10 Best Practices for A/B testing

Switch to agile mode!

Out of the 10 best practices we advocate, it is hard to highlight one in particular as being the most important. Nonetheless, the aspect that we have chosen to put first is fundamental because, in our view, a flexible approach is inseparable from A/B testing.

The concept of web testing itself is not new: As early as the turn of the millennium, some web agencies and other organizations solicited their IT teams to implement test versions of certain pages.

Since then, A/B testing solutions have appeared on the market, with the primary goal of making it easier to implement an otherwise extremely time-consuming process.

In fact, organizations must "adapt or die" in response to the rapid changes in their customers' needs. This implies that they must be able to confirm (or reject) the hypothesized effects of changes to their website by following a quick, simple, and effective process.

Give yourself the option of becoming autonomous, whether in the short, medium, or long-term.

Without flexibility, you will undoubtedly miss out on the benefits of A/B testing. It is therefore essential to start by implementing an ad-hoc toolkit.

Curiously, in light of this need for flexibility, not all A/B testing solutions are equal, and far from it. Some solutions are "back boxes" that are used by a few expert consultants, but which you could never deploy for yourself. Others replicate the challenges that they are designed to solve to such an extent that they are only accessible to technical experts. In other words, the cure can be worse than the disease. 

In summary, choose your testing platform carefully, with an eye on the future, even if you rely on an external service provider in the early stages.

A/B testing is a powerful lever to reduce the length of your decision-making cycle: You should have the option, whether in the short, medium or long-term, of operating your tests autonomously. Therefore, you need to make sure that you'll be able to deploy the platform for yourself and retrieve the data that has already been collected.

As with SEO in the late 1990s, which was the preserve of a small number of expert consultancies, testing techniques have become more widespread: Give yourself the opportunity to be in a market-leading position!

Some of the brand's landing pages, including those dedicated to specific models, have a very short lifespan of just three or six months. Renault, therefore, needs to optimize the conversion rates of its websites as soon as they are launched: Otherwise, they risk missing the window of opportunity to support their sales and marketing operations. This is only possible with particularly flexible and responsive processes and platforms.

Prioritize your tests

One of the most common issues with A/B testing is the desire to start with scenarios that reflect an advanced level of complexity: Multiverse tests, page redesign, and so on.

You should always take the opposite approach: As with any learning process, it is better to start with the easiest aspects before taking on more strenuous tasks. More specifically, you should start with tests that combine realistic conversion rate enhancements with ease of implementation. 

Without necessarily confining yourself to micro-optimizations, start by addressing "quick wins" that can unleash a virtuous cycle of testing within the organization: Getting positive results rapidly, no matter how minor, confirms the validity of the approach for all stakeholders.

Don't overlook the simple tests that could allow you to maximize your gains.

Even when the launch period is over, you should always make room for simple tests that can be carried out in parallel with far-reaching testing.

Our experience shows that it is not possible to predict whether or not these tests will result in enhanced conversion rates. The results are highly variable depending on the business sector, and from one website to another. On the other hand, the potential return, in terms of increase in conversion rates compared to time spent implementing the tests, can be spectacular and it would be a shame to miss out on percentage point improvement that can be achieved with very little effort.