Tests. The word doesn’t carry many good connotations. Perhaps it’s the remnant memories of hours of torture in a classroom, or the awareness that tests often take up more business time than they are worth. Testing isn’t a stage that many companies relish, but sometimes it’s necessary.

If you’ve invested a lot of time and money in your search engine optimisation, it’s possible you’ll want to test your options. For most businesses, the testing stage of SEO is quite brief and fairly informal, superseded by the analytical stages before and after optimisation. You can discuss SEO  testing and analysis with us at SEO Consult. Your options for testing range from the very simple to the complicated, but the first thing you need to decide is whether your tests should be casual and on-the-run, or thorough and rigorous.

If you decide on rigorous testing

Your SEO company may be able to assist you if you wish to embark on a testing period before implementing SEO. You can also test proposed changes yourself, although it is wise to get a good web programmer on board.

There are many types of rigorous tests that have been devised over the years, and you might already have a favourite testing method used when your site was in development. There are two main types of testing used for SEO. The A/B split method, or the multi-variable test. Both have areas of simplicity and complication. Your decision between the two will largely depend on what you want to test, with the amount of time you can spend on testing coming a close second.

How to choose your test

Two factors work together when you need to decide on a test method. If you have narrowed down your options, things are fairly simple and a basic A/B test should get you sufficient results. Just test out one variation for a set period, then testing the other for a similar period, repeat and compare the results, and you’re done. If you have a number of options and a number of things you wish to test, things get a little more complicated.

With an A/B switch test, you’re able to test one distinct element at a time. For example, if you’re unsure whether containing an offer in your main title works better than using a humourous title, you place both titles over the same copy and test. The main benefit of A/B testing is that it gives you more definitive results. The drawback is that it takes a long time to test all your variants.

Testing many variables at once takes less time, but is less accurate. You might decide to change several elements of your page at once, perhaps altering the title but also including a call to action button and adding an image. This method is better when you have a fairly good idea of what you want, but want confirmation.

Testing is not an easy process, and needs good planning. If you undergo testing, it can be a good idea to get professional assistance.

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