Landing page a/b testing is one of the most commonly neglected aspects of marketing accounts. And yet, it’s such an obviously important space to optimize. Hesitancy in this area usually stems from confusion over how to approach testing pages of a website for higher conversion rates. Many private practices develop a website and don’t necessarily know how to approach frequently developing landing pages that are not part of the main site map. Then, there’s all sorts of 3rd party tools marketed towards companies that claim to be the best solution to landing page a/b testing. In this post, we hope to simplify and summarize the approach we use at M.Ad when it comes to landing page a/b testing based on our experience directly managing high-ROI accounts in the medical vertical.
A/B Testing is Both a Science and an Art
Effective a/b testing is about manipulating subjective design and function-related aspects of a landing page in pursuit of better data. Developing and testing a new landing page variant starts with isolating which aspects of the page you want to enhance. Start with a an existing page of your site – let’s say it’s a “Service” page that most clearly describes your business offering. We’ve listed out some of the main areas we test regularly. Choose one. Yes only one of the items below to change and test below. Testing more than one change on a landing page won’t tell you which of the changes was responsible for improved (or worsened) data.
Headers – This includes H1’s, H2′,s H3’s. Most of your readers will skim these before they decide whether to click-away or read through the rest of the content on the site.
Call-to-action – This is the action you want people to take: “Call Now”, “Book an Appointment”, “Schedule a Consultation”. Test different phrases to find the one that provokes the most favorable response in people.
Images – Images along with color-palette set the atmosphere of your landing page. By testing this you’re trying to find an ‘atmosphere’ that puts page visitors in a frame of mind that leads to a conversion. Example: a relaxing atmosphere (from a soothing color palette and bright images) for a counselling office.
Copy – The tone of your text is quite important. As is the length of the copy. Test short-form and long-form copy. Test your tone-of-voice. See if writing in a different tense appeals to people more or less (first person, second person, third person). Lastly, test whether your audience wants to read lengthy informative content or if they respond better to shorter-form, straight-forward copy.
Button Design – This one is pretty easy. Test the shape, color, size, placement, and interactivity of the buttons on your landing pages. Also think about where the buttons go and what happens when the user hovers as opposed to when they click. Try to make the path to a conversion as short as possible.
Color Palette – Also see *Images* above. Test different color palettes on your landing pages. Try not to stray from or clash with your branding but also make sure the color palettes you’re testing convey a different atmosphere. www.Color-Hex.com is a great resource for this.
Form – Definitely have a form on your landing page (yes, we’ve had people debate us on this!). There’s no question that some users feel more comfortable filling out a form than they do calling-in particularly in the medical industry. Most of the time shorter forms are better forms. But data is better than assumptions so test this as well. Do you get more submissions when the form is longer or shorter? Which fields are necessary for you to process the lead? Which fields can be combined? Etc.
Phone Numbers – Definitely have a phone number on your landing page. Even if it leads straight to a voicemail. Just like with the *forms* described above, some customers are more comfortable calling than they are filling out a form. It depends on their mindset. For example, if someone is having a panic attack, they’ll likely call any medical service provider they can get in-touch-with to book an appointment asap. You’ll want to make sure you’re at least as available as your competitor. Also test direct phone numbers vs. ‘vanity numbers’ vs. toll-free numbers. They render surprisingly different results.
