Top 5 testing mistakes

Testing is a core pillar of successful digital marketing, but all too often we see clients making the same mistakes. Here we’ve summarised the top 5 we see, so that you can avoid them.

1. Not agreeing how a winner will be decided

Before you start, be clear on what your success metric is. For a landing page test, focus on conversion rate and average order/donation value. For a creative change, use click-through rate. Changing messaging throughout the conversion journey? Use ROAS to evaluate all steps of the journey together.‍

2. Testing insignificant variables

Changing the font colour, or angle a photo was taken from isn’t realistically going to make a difference. Focus on more impactful variables, like answering different customer needs, advertising a different product, or highlighting a different unique selling point.‍

3. Running too many tests

Think quality over quantity when it comes to testing. Give yourself the time to plan out exactly which questions you want answered & the best way to get those answers. You want to make sure you’re giving each test enough spend to get significant results, rather than spreading your budget thinly. Running a single, well-thought-out test will teach you more than 5 rushed ones.‍

4. Ending tests early

It can be scary seeing spend continue to be channelled to an underperforming test variant, but you should stand your ground. Things could always change, so it’s worth letting it run its course. It’s better to test correctly once than cut it short, & have to run the test again in a month’s time. Sticking it out the first time will save you money in the long term.‍

5. Not retaining learnings

Note down your results & store them somewhere safe, with as much detail as possible. Easy to do, but equally easy to forget!

If you’re looking for a digital marketing agency to help you drive growth through structured testing, get in touch!