01-96x96.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/contentwriters.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/favicon-01-96x96.png","caption":"Ken C."},"description":"Ken is a freelance writer currently living in the Pittsburgh area of Pennsylvania. Born in California, his fondness for writing dates back to elementary school writing contests and led to positions on both high school and college newspapers. He earned a degree in Journalism and Communications from Point Park University and did work in data entry after college before transitioning to a full-time career as a freelance writer. While his areas of expertise are marketing and health-related content, Ken is a versatile writer and enjoys exploring and researching a variety of topics. When not busy knocking out articles, he likes to spend time with friends, go for walks, and discover new and exciting things about the world around him.","url":"https:\/\/contentwriters.com\/blog\/author\/ken-c\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/contentwriters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6218","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/contentwriters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/contentwriters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/contentwriters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/contentwriters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6218"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/contentwriters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6218\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11152,"href":"https:\/\/contentwriters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6218\/revisions\/11152"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/contentwriters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/contentwriters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/contentwriters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/contentwriters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nSource<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Roughly 80 percent of readers<\/a>\nnever make it past the headline. So, a smart way to A\/B test your content is to\nstart with, you guessed it, your headlines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is the simplest type of A\/B test. Start by\nbrainstorming some headlines you want to use for a blog article, social media<\/a>\npost, ad copy, or any other piece of content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At this point, you’re not trying to come up with the perfect\nheadline for A\/B testing. You’re just testing options. So, think of about 5-10\nheadlines and pick your two favorites. Next, complete the A\/B test with the\nfollowing steps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Source<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n A website’s click-through-rate (CTR) is nearly 50 percent\nhigher when it contains images<\/a>\nrather than text alone. This is why A\/B testing should include the images you will\nuse to complement your content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to one source<\/a>,\nad engagement increased by more than 60 percent when a new image was tested. Of\ncourse, you can A\/B test any type of image used in your content, even if it’s\nnot ad copy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Start by picking a few images relevant to your content, and\nthen follow the steps discussed above to run your A\/B test. As for what\nactually makes a compelling image, the following options tend to perform well:<\/p>\n\n\n\n *Unfortunately, faces can take attention away from your\nheadlines. So, if you do use an image with a face, consider one that appears to\nbe looking at your headline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With content, the general consensus is that longer is better\nthese days. The average content length for page one results is roughly 1,900\nwords, according to a study conducted in 2016. However, there’s another study\nthat suggests the “sweet spot” for content\nlength<\/a> is 1,600 words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, just because some studies state what the content length\n“should” be doesn’t mean 1,600-1,900 words is actually what’s going\nto work best for you. This is another time when A\/B testing comes in handy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The only way to really know for sure what the optimal\ncontent length is for your intended audience is to test different lengths.\nThere are several ways you can do this. But one of the more effective methods\nis to present the content of a certain length for one week and make it a bit\nlonger or shorter for the next week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This approach to split-testing will allow you to dive into\nyour Google Analytics (GA) stats to see which length actually performed better\nfor you according to the metrics that matter most to you. Pay particular\nattention to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n A\/B testing can also be used to find the right length for\nyour video content. Again, there are plenty of stats out there suggesting what\nan ideal length “should” be \u2013 one source claims 4 minutes and 20\nseconds is just right. But what you really want to know is what your audience\nis likely to respond to based on your target audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A simple way to do this is to use a longer video first and\nthen break it down into shorter edits of varying lengths. Tap into your stats\nagain to see which length your audience loved more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the chart above, the optimal number of form\nfields is seven. But this is just one study. What you actually want to see with\nan A\/B test is how many fields you can include before you start to see a\nconversion drop-off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After you find out how many fields you should include on\nyour form, run A\/B tests to find the right location on the page for it. The\nmost common form locations you can test include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Do your A\/B testing by trying different location\ncombinations. If you use the four above, do two at a time. Then, follow the\nrinse and repeat method and perform one more A\/B test with the better\nperforming location from each group of two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Also meant to be high-converting, landing pages<\/a>\ncan be subjected to similar A\/B testing methods. The potential problem with\nlanding pages is that they’re often created and forgotten about \u2013 like what\nmight happen if you make landing pages for certain ad campaigns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you do have landing pages not serving any real purpose\nanymore, just delete them. You want to A\/B test landing pages<\/a>\ncurrently relevant to your website and business. So, there\u2019s no need to test\nones not serving any meaningful purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before you run your test, however, know what purpose your\nlanding page is serving or will serve. You’ll then be able to look at results\nspecific to factors such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n As for what you can actually test with your landing pages, a\ngood starting point is with the layout. So, you would pick two layouts you like\nand see which one performs better. A\/B testing for landing pages can also involve\ntesting:<\/p>\n\n\n\n A\/B testing on landing pages can include pretty much any\nfeature on the page that can affect performance. Additional possibilities\ninclude:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another way to run your A\/B tests for landing pages is to\nuse your first version as a control. You’ll then make a few tweaks and see\nwhich one performs better. You can also use this approach with other A\/B tests\nas well \u2013 especially if you have an existing page or piece of content that’s\nonly slightly underperforming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If your goal is to move anyone checking out your content to\na conversion of some sort, the last thing you want to do is create a content\nroadblock by using a call-to-action<\/a>\n(CTA) that\u2019s either vague or just plain ineffective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n First, let\u2019s do a little CTA review. Ask yourself this\nquestion before you start A\/B testing calls-to-action: What do you want to\naccomplish with your CTA? The most common CTA purposes include: <\/p>\n\n\n\n An effective CTA is one that inspires action, is direct and\nto the point, and is personalized. You may be surprised at how something as\nminor as tweaking your CTA can make a big difference with the results you get.\nSo, once you have two versions you want to test, run your CTA split test by\ntaking the following steps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n With CTAs, there are many variants you can test. The wording\nis just one of them. You can also A\/B test the placement of a CTA on a page,\nthe size of the text, and even the color of the text for your call-to-action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another method you can test with CTAs is how many to use on\neach page. Do this by presenting one page with a single CTA in the traditional\nlocation (the bottom of the page), another one with a CTA “above the\nfold,\u201d and then one below it to see if multiple CTAs on a page could give you\nbetter results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A\/B testing is just one technique you can use to fine-tune\nyour content’s performance. It’s equally essential to have a solid\nunderstanding of what you want to accomplish with your content, what stage\nof the buying\nprocess<\/a> you are focusing on, and how to use SEO and\neverything that it involves to your advantage to deliver your content<\/a> to the right\nsearchers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There’s always some degree of unpredictability with content, even if it\u2019s well-written and peppered with the images, videos, and other …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":6230,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[195],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-content-creation"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n
A\/B Test Your Images<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Find the Right Content\nLength for Your Audience<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Test Your Opt-In Forms<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n
Source<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
Use A\/B Testing to\nFine-Tune Your Landing Pages<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Don’t Forget to A\/B Test Your\nCTAs!<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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