Small changes, like a new headline, image or subject line, can change your results. Split testing shows you which version works best. Different people see different versions of a page, an email or a whole follow-up sequence, and you compare the results. Let's go through each one.
One rule applies to every test: change just one thing between versions, like the headline, an image or the button. If you change several things at once, you won't know which one made the difference. Test one element, pick a winner, then test the next.
To test a page, open it in the Pages editor. Click the A/B icon in the upper right and toggle split testing on. Your original page becomes version A. Click Add New, then copy the original or create a new page. Copying is usually faster, since you only change the one thing you're testing. That's version B. You can add versions C and D the same way.
To edit a version, choose it from the dropdown, make your changes, and click Save. To remove one, click the A/B icon and click the trash can next to it.
Once your page is published, Ontraport splits traffic evenly across the versions. A cookie keeps each visitor on the same version when they come back. To check the other versions yourself, clear your browser's cookies between visits.
After your page has been live for a while, click the Stats tab at the top of the editor to see each version's visits, unique visits, conversions and conversion rate. On a page, a conversion is a form submission. When you have a winner, select that version, toggle split testing off, and click Save. Now every visitor sees the winner.
To test an email, you need two versions. Go to Automations, then Messages. If you've turned on other objects, like Companies or Deals, you'll find Messages under Contacts instead. Copy your original email in the Messages collection, or start a new one, and change one thing.
Next, open the automation that sends the email, find the spot for your test, and click the plus icon. In the Add New Item box, click the Filters tab and select Split.
Click the Add Version A box and select Send an Email. Click that Send an Email block, and in the settings on the left, choose your Version A email from the dropdown. Repeat for Version B.
In the split element's settings, choose what percentage of contacts goes down each path. It doesn't have to be even. For example, if your current email works well, keep most contacts on it and send a smaller share to the new version.
Opens and clicks only tell part of the story. More clicks don't always mean more sales. So decide what result you really want, like a purchase, a registration or a trial signup, and add a goal for it to the map. In the goal's settings, under Who can achieve this goal, choose an option like Any contact on this map, so contacts from both versions count.
Once contacts have gone through, open the automation and click Performance in the top right. Performance Mode is available on every plan. The paths coming out of your split show how many contacts, and what percentage, took each one. Each email shows its sends, opens, clicks and opt-outs.
Then choose Goal Conversion Rate from the report dropdown and select your goal. It shows how likely contacts are to reach that goal from each element, so you can compare Version A and Version B on the result you care about. When one version clearly wins, set the split so one hundred percent of contacts get it. That's a quick update to your map, with no need to rebuild anything.
You can test more than single emails. Put a split where your follow-up begins and build a different sequence on each side. You might test different kinds of messages, or how often you send them, like a bonus email every three days versus one a week. New contacts are divided automatically, using your percentages. In Performance Mode, Goal Conversion Rate shows which side converts better, and Goal Conversion Time shows how long contacts take to reach the goal, so you can see which sequence works faster.
Pages allow up to four versions. But each version needs enough visitors to give you a clear answer, and the more versions you run, the longer that takes. For most tests, compare two.
So: change one thing at a time, test pages with the A/B icon, test emails and sequences with a Split, and choose winners by the goals that matter to your business. Next up: lead source tracking in Performance Mode, where you'll see which sources and links lead contacts to your goals.