Part 2:  Split Testing

Bottom line…if you are not testing in your online business then you are leaving money on the table.

Which is an easier way to increase your sales or optins by 50 %…Getting 50% more traffic to your salespage or squeeze page or increasing your conversion of your salespage or squeeze page by 50%?

We all know hard it is to get traffic so getting 50% more traffic quickly is pretty hard to do.  But increasing your conversion by 50% is not unheard of.  Especially if you are not currently doing any split testing.

To get started split testing I recommend that you use the A/B split tester in Google Website Optimizer (which is free and really easy to use).

Setting up a split test is really easy.  Just take the page you want to test and make ONE change to it.  I say just one because you need to be able to tell which element effected the conversion.  If you make several changes you will not know which change made the difference.

What should you test?

The first thing to test is your headline.  The headline is what’s responsible for getting your visitors attention and it either gets them to continue reading or hitting the back button on their browser.  So start there.

You should also test price, images, layout, background colors, bonuses, video and the list goes on and on.

When you start testing and results come in you need to keep a couple things in mind.  The highest conversion rate is not always the winner.  For example if you are testing a $37 price vs a $47 price you need to determine how much money you are making.  Lets say the $37 price converts at 2.5% and the $47 price converts at 2%.  It would look like the $37 price is the winner but wait.  If you get 1000 visitors the $37 price would make you $925 but the $47 price would make you $940.  So the $47 price is actually the winner because you goal is to make more money right?

Still not sold on the benefits of spilt testing?  Look at this….

That is the result from a split test I recently did on one of my sales pages.  Everyone these days is saying the video salespages are killing it.  Well, instead of just taking them at their word I decided to first test it out and my long form sales copy did twice as good as the video salespage.

I was looking through all the conversion testing results I have had for the last year in my Google Website Optimizer account and I thought it would be a great post to highlight several of the split tests I have preformed and the results of them.

1. Testimonials vs No Testimonials: For this test I simply tested the salespage without any testimonials vs the salespage with testimonials. I figured it was pretty obvious that testimonials would improve the conversion since they are a great way to use social proof but I was surprised at how little of an increase they made.

Results: With Testimonials – 1.9% conversion / Without Testimonials 1.56% conversion. A 22% improvement.

2. Price: This tested the conversion of selling my product for $47 vs $37 vs $27. This one is a little tricky because the best conversion rate is not always the winner. You have to actually compute how much you are making with each since the $47 price point can actually convert lower than the $27 price point and still make more money because of the extra $20 I make on each sale.

Results: $47 – 1.26 % conversion / $37 – 2.03% conversion / $27 – 2.84% conversion. In terms of money made, the $27 was most profitable but just barely when compared to the $37 offer.

3. Headline: In this test I simply tested 2 different headlines. Your headline is the most important aspect of your salespage in my opinion becuase it is what determines if someone readers your salesletter or simply clicks the back button. You only have a couple seconds to grab the readers attention and it is your headline that determines if they stay.

Results: Headline 1 – 2.7% conversion / Headline 2 – 2.2% conversion. The results show that you can make significant improvements in conversion by just split testing your headline. Go do it now.

4. Order Button: In this test I pitted 2 different order buttons against each other. Button 1 was blue and said “Buy Now” while button 2 was yellow and said “Add To Cart”.

Results: Button 1 – 1.66% conversion / Button 2 – 2.11% conversion. A 26% improvement just from the order button! Amazing in my mind how that could affect conversion so much. I got the yellow button from here which is from Perry Belcher and Ryan Deiss.

5. Video vs No Video: In this test I put a video on the salespage which gave a walk through of the course I was selling vs the original salespage with no video.

Results: Video – 1.26% conversion / No Video – 1.14% conversion. The video did beat out the original but not by much. Of course it is totally dependent on how good the video, which might imply that the video I made wasn’t that great. Or maybe video is not as important as some people say it is.

6. Background Color – For this test I put a white background against a blue background. I am refering the the area outside the salespage and not the actual background of the salespage where the copy is. Of course I would think you always want that to be white.

Results: White Background – 1.31% conversion / Blue Background – 1.74% conversion. The blue background was the hands down winner in this one with a 32% conversion increase.

7. Custom Design vs Plan Design: This test I was checking to see if a custom mini-site design with a snazzy header and footer and cool graphic would beat out a plain design with no header or footer.

Results: Plain – 1.37% conversion / Custom – 1.6% conversion. The custom design showed a 17% increase in conversion so I would say that in my market it pays to get some cool graphics which actually make the site look more professional.

Hopefully seeing my results will help you with your own salespages. The real takeaway here is that testing is absolutely necessary for those that want to make the most money from their products. If you are not testing…you are losing money. Period. So get out there and start testing today.

Many people who sell products online just simply put up their offer (ebook, videos, report) and call it a day. However, successful website owners have an entire sales funnel which their customers go through.

Having a sales funnel can dramatically benefit your business in many ways. A sales funnel example could go like this….

You customer buys your ebook for $37 –> They are then offered your video series that compliments your ebook for $67 –> They are then offered personal coaching to make them more successful with your product for $97 per month.

Those are all upsells and you should also have downsells in your funnel for those who do not purchase the upsell. For example, if your customer passes on the video series for $67 you could offer then a smaller version of the videos for only $27 or so.

Upsells/Downsells have been tested over and over and most people will tell you that around 40-60% of people who buy your frontend product will purchase an upsell. If you are not offering an upsell you are leaving major money on the table.

Besides leaving money on the table you are also hampering your marketing efforts.

If you just sell a $37 ebook then you know that you can spend up to $37 to get a new customer and you will make money. However, if you have an entire sales funnel you can actually spend more on advertising.

Let’s say that when you factor in your upsells/downsells that a new customer is actually worth $60 (based on some customers buying more than just the ebook). Now you can spend up to $60 and still make money with your advertising.

Better yet, you could pay affiliates a 100% commission on the frontend ebook and still make money!

Setting up a backend sales funnel is the easiest way to increase your income from your product instantly. And once you have it set up and know your metrics (how much a new customer is really worth) you can be much more aggressive with your advertising.