What are A/B tests
The history of A/B testing dates back to a time long before the internet. When much of the direct marketing and advertising strategy involved sending direct mail to people's addresses, at that time, due to the high cost of sending, it became necessary to conduct statistical analyses to observe which direct mail formats were more attractive and consequently, could achieve better sales results. Thus, A/B or multivariate testing was born. An analytical tool at the service of your marketing strategy.
A/B and Multivariate Testing on the Internet
With the emergence and development of the Internet, in addition to the evident need to measure results and user behavior in this new language, the ease of the digital environment favored the development and application of multivariate testing techniques on websites, primarily through web analytics platforms.
The A/B Test in the context of web pages basically consists of creating different versions of the same page and randomizing these versions to generate relevant user behavior data for improving layout and content aimed at increasing the conversion rate of previously established goals.
The Google Analytics Content Experiments
One of the main innovations of the Google Analytics analysis platform in 2012 was Google Analytics Content Experiments, which facilitated the implementation of analysis and A/B testing on websites that use it as a web analytics tool.
Using A/B Tests in Google Adwords
Although they are commonly studied regarding website traffic, A/B Tests are not limited to this; they are extremely valid in evaluating variations of ads or statistical tests in campaign versions. In Google Adwords, they serve as an interesting technique for improving the Quality Score, the main factor influencing campaign costs.
Using A/B Tests in Email Marketing
Email Marketing, as a widely used Digital Marketing tool, corresponding to the most utilized online activity, also offers A/B testing resources. Tools like Mail Chimp include this capability within their core functionality.