Know how we’d sometimes flip a coin if we can’t decide by two options? A/B testing replaces the coin with actual knowledge about people’s perceptions of your website products and features. It saves businesses money that would otherwise go wasted on building a version that would yield poor results. In short, in an A/B experiment, we would choose two or multiple pages with slight variations and compare their user performance to decide which one has better CRO. To give you more insight than this basic definition we prepared these A/B testing statistics that will help you apply this method to optimize your web marketing strategy, so read on.
A/B Testing Statistics (Editor’s Choice)
- Some 77% of companies are running A/B testing on the website.
- About 60% of companies perform A/B tests on their landing pages.
- Roughly 44% of businesses use split testing software.
- Only 7% of companies believe it’s difficult to perform A/B tests.
- Better UX design resulting from testing could increase conversion by 400%.
- One out of eight A/B tests drives significant change.
- Approximately 59% of companies perform email A/B tests.
- Bing improved its revenue per search by 10%-25% due to the A/B testing.
General A/B Testing Stats
1. Some 77% of companies are running A/B testing on their website.
Most businesses use A/B comparison to identify design variations that convert better, including different fonts, images, or similar. In the long run, these aid businesses in reducing shopping cart abandonment by pinpointing what causes a buyer to drop their purchase. Some of the reasons include poor layout, shipping costs, or a complicated check-out process.
(Adoric)
2. More than half of companies perform A/B tests on their landing pages.
Landing page statistics show that multiple businesses opt for A/B testing to decide which of the landing pages has better performing content. After all, that’s their main purpose. According to the landing page A/B testing statistics, 60% of companies leverage the power of A/B testing in this sense. Then, 59% of companies test email campaigns, and 58% do the same for paid search.
(Invesp)
3. Roughly 44% of businesses use split testing software.
Despite its clear benefits, automated A/B testing is not a reality for all companies. Not even the majority. Nevertheless, there is so much statistical analysis software out there on the market, including those for split testing, that helps businesses produce better-performing websites or email campaigns. Especially, considering that only 22% of companies are happy with their current conversion rates.
(SessionCam)
4. Traffic on your website can vary by 500% depending on the headline.
A/B testing facts show that when linking your blog posts or podcasts, it pays off to try out different headlines and links to test user acceptance. For instance, A/B testing analysis in a particular study has proved that traffic largely depends on headlines.
(MeetEdgar)
5. Only 7% of companies believe it’s difficult to perform A/B tests.
Although it might sound like a complex math category, A/B testing is far from that. It’s a simple technique that helps companies determine whether to go with this or that feature based on user preference. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of companies think it’s not difficult to do such tests, A/B testing statistics show.
(Invesp)
6. Some 75% of the top 500 online retailers use A/B testing platforms.
A/B testing platforms help companies understand the crucial bottlenecks and pain points in the conversion process. Further, they allow firms to generate higher ROI from their organic traffic, as well as improve the user experience. Hence, many online retailers rely on different marketing automation software.
(AI Multiple)
Statistics Behind A/B Testing
7. Better UX design resulting from testing could increase conversion by 400%.
Website changes that bring better conversion rates are a dream come true for any web professional. Judging by a report from Forrester, a better UX design could drive conversions. If the website is not converting well, it’s a bad signal. For instance, if 10 million people visit a page, and just 1,000 complete the purchase, the company wasted money on traffic without any value. The top 10% of advertisers on Google Ads meanwhile reach an 11.45% conversion rate, according to A/B testing ROI statistics.
(Entrepreneur)
8. About 58% of companies use A/B testing for conversion rate optimization.
Over half of all companies are relying on some sort of an A/B testing dataset to make web-related decisions. Moreover, 35% of company representatives from a recent survey confirmed they planned on using the A/B methods to improve their conversion rate optimization.
(Invesp)
9. One out of eight A/B tests produces results.
Apparently, not all tests yield groundbreaking results. One in eight, however, fits the bill, as evidenced by AppSumo.com which reaches some 5,000 users per day. Their optimization & A/B testing statistics show that their email conversions increased over five times, while their website doubled its purchase conversion rates as a result of A/B tests.
(VWO)
10. A/B testing needs to reach 25,000 visitors to be of statistical significance.
The A/B testing sample size matters — you need a larger audience to determine the successful variation. That translates into one simple fact — the lack of data and A/B testing statistical significance is the main reason why so many A/B tests fail.
(VentureBeat)
Email Marketing A/B Testing Facts
11. Approximately 59% of companies perform email A/B tests.
Almost all forms of web communication could be optimized through A/B testing methodology. Email is no exception. Namely, companies look to complete successful email marketing campaigns and achieve the best results in terms of conversions. Using this type of test helps them determine what kind of content is useful and triggers users to click on links.
(Adoric)
12. A particular A/B test with an ebook in exchange for an email or a tweet showed that the first converted 22% better.
The test was conducted on a 50:50 traffic split, with a dual purpose. First, it was meant to get leads from one page and then to continue viral exposure on the other by redirecting new people from the tweets back to the landing page. The experiment’s A/B testing email statistics showed that the page asking for email converted 22%, while for tweets, it was 18%. As a matter of fact, after the third test with both options on the same landing page, 85% of users opted to give an email address.
(WordStream)
13. HubSpot gathered 131 leads thanks to a small, 0.53% increase in open rate, achieved through the A/B experiment.
According to the email marketing A/B testing statistics, HubSpot wanted to check the effects of a personalized campaign. Therefore, they used a personalized name for the sender in one variant and a generic company name in another. The first one reached a 0.53% higher open rate and 0.23% higher click-through rate. It might seem negligible, however, this led to 131 new leads.
(Campaign Monitor)
Businesses and A/B Testing Statistics
14. Microsoft claims it runs over 1,000 A/B tests on Bing search per month.
Microsoft is one of the companies that use A/B testing methodology to optimize its search engine, Bing. In fact, with so many tests conducted at any time by multiple companies, we are probably subjects of these experiments most of the time, either on the web or in the apps. What’s amazing is that the variations are often so small, we can’t even notice them.
(Marketing)
15. In 2011, Google performed over 7,000 A/B tests on the search algorithm.
The A/B testing, in fact, started with big Silicon Valley players, such as Google. Today when we talk about Google, we refer to the one homepage, yet we are not aware of the percentage of users getting experimental pages. Looking at A/B testing trends, we can see that all big companies nowadays use it to optimize their products. Some of the most common are Amazon, eBay, and Netflix, among many others.
(Wired)
16. Bing improved its annual revenue per search by 10-25% due to the A/B testing.
Typically, organizations stick to the A/B testing, once they realize these experimentations pay off. As a matter of fact, Bing identified several changes using A/B testing results and increased revenue per search. Moreover, these changes not only brought revenue but enhanced customer satisfaction. This has helped Bing remain profitable.
(Harvard Business Review)
17. Thanks to A/B testing, former US President Barack Obama raised $75 million from donations for his campaign.
This type of testing also has applications in politics, A/B testing stats show. When former Google employee Dan Siroker joined the campaign for the Obama presidency as a digital advisor, he used A/B testing analysis to redefine the website for campaign-related info. He managed to turn visitors into subscribers, and further into donors. His tests resulted in four million emails out of 13 million collected. Similarly, some $75 million were raised thanks to his smart methodology.
(Wired)
Wrap Up
Making an informed decision and leveraging the power of data is critical in today’s world. A/B testing is invaluable on this road if the ultimate goal is to improve website conversion rates. Aside from helping improve the website’s UX, it allows you to actually hear what your customers like more. These A/B testing statistics conclusively show that seeing which version performs better helps you make smart and profitable choices.
