71% of digital marketers test websites to improve conversion rates

Of the 1,000 client-side and agency digital marketers surveyed by eConsultancy in partnership with RedEye, 71% test their websites. To press home the importance of testing, the survey found that companies whose conversion rates had improved over the last twelve months were conducting 50% more website tests than those whose conversion rates had not improved. Furthermore, those with better conversion rates were using 47% more methods to improve conversion.

“This difference is even more apparent when looking at sales,” says eConsultancy in a blog post. “Companies with a large increase in sales carried out over two times as many tests as the average.”

So, what are the elements being tested on websites? According to the Conversion Rate Optimization Report, call-to-action buttons are the most frequently tested element, tested by 74%, followed by page layout (70%), copy (65%), and navigation (61%). While employee suggestion is a source for ideas for testing (55%), more than two-thirds (68%) get their ideas from analytics. Articles, whitepapers, and blogs were also sources of ideas for testing website elements (55%).

Among the agencies surveyed, 32% believe that deciding what to test is the most difficult stage followed by setting up the tests. Among the companies surveyed, 27% believe setting up the test is the most challenging followed by analyzing the results (13%).

The survey also found that websites were the most-tested marketing channel with just 60% testing email and 59% testing landing pages.