A/B testing is an essential method for any eCommerce business owner. This method allows you to test two or more versions of your website to evaluate which performs better. This vital information is used to create the ideal website for your brand. By tracking conversion rates, user statistics and bounce rates, you can use this data to make decisions about your website optimization.
Many companies use this technique for desktop websites, however it is also a key method for mobile eCommerce platforms. As a Magento eCommerce user, you can use Google Optimize to define the best website content for both your desktop and mobile platforms.
Google Optimize
Google Optimize is a marketing platform that works seamlessly with data from Google Analytics to make the most of your A/B testing. If you are a Magento customer, you don’t need to install extra software or plugins to use Google Optimize. Furthermore, you don’t need to learn a new complicated system. Instead, you will be using a platform you already understand – Google.
Google Optimization allows you to use Multiple Variants to see which solutions work best for your company. It’s no longer just “A/B” testing – it’s “A through J” testing. You can change any part of your site – from a small piece of text to the entire page layout. Google allows you to select the percentage of traffic that sees the changes, so you control the experiment.
The data that come from these tests are the same data you receive from your standard Google Analytics. You can see how many people view your site, what drives them away, and what entices them to stay. All of these data help you make the right choices when optimizing your website.
The Mobile eCommerce Optimization Initiative
As mentioned before, many companies already preform A/B testing for their desktop websites, but not as many people are utilizing the testing for their mobile websites. This is a big issue, over half of all online purchases come from mobile devices. A Magento community-driven collaboration is aiming to fix the mobile gap.
The project is called the Mobile eCommerce Optimization Initiative. Magento realized that each eCommerce company is unique. A single store can’t fix the mobile gap. However, if multiple Magento eCommerce companies work together and share optimization data – the Magento community can find and solve consumer trends.
So far, there are 12 certified Magento systems integrators, 50+ Magento Merchants, and over 250 live optimization experiments all fighting toward the same goal. If your company would like to participate, you will choose from a range of standardized checkout optimization experiments.
The experiments are far from over, but so far the Magento community has found some interesting trends that can help every Magento company thrive on their mobile platform. Here are a few:
By adding a security icon to the checkout button, revenue increased by over 17%. The small icon made customers feel that they could trust the mobile checkout.
Another hot trend is auto-selecting the credit card type. Instead of having the customer choose Visa or Mastercard, they simply type in the credit card number, and the credit card type is automatically filled. This simple step increased payment completion rate by over 21%
Google Optimize for the Mobile Optimization Initiative
If you are interested in joining the Mobile Optimization Initiative, you can start by visiting mobileoptimized.org. There, you will be able to explore experiments that were completed, visit the experiments in progress, and sign up for a project that you think your company would benefit from.
Once you have signed up for the initiative, you can use Google Optimize to collect all the important information needed. When you become involved in an experiment, an advisor will let you know the data they need to collect. Using Google Optimize, you can ensure that information is being stored.
Once your study is complete, you can link all of the information you have collected to the people leading the study. Your data will be complete and easy to read, so the study researchers will not have to keep coming back to you to ask questions. Furthermore, you can keep a copy of the information from Google Optimize for your own records. For example, if you were completing an A/B test on adding PayPal as a payment option, you can see if that worked for your website. If your conversion rate increased by a substantial amount, then you may want to implement PayPal as an option on your website – even before the study is completed.
The Mobile eCommerce Optimization Initiative is meant to help the Magento community, but when partaking in the study you must remember not all eCommerce companies are the same. When reading the results, you may feel compelled to immediately implement an option that increased conversion rates. However, that may not be the best move for your company. Instead, make sure you are testing all of the initiatives via A/B testing on your own website.
For more information, visit Wagento.com.
