Reasons for the Failure of A/B Testing Results (Part 1)
Every business entity is sure to fail if you are not aware about its short comings and limitations. A/B testing is one such approach that has seen tremendous use in the online business environment and is growing by leaps and bounds. Along with the widespread use, there is increasing concern about the success or failure of this web testing approach. Implementing A/B testing without having a proper insight about your business results can lead to wastage of your time, money and testing efforts. If you want to avoid the failure of your A/B testing approach, you need to pay adequate attention towards these points. You are implementing testing results based on the inputs given by others- It is a well known saying that “One shoe size doesn't fits all”, similarly it is certain that what may work for the site of others may not actually work for your website. You need to introspect the nature of your business, targeted customers and the duration of your testing results before implementing any A/B testing result for your business. The key for the success of an A/B testing result is the careful inspection and analysis of your business entity rather than simple copy and pasting the testing results of another business entity. You are not testing single variable for your business- Don't get carried too far away with your A/B testing results if you are a novice in this particular area. Try to remain focused on the basics instead of testing too much things at a time. This is because testing too many elements at once will make things complicated for you and will not provide you a clear insight about what actually caused changes in your conversion rates, site traffic and product sales. It is better to try “one things at a time” rather than making a complicated situation out of your A/B testing results. Target your A/B testing based on the density of your site traffic- Don't channelize your testing efforts if you are not having adequate traffic on your site. This is because you would not be able to get effective feedback from your visitors if you are not having adequate traffic on your site. Therefore, it is a prerequisite while implementing A/B testing strategies on a site, so work towards getting enough site traffic for your online business entity. Don't go for the big changes if you are having a negligible site traffic as you would not be able to get clear feedback from your targeted customers.
Not waiting for the appropriate statistical significance- Don't be in a haste while implementing web testing on your site until and unless you have reached an acceptable level of statistical significance or confidence level. Implementing A/B testing results without an adequate confidence level would be similar to “plucking a fruit before it is ripe�. The minimum accepted level of confidence level is 95% but beware of achieving the mythical figure of 100% as it is an impossible feat. However, implementing the results without achieving the confidence level of at least 95% is not a welcome step for any business entity. Once, you are aware about all the pitfalls of your A/B testing results, you can easily overcome the chances of failure of your web testing strategies. Further, it will help you in achieving the desired business goals and will improve the efficiency of testing results. So, don't miss them and implement the required corrections as soon as possible.