Taking a guess about why your website works or doesn’t work is a thing of the past. Successful online marketers split test for a variety of options both on websites and in pay-per-click campaigns to gain the best results.

Google Website Optimizer is quite a simple tool to determine whether one page will convert more than another page. Used in the correct manner, you would implement a variety of changes over a period of time, rather than compare one design to another.

For example, change the colour of the heading one week, add a new image the next, improve your call to action and then tweak your text the following week.  For each change you would find whether A, B or even C gave you the best results, and how your customers interacted with each page. The information you’ve collected will take away the guesswork and personal interpretation to allow you to build the best page for your customers.

The same type of testing is more easily done with ‘ad text’ in pay-per-click campaigns. The best ads can then be used as calls to action within your web pages that are relevant to the keywords that are working for you.

With online sales becoming more important to all types of businesses, it would be wise to use all the online marketing tools that are available to help gain even the smallest advantage over your competitors.
 

Google nominates the benefits of Split Testing as:

Increase sales and conversion rates

Identify the winning content combinations that drive conversions and increase ROI, regardless of site type.

Improve landing pages

Reduce the number of would-be customers you lose through ineffective landing pages. Website Optimizer's automated testing makes it easy to fix and deploy compelling landing pages.

Get more leads

Streamline your online lead generation forms to get the data you need without losing potential leads.

Decrease Cost Per Acquisition (CPA)

Use testing to drive conversions and lower CPA.

Increase time spent on your site

Uncover your best content, engage your visitors, and capture more attention.

Eliminate guesswork from site design

Why base design decisions on assumptions? Leverage empirical data from real visitors.

Settle office disputes

Not sure which version of a page will convert best? Run a test and let your customers decide.