What is an A/B test?

An A/B test, also known as a split test, is a method of looking at two variants - A and B - and identifying the better of the two. For this purpose, one group receives the version to be tested and the other group receives the initial version. The results are then evaluated and the better variant is retained.

In online marketing, A/B tests are often used for landing pages or within search engine advertising. However, in order to obtain meaningful results, only one element should ever be tested within such a test. This ensures that the element that is decisive for an improvement can be identified.

In the classic form of an A/B test, for example, a single aspect of a website is modified and the reaction of website visitors is then checked. Possible changes could be, for example

• The color of a CTA button
• The arrangement of an element
• The placement of a new content element
• The insertion/removal of titles or headings
• The insertion of images, GIFs, graphics or illustrations

The website can therefore be optimized step by step using an A/B test. This allows KPIs such as dwell time, bounce rate, traffic or conversion rate to be optimized.