Why Split Test?

Original Article from IntelliSites, the smart choice for web design (and SEO!)
Did you guys hear about the experiment that Highrise did to see what type of copy would work best on their call-to-action button?  There's a great little blog post that explains what they found out.

Their results showed the impact that subtle wording differences can have on visitors, but they also showed something even more valuable -- the impact that split testing can have on the success of your website.

Split testing is setting up different versions of your home page so that different visitors will see a different version.  It uses the magic of the web to look at your visitors' reactions to each version of the site.  Did your visitors click around?  Click your call-to-action button?  Leave?  All of this information can be tracked, so split testing is a good way to figure out which of several ideas is the best one.

In other words, if you can't decide whether to have a button on your snowshoe company page that says "Shop Now" or "Click for a FREE coupon code," you could set up two versions of the site and use split testing to track which button got more clicks.  After you've done your test, you can make an informed choice about what will make the snowshoe enthusiasts of the world delve into your site.

Highrise found a way to increase their signups by 200%.  Can you believe that?  That's HUGE.  But they never would have found it if they had never tried out the different possible options for copy.