A/B Testing Overview - ClickSpot

A/B Testing Overview

Split traffic between different destinations using a single short link, allowing you to test landing pages, offers, and content variations to find what works best.

What is A/B Testing?

A/B testing (also called split testing) sends visitors to different destinations based on configured rules. With ClickSpot, a single short link can:

  • Split traffic evenly between two or more pages
  • Test different landing page designs
  • Compare offers or pricing variations
  • Experiment with different CTAs or messaging

How It Works

  1. Create a short link with multiple destination URLs (variants)
  2. Configure the traffic split (e.g., 50/50, 70/30)
  3. Share the single short link
  4. ClickSpot randomly routes visitors to variants based on your split
  5. Analyze results to determine the winner

When to Use A/B Testing

Landing Page Optimization

Test variations of your landing pages:

  • Different headlines or value propositions
  • Alternative layouts or designs
  • Various hero images or videos
  • Different form lengths or fields

Offer Testing

Compare different promotions:

  • Discount percentages (10% off vs 15% off)
  • Free shipping vs percentage discount
  • Different bonus items or bundles

Call-to-Action Testing

Find the most effective CTA:

  • "Buy Now" vs "Get Started"
  • "Sign Up Free" vs "Start Trial"
  • Button colors or placements

Setting Up Your First A/B Test

  1. Create a new link or edit an existing one
  2. Click the A/B Test tab under Destination
  3. Add your variant URLs
  4. Set the traffic percentage for each variant
  5. Save your link

See Creating A/B Test Variants for detailed setup instructions.

Analyzing Results

ClickSpot tracks each variant separately:

  • Click count per variant
  • Percentage of total traffic
  • Performance over time

To measure conversions, integrate with your analytics tool (Google Analytics, etc.) and compare conversion rates for each destination URL.

Best Practices

Test One Variable at a Time

For clear results, change only one element between variants. Testing multiple changes makes it hard to know what caused the difference.

Gather Sufficient Data

Wait until you have statistically significant results before declaring a winner. Generally:

  • Minimum 100+ clicks per variant
  • Run tests for at least a week
  • Consider your typical traffic patterns

Set Clear Goals

Before testing, define what success looks like:

  • Higher conversion rate?
  • More sign-ups?
  • Lower bounce rate?

Document Your Tests

Keep a record of:

  • What you tested
  • Your hypothesis
  • Results and conclusions
  • Next actions

Ending a Test

Once you have a clear winner:

  1. Edit the link
  2. Remove the losing variant(s)
  3. Set the winner to 100% traffic
  4. Or, update the link to point directly to the winning URL

Limitations

  • Cookie-less - Visitors aren't guaranteed to see the same variant on repeat visits
  • Random distribution - Actual percentages may vary slightly from configured splits
  • No built-in conversion tracking - Use your analytics tool for conversion measurement